RSA #1 Professional Learning Communities

RSA #1: Professional Learning Communities

OnlineArticle: http://www.jstor.org/stable/23043935

Rich DuFour’s article, “Work Together But Only if You Want To,” contains multiple references are made referring to the need of all professions, specifically teachers, to work together. Professionals in other fields, and their clients, benefit when teams, “convened in collaborative meeting to make sure they were pursuing common objectives according to their established plan. They monitored progress toward clearly defined benchmarks and observed agreed-on protocols for identifying and solving identifies problems.” (DuFour R. , 2011)  DuFour continues to define and describe additional conditions necessary, and why, teaching staff should come together in Professional Learning Communities. Autonomy is not the best route to take, and in the end, the students reap the benefit of these communities.

Patterson (with 16 additional contributors) continues this discussion in her research article, “Learning Communities in 6-8 Middle Schools: Natural Compliments or Another Bandwagon in the Parade?” The improvement of overall learning and success, for these middle school students is the basis for this study. Two separate, but connected, learning communities are introduced, Professional and student. Patterson cites multiple references to reasoning, the most notable, to DuFour and the Professional Learning Community. Referencing DuFour and Eaker (1998) and Eaker, DuFour, and DuFour (2002) Patterson noted: “continuous improvement occurs when faculty and staff have formed collaborative teams and are actively engaged in ongoing dialogue about the school’s mission and purpose. Collective inquiry, active research, taking risks, and experimentation are part of the school’s culture.”  (Patterson, 2006) The referencing to teams and communities is ongoing. Groups are not included, as a group can be going in the same direction, but a team will only succeed if the entire team succeeds. One member of the group can still claim autonomy. DuFour discusses the differences in groups and teams in seminars, as noted in a video recording thereof. (DuFour R. , 2009) 

Overall the point was made by Patterson that, staff must have a, unifying understanding behind a learning community, and only changing at the structural level will not transform the environment as intended.

Both articles discuss the need for change at the structural level. Discussion was introduced to identify what constituted the Professional Learning Community (PLC), and progress of the PLC. Finding reference to DuFour is prevalent, one just need look. The implementation of Learning Communities, in general, is not a bandwagon to jump on, but an ideal to be embraced for the good of the student.

References

DuFour, R. (2009, October 9). Rich DuFour on Groups vs. Team. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hV65KIItlE&list=PLDF0066D5704B79AA. Solution Tree.

DuFour, R. (2011, February). Work Together But Only if You Want To. Kappan Magazine 92 (5), pp. 57-61.

Patterson, J. A. (2006, May). Learning Communities in 6-8 Middle Schools: Natural Compliments or Another Bandwagon in the Parade? Middle School Journal Vol. 37, No. 5, pp. 21-30.