This document discusses learning communities and professional learning communities (PLCs) in educational settings. It provides definitions and explanations of learning communities as groups that share interests and goals of learning. PLCs are described as groups of educators united in their commitment to student learning, who collaborate and make decisions together. Steps for schools to become effective PLCs include determining readiness, using external facilitators, identifying barriers and boosters, and starting with a focus on learning. The role of the school librarian in supporting PLCs includes developing relationships with teachers, communicating expectations, and empowering collaboration.

1. LIB 604 Libraries in the School Curriculum
Spring 2013
What is a Learning
Community?

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What is a learning community?
What is a Learning Community?
A learning community is a group of people who
share a common interest in a topic or area, a
particular form of discourse about their
phenomena, tools and sense-making approaches
for building collaborative knowledge, and valued
activities.
 Professional Development Through Learning Communities
http://www.edutopia.org/professional-development-through-learning-
communities
 Kathleen P. Fulton and Margaret Riel

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Learning communities in higher ed
A more specialized use of the term
 A learning community is a group of students who take
two or more courses together. Students explore how
what they learn in one course can help them more fully
understand what they are learning in other courses. . . .
Each Learning Community enrolls no more than 25
students. Learning Communities give you the
opportunity to get to know other students and the
faculty. They also can help make the transition to
college easier and more enjoyable.
 Learning Communities - Frequently Asked Questions

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Can schools be learning communities?
Schools as Learning Communities
 When people come together and work toward a
common goal, a community is formed. In schools,
that goal is learning. It seems almost trite to label
schools as learning communities; of course schools
bring groups of diverse people together with a
common goal of student learning. Schools reflect
the inherent characteristic of “community.”
 Professional Learning Communities Hold Promise
for Schools
October 2006

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What is a learning community?
A community where all are learners
 A learning community works together to
facilitate participation by all members of
the school community. We work together
and inspire one another to create, develop
and share knowledge, each one assuming
the complementing roles of leader, teacher,
and learner at various points in time.
 What is a learning community?
(scroll down the page to see the definition)
© Wellspring LEARNING COMMUNITY

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It’s all in Dewey!
John, not Melvil!

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Maybe we need some PLC
PLC?
 The term professional learning community
describes a collegial group of administrators
and school staff who are united in their
commitment to student learning. They share a
vision, work and learn collaboratively, visit and
review other classrooms, and participate in
decision making (Hord, 1997b). The benefits to
the staff and students include a reduced
isolation of teachers, better informed and
committed teachers, and academic gains for
students.
 Professional Learning Community

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3 Cs of a PLC 1
The First C: Conversation
 In a PLC, conversations become the lifeblood of
organizational learning, and the nature of those
conversations can differ markedly from the types of
conversations typically found in “business as usual” schools.
What distinguishes conversation in a professional learning
community? Primarily two things: the purposeful nature of
the conversations and the underlying structure within
which they occur.
 A purposeful conversation, in this context, is a conversation
that has some underlying goal related to teaching and
learning.
 The Role of Conversation, Contention, and
Commitment in a Professional Learning Community

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3 Cs of a PLC 2
The Difficult C: Contention
 When educators are asked to make collaborative
decisions, there are bound to be differences of opinion.
 The kinds of organizational learning purported to result
from building community among teachers are deeply
linked to how they manage the difference amid their
collaboration. The processes of conflict are critical to
understanding what distinguishes a professional
community that maintains stability and the status quo
from a community engaged in ongoing inquiry and
change.
 The Role of Conversation, Contention, and
Commitment in a Professional Learning Community

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3 Cs of a PLC 3
The Ultimate C: Commitment
 Purposeful conversations will inevitably lead to some
level of contention, but in a professional learning
community the participants can ultimately deal with
contention by relying on an underlying level of
commitment to common goals. For a true professional
learning community, these are likely to include a
commitment to ensuring student learning, a belief in
the power of true collaboration, a model of distributed
leadership and decision-making, and an ongoing
process of reflection and inquiry.
 The Role of Conversation, Contention, and
Commitment in a Professional Learning Community

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How do we get PLC?
Becoming a community
1. Determine School and Staff
Readiness
 The openness and availability of the principal is a
significant indicator of readiness at a school.
 The overall climate of acceptance, growth, and
learning among teachers is another important facet of
readiness. . . . This is not to say that all teachers must
be enthusiastic about making changes; rather, it is an
acknowledgment that such efforts will be more of a
struggle, and will take more time, if a climate of
distrust, disrespect, or disengagement exists.
 First Steps

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Getting PLC
Another First Step
2. Consider the Use of an
External Change Facilitator
 Much of an external change facilitator’s
work with schools developing as
professional learning communities centers
around becoming acquainted with the
school staff and assessing their way of
operating as it relates to their school
improvement goals.

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Becoming PLC
More Steps
3. Identify Barriers and Boosters
4. Begin with the Learning
 One powerful strategy is to identify a
“problem” and then bring the staff together at
regular intervals to learn together how to deal
with the problem or goal and engage in
dialogue about that learning. . . . Once a
school has identified its point of focus for
improvement, that particular subject can be
used as a catalyst for learning.

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The role of the school
librarian in a PLC
Developing Teacher Contacts
Survive and Thrive
 Strategies for Leadership and
Collaboration
Consider some advice from the
popular “Traveling Pants” series for
young adults... “take up some space,
girl.”
• Developed by Annette Lamb, and
Larry Johnson. 2005 - 2008.

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Collaboration Words O’Wisdom
From Deb Logan:
 Teachers 1st!  Talk the talk.
 Mum’s the word…  Walk the walk.
 Do the work…  Bend: don’t break!
 “Help me help you…”  Celebrate!
 I’ll come to you…  Evaluate!
 Schmooze!  SHOUT!
 Be the geek!

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But will the teachers cooperate?
Where Does Your Authority Come From?
Collaboration rooted in trust and respect among
committed adults is the most essential condition for
meaningful change in any organization.
Specialists must communicate the vision and
expectations for student learning in the library media
center so that teacher and student alike are clear on
what is expected when they work in this environment.
 Empowering the Library Media Specialist as a
True Partner in Student Achievement
by Allison Zmuda

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Integrating the PLC concept
http://schools.nycenet.edu/offices/teachlearn/sls/Handbook_Section1_VisionMissionGoalsExpectations.
pdf

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