Professional Learning Community Process Development Plan - Report Example

Professional Learning Community Process Development Plan Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Date PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN THAT IMPLEMENTS THE PLC PROCESS AT THIRTY-ONE PRIMARY SCHOOL Introduction Professional learning community provides that besides the skills that teachers possess in their teaching practice, they learning environment should be strategized in a way that the stakeholders gain additional professional skills. In relation to this, the following development plan on the dimensions of the PLC in their implementation at Thirty-one primary school at Al- Kharj City in Saudi Arabia. Dimension practiced at the institution include the shared and supportive leadership, shared values and visions and collective learning and application. Weak dimensions of the PLC in relation to Thirty-one Primary School include shared personal practice and the supportive conditions. Therefore, it is therefore important for the learning institutions like Thirty-one primary school to create development plans which implement the PLC process in order to improve on the professional skills of the stakeholders. 1) Background of the institution The following is a professional development plan that helps in the implementation of the Professional Learning Communities process at Thirty-one Primary School. The school was established in the year 1995. Thirty-one Primary School is a public institution, and therefore most of the activities in the facility are financed by the government. In addition to this, the school is located in Al-Kharj City situated at Riyadh region in Saudi Arabia. The number of students in the institution is two hundred and eight while the number of staffs who work at the school is thirty-seven person. Cultural context and demographic information The school is characterized by an active culture that may be expected in a learning environment. Therefore, a supportive culture is present in the institution. Also, the institution has tight links with the Arabic culture in the region. Guided by the population of pupils at the facility which is 208, the size of the school is medium sized since a large number of students would require a larger space to build more classrooms to accommodate the extra number of students. Therefore, Thirty-one Primary is a medium sized girls school located in the Al-Kharj City where land to accommodate a large number of students could be difficult. Thirty-one Primary School has female teachers only who are all aged between 25 and 55 years. In addition to this, the institution has female pupils who are aged between 6 and 12 years. 2) PLC Practice In Thirty-One Primary School Shared and Supportive Leadership Shared decision making is one of the characteristics that defines the PLC. The school head teacher at Thirty-one Primary School is ensuring that the provisions of the PLC are practiced by recognizing staff contributions in decision-making when it comes to critical matters of the school. Shared decision making of a learning institution should be encouraged to promote a shared leadership (Hipp & Huffman 2002). For example, at Thirty-one Primary School, teachers together with the administrators are included in meetings where decision about the performance and development projects of the school are being made where all contribute equally to the issues to be discussed. In these meetings, the mind that there exists a hierarchy is completed eliminated and therefore no one knows better than the other thereby giving everyone a chance to be a leader of the decision making process. As a result, from the example highlighted above, there is a clear indication that PLC is being practiced at Thirty-one Primary School since the environment supports shared and supportive leadership. A good relationship is shared between the administrators of the school and the administrators of the school. For instance, at Thirty-one Primary School, there exists a good relationship between the school head teacher, deputy head teacher which helps the seniors delegating some of their roles about critical matters such as allocation of funds thus helping them learn how to do this in a professional manner like a professional leader. Hord (2004), argues that relationship that will exist between the parties in the schools will ensure that the leadership of the primary school is shared between the parties. Consequently, this will help the parties at the school to grow professionally and will assist them to view themselves as one group working to achieve a common objective which having a better institution (Hord, 2004). In relation to this, the good relationship that is existing between the teachers and their seniors is helping teachers become leaders as they try to practice roles delegated to them since they get an opportunity to learn. Communication and creation of structures that offer support to the professional learning communities has been created at Thirty-one Primary School. At Thirty-one Primary School for instance, the school head teacher is ensuring that there is proper communication to all the stakeholders and creation of structures that offer support to the PLCs. According to Morrissey (2000), to ensure that the established structure supports the PLCs, the head teacher ensures that the structure encourages supportive leadership and shared decision making. In relation to this, there exists a structure at Thirty-one primary school that is allowing teachers to take leadership positions related to teaching and learning. About this, any leadership position at Thirty-One Primary School is assumed by the teachers and not the administrators who are used to be in power. By doing this, the structure will be supporting the PLCs since it will be supporting teachers to assume leadership positions and also make decisions while holding these posts. The school administration of Thirty-one primary school is encouraging a learning environment in the institution. Therefore, the teachers together with the potential students at the school are being offered with training on leadership. About supporting teachers, they are also given motivation tokens to ensure that most of them attend the workshops so that they can gain leadership qualities. Continuous learning should be encouraged in the institution to ensure that teachers and other stakeholders continue gaining leadership skills (Stoll et al., 2006). By doing this, the primary school will be in line with the provisions of the professional learning community (PLC) which offers that there should be the learning environment should provide supportive leadership and shared decision making. The reason as to why it is believed that it will support decision making is that, after the teachers learn about leadership in the seminars, they will be delegated with responsibilities which will see them make decisions. Consequently, encouraging learning at Thirty-one primary school will, therefore, ensure the implementation of the PLCs process at the school. Shared values and visions Professional learning communities (PLC) have a foundation that is created on values which are shared and the vision which is also shared. The aspirations of what an institution wants to be are outlined in the organization’s vision statement. The vision statement should be motivating to the professional community and should encourage them towards working to achieve it (Morrow, 2010). At Thirty-one Primary School for instance, the vision statement has been restructured and its main objective is to make education the light of the world. About such mission statement, education is viewed as a light of the world which opens a way and promises a better future. The vision statement is being read by every individual in the school, it will motivate teachers to work hard to make the future of the students brighter and make education the light of the world as the vision statement reads. Also, as the students understand better what the vision statement holds for them, they get become motivated to work harder so that they can achieve the light of the world that is being promised by the vision statement. Sharing a vision statement in an organization should not only involve agreeing to the right idea provided by it, but it means portraying the real image of what should be crucial in an organization. In a learning institution, the famous picture of the school should be that of trying to help the students perform better in education and excel. Therefore, as per the structured vision statement of Thirty-one Primary School, it carries the essential part of the business of the school which is helping the students have a better future as they learn. The staff should use the vision statement as a guideline tool which should guide them in making the decisions about teaching and educating the students since a shared vision helps in creating a common objective (Hefner, 2011). Also, the administrators should have the capacity to unite the stakeholders of the learning community under one shared vision. At Thirty-one primary school, the official keeps on reminding the stakeholders about the objective the vision statement of the school thus helping the learning community at the school to remain focused in achieving their main goal of making the future of the pupils brighter. Collective learning and application PLCs encourages collectively seeking of new knowledge and insist that ways of applying those techniques in the work place should be provided. Collaboration is the key component when it comes to the professional learning community (Hefner, 2011). Collaboration is an essential factor to schools as professional learning communities (Leonard & Leonard, 2003). A collaborative approach in Thirty-one Primary School has therefore been adopted when seeking new knowledge and all the stakeholders at the primary school are being involved in finding the solution to the implementation of the new knowledge that has been acquiring. To achieve this at Thirty-one Primary School, there is equalization of all stakeholders, and is involved in providing ideas about a problem and ideas on how the solution to the design will be implemented. Development at Thirty-one primary school is going to take a collaborative approach. Therefore, whenever there is an issue that has to be made at Thirty-one Primary School, stakeholders usually come together and contribute their views on the issue at hand. Every contribution from each stakeholder should be taken into consideration. Huffman & Hipp (2003) argue that teachers share information and work well in a collaborative approach, they become successful in the implementation of strategies that were relevant to students. As a result, ideas on ways to implement ideas should be developed by the stakeholders in a collaborative approach. 3) Dimensions of the PLC Process to be Addressed: Thirty one primary school has a weakness in the implementation of two dimensions of PLC practice. One of the dimension is the shared personal practice where the teachers have not adjusted to the modern ways of teaching since they are still in the traditional ways where they do it individually. On the other hand, the supportive conditions which include the collegial relationships and structural conditions of Thirty-one Primary School are poor. Therefore, weaknesses of the two dimensions needs to be addressed to support the implementation of the PLC practice. Shared Personal Practice PLC supports that teachers should help each other to improve their teaching practice. However, at Thirty-one Primary School, there is a weakness in shared personal practice dimension and teachers focus on their performance in teaching in an individual way as it has been the tradition. To ensure that private practice between teachers is shared, a complete shift from the traditional role of education is required. Therefore, the traditional roles of education where teachers cannot share their experience with other teachers in education should be discouraged (Morrissey, 2000). Shared personal practice is an important attribute of the PLC since colleagues in the workplace will be provided with opportunities in which they can gain support, constructive criticism and feedback from other stakeholders in a risk-free environment. According to Morrissey (2000), to ensure that shared personal practice dimension of the professional learning community is achieved in the teachers should visit their fellow teachers in the classes to get the practical experience of how their colleagues handle their lessons. Contrary to the provisions of the discussion above, educators at Thirty-one Primary School strive their own way and no sharing of personal practice between the teachers exist. The reason why there is no shared personal practice at Thirty-one Primary School, there is a competition between the teachers since the best teacher gets rewarded and they feel safe if they hide their tactics since they won’t be conquered and would receive the price for the best teacher. Following the PLC practice provisions, teachers should share their teaching practice with others which is not being done at Thirty-one Primary School. Supportive Conditions Supportive environment refers to the general environment where activities are conducted in the learning environment. Therefore, supportive conditions are the determinants of when, where and how the stakeholders in the education institution meet to make decisions, do the learning, solve problems and develop creative work which is in line with the characteristics of the PLC. According to Hord (1997), two types of supportive conditions exist within the PLC which include the structural conditions and the collegial relationships. In relation to the two supportive conditions, there exists some weakness in them in relation to Thirty-one Primary School and need to be addressed. In the structural conditions factors like time, staff development processes, communications procedures, the proximity of the teachers to the school and the size of the school are included. Therefore, time must be set in a way that learning, decision making and other work in the learning environment get the proper allocation to them (Hord, 1997). However, at Thirty one Primary School, there are issues that are regarded more critical than others thus making them receive more time allocation than others thus affecting proper allocation of time. In addition to this, the staff quarters is far from the school compared the reason being that teachers believe that they should live in a different environment after work and therefore placing them far from the school environment. Therefore, lack of proper time allocation and placement of the leaving quarters of the teachers far from the institution frustrates the provision of the dimension of the PLC which insists on creation of supportive structures and thereby indicating a weakness in the two. The collegial relationships include relationships that are caring, with increased trust and increased positive attitude towards the individuals. The collegial relationships at the in stitution are poor due to the competition that exists between the teachers thus making them to view their colleagues as threats. The structures developed in a school must be the ones that offer support to the view of the school since they will encourage innovation and effectiveness teaching (Hord, 1997). However, poor collegial relationships cannot help the teachers to learn from others in order to be innovative. Therefore, existence of poor relationship frustrates the provision of the dimension of the PLC practice which encourages existence of supportive conditions. Strategies to develop education culture at Thirty-one Primary School: Making clear focus of collective works: The strategy to be used in making clear focus of the collective works include communication of how the development process at the institution will be carried out. According to Hefner (2011), collaboration is crucial in the development of schools as a PLC. Therefore, the head of the school is going to make it clear that no one is above others when it comes to making decisions about the development processes of the school. Moreover, it should be clear to each and every stakeholder of Thirty-one Primary School that no one knows more than another person and when it comes to making a decision about the school and therefore al, are at the same levels. By doing this, everyone will have a chance to learn the development process and education culture will be developed. Consequently, through ensuring that there is a clear communication of the development process and making it clear that all staffs are at the same level in the institution when it comes to the development process, the stakeholders will be making decisions in a collective manner appreciating the contributions of everyone. Sharing vision and building trust The vision statement of Thirty-one Primary school is going to be communicated to everyone, and if need be, it will be restructured to ensure that what is done in the organization is to achieve the main objective described in the vision statement. As a result, the vision statement should be one that offers motivation to the stakeholders in their daily businesses of learning and teaching (Morrow, 2010). Consequently, there will be a culture that supports education since the vision statement will be structured and excelling in education as the primary objective of the institution. On the other hand, collegial relationships between the stakeholders will be encouraged and their importance communicated to the stakeholders of Thirty-one primary school. Workshops to educate the staffs on the importance of collegial relationships will be conducted and make them understand better the need to have trust in them. By doing this, increased trust will exist between the stakeholders and which will improve their collegial relationships and help them learn from each other thus improving the education culture. Peer classroom observation and instructional rounds A strategy where teachers will have to learn from their fellow teachers is going to be developed at Thirty-one primary. About this, time will be created when teachers will attend the classes which their colleagues are teaching and learn their strengths and weaknesses. For instance, those teaching languages will attend classes of another teacher who teaches language too. After the lesson is over, the teachers who participated in the lesson of the have attained some of the tactics that are being used by their fellow teacher. Professional Learning Community supports peer to peer observation as it helps in improving the skill as one learn from the other colleagues (Fullan, Hord, , & Von Frank, 2014). ). In addition to learning the tactics, they will offer instruction to the teacher on the instances where they noted that there was a mistake or he or she was not performing well. Therefore, the strategy of teachers learning from their fellow teachers will increase the education culture at Thirty-one Primary School. Changing behaviors Discipline is one of the primary factors that determine the performance of the school. Therefore, discipline should be encouraged at the institution and therefore apart from teaching, teachers will have an extra responsibility at Thirty-one primary school of ensuring that children at the institution behave accordingly. A school with disciplined students will always perform well (Boynton & Boynton, 2007). The importance of good behavior will be communicated to the students and also make sure that the students at the school know that their behavior. Therefore, as the teachers demonstrate the importance of changing behaviors and communicate the importance of good behaviors to a student, an education culture of the importance of good behaviors will be developed. Developing self-regulatory skill Staffs at Thirty-one Primary School should have clear information on what is expected and how the development process plus the information about how the institution things are run. Also, by encouraging everyone to be a leader in the school, it will ensure that they get self-regulatory skill since they will be responsible for their actions. Shared leadership increases the commitment of the stakeholders (Ciurysek, Handsaeme, Palko, Sterling, & Toth, 2012). Therefore, a strategy of bringing all parties concerned at one level will encourage them to learn what is needed and ensure that they are self-regulatory thus enhancing their self-regulatory skills. 4) Implementation of shared personal practice and supportive conditions Phase of Change Strategies (Keep/Stop/ Start) Timeline Person Responsible How do you know if successful? Shared Personal Practice Improving the teaching tactics of teachers. Attending lessons of fellow teachers. Holding meeting where each teachers share their experience. After work Meeting, for one hour/ every two weeks, during the school year The senior teacher Getting the feedback if the teacher’s teaching method is improving Supportive Conditions (Structures, Relationships) Improve the development structures by encouraging collegial relationships Ensuring that every issue is important and receives proper time allocation when discussed. Improve the collegial relationships by educating them on the importance of being innovative which can only exist if there is good relationship among them. After work Meeting, for one hour/ every month, during the school year The school Principal Comparing the satisfaction of the stakeholders before and after the program The development plan at Thirty one primary school will be communicated to every stakeholder at the institution to ensure that it receives support from them. Support from the stakeholders will assist in its implementation since lack of proper communication might frustrate the whole plan. The plan will work to continue strengthening the string dimensions of the PLC at the institution. On the other hand, it will help in the improving of the poor dimension addressed. Therefore, communication of the plan will help in strengthening the dimensions of the PLC and improve on the weak dimensions of PLC Thirty-one Primary School. References Boynton, M., & Boynton, C. (2007). Educator's Guide to Assessing and Improving School Discipline Programs (1st ed.). Alexandria: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development. Ciurysek, S., Handsaeme, S., Palko, L., Sterling, S., & Toth, W. (2012). Professional learning communities: A literature synopsis. University of Lethbridge. Retrieved from https://education.alberta.ca/apps/aisi/literature/pdfs/FINAL_Professional_Learning_Communities.pdf Fullan, M., Hord, S. M., & Von Frank, V. (2014). Reach the highest standard in professional learning: implementation. https://www.overdrive.com/search?q=CAC477B2-8CF7-42D4-A7BF-A0E348546439. Hefner, J. F. (2011). A case study of a professional learning community: An investigation of sustainability with a rural elementary school. Unpublished Doctoral dissertation, Appalachian State University, USA. Hipp, K., & Huffman, J. (2002). Documenting and examining practices in creative learning communities:Exemplars and non-exemplars. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED468685.pdf Hord, S. (1997). Professional learning communities (1st ed.). Austin, Tex.: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. Hord, S. M. (2004). Learning together, leading together: Changing schools through professional learning communities. New York [u.a.: Teachers College Press [u.a.. Huffman, J., & Hipp, K. (2003). Reculturing schools as professional learning communities (1st ed.). Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.co.ke/books?id=VcHbCJUNEaYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Re-culturing+schools+as+professional+learning+communities&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Re-culturing%20schools%20as%20professional%20learning%20communities&f=false Leonard, L., & Leonard, P. (2003). The continuing trouble with collaboration: teachers talk. Current issues in education, 6(1), 1-9. Morrissey, M. (2000). Professional learning communities: An ongoing exploration. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. Morrow, J. R. (2010). Teachers' perceptions of professional learning communities as opportunities for promoting professional growth. Unpublished Doctoral dissertation, Appalachian State University, USA. Stoll, L., Bolam, R., McMahon, A., Wallace, M., & Thomas, S. (2006). Professional learning communities: A review of the literature. Journal of Educational Change, 7(4), 221-258. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10833-006-0001-8 Read More