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For professional learning to be most effective it should be done in the context of a school-based community. These groups could be grade-level, content area, or a Critical Friends Group structure.

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The only example of this I have experienced in my school are monthly department meetings, but very little professional learning actually occurs.  The best professional learning community I have been apart of was a two-week study tour of Germany with 15 teachers from all over the country.  We still communicate and share our struggles and successes and it has become a great place for feedback.

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As a leader I would strive to build in time or provide information about genuine professional learning communities within my school. Whether sharing about a professional learning structure or building in meeting or planning time for teachers to build community, the opportunities need to be made readily available to teachers.

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Learning Communities use data, goal-setting, implementation, and evaluation to create a consistent cycle of inquiry and professional learning.

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In my school, teachers are divided into PLCs that focus on Reading, Math, or Climate.  Each PLC is responsible for collecting and analyzing data, helping to support school goals, and provide professional development for the rest of the staff.

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I enjoy being a part of the PLCs in my school.  I think that as a leader I would provide the opportunity for teachers to participate in similar learning communities  However, I would be interested in hearing from teachers to see if there is an area of common interest that could become a PLC that is not previously determined (like Reading, Math, Climate).

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Learning Communities strengthen the practice and increase student data through daily meetings, research, implementation and continuous improvement.

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One example I can think of is the Reading PLC I am a part of at school. We have w other PLCs Math and Climate. On our reading PLC we have been trying to increase student achievement in reading through motivating the students. As a PLC we researched different activities and programs and then divided them up and implemented to see which were most effective. We then choose 3 to work on as a school.

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I think to implement these we would need to focus on the student achievement and how the staff could best meet the needs of all the students to achieve.

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Learning communities form for an extended period of time in order to thoroughly evaluate how to "increase effective teaching in the classroom" All participants of the community are to view any member's problem as their own. Taking ownership of struggles faced not only by ourselves but by our peers helps to strengthen the entire student community. Additionally this view builds camaraderie across faculty by creating an accountability system for each other.

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Our school has gone through many cycles of PLC's and trying out various different structures. This year they have asked that we form small PLC's within our departments, but they have also offered one or two large-scale PLC's that is voluntary, and for MSDE credit. They seem to be covering both ends of the spectrum by making a small mandatory group that is manageable to share data and lessons struggles once each month with one or two other teachers, but also offering an opportunity that is structured more like a class for teachers across various curriculum to work together.

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I think that they way that our learning communities have been created is a good start to making them a more normal part of our professional experience. By providing teachers with the structure to start small with something directly relevant as class data, but also to create an opportunity for a large scale learning community to investigate further into bigger topics. The next step would likely be to reach out to teachers that did not participate in the current PLC to see if there is a different program that may engage them at the next opportunity.

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Learning communities should be school based and relevant to the school needs. The staff should be vulnerable and open to change. Learning communities should involve determining a problem and researching data, implementation, evidence, and evaluation. They should "share collective responsibility for learning of all students" and should meet frequently in order to have a positive impact.

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In our school, every other Monday after school we meet in "committees". Each committee is assigned a certain subject (climate, ELA, Math, etc). We study data and address what we notice. Then we talk about the changes that should be made and discuss ideas on how to implement. At the end of the time, we come back together to share with the school.

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In order to create this as a leader, you should first educate your staff on why this is an important part of professional learning.  When staff understands how it is relevant to their school and class, they are more motivated and willing to implement changes and meet with colleagues in learning communities. It is also important to make sure there is time for staff to meet with their learning communities. When you are chipping away at their planning time, they are not motivated and probably won't take it as serious.

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Learning communities should include a comfortable environment focusing on the success of students.  All members of the LC should contribute, reflect, and participate for optimal student growth.

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The PLC I am involved in at work is for AVID.  The PLC meetings usually consist of the coordinator explaining what our school needs to do to meet the plan.  There is very little collaboration and cohesiveness.

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Creating this as a leader would be challenging.  I know that I personally am bored at these meeting and often multi-task. I would try to incorporate some collaboration within the meetings so teachers can communicate with each other and bounce ideas off of each other.

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Learning Communities include a group of teachers with a collective responsibility to make gains. There is a shared common interest or theme for the learning community. They will look at and analyze data and then create goals to increase student performance. There is constant reflection and discussion between the group in an attempt to lead to personal teacher development and student growth.

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I have been involved in the IGE 3/4 PLC for two years. We have monthly full day meetings where we discuss best practice for young learners to increase fidelity across classrooms. The coaches collected baseline data to see what was happening in each classroom to make decisions on content for the following months. There was also a self-efficacy piece that rated your personal comfort level with evidence based practices. Each classroom/school was assigned a coach to come out and check in and support.
I am also leading a PLC for Early Childhood on a book titled, Choice Time. This is an optional cohort for teachers.

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As a leader in order to create a meaningful LC I think it is important to understand your staff. Gather data from them about what would be beneficial for them or for students. Incorporating incentives to get people motivated to join. I would aspire that as the community develops they become intrinsically motivated to want to be participants because they are developing more skills.

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Learning communities are made of stakeholders (can be teachers, students, administrators, teachers, etc) who hold each other accountable for learning. Some important notes - the communities must convene regularly, members must hold each other accountable, technology can provide a means for people who are physically distant from each other to still be in a community together.

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We have had PLCs in my school before, (and currently have something similar but it's called something else) but after reading about them I'm not sure we met the requirements. According to the reading, members use data to create goals and then move through the process from there. In our PLCs, we were given a list to choose from, and if too many people chose the same community, people were switched out by the administrators. Meetings are also cancelled from time to time, so there isn't true regularity.

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I think the most important aspect for a learning community to be successful is choice. Teachers must be given leeway to choose a topic or issue in which they are interested in improving. Secondly, there must be time built into the day for the communities to meet; this can't be something else on the plate of the teachers.

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After reading the article, I think a good way to explain the benefits of learning communities is that they bridge the knowing-doing gap by making sure that the policies that govern the school are supporting the skills and knowledge needed to run the school efficiently and successfully. The learning that takes place in learning communities is quickly dispersed throughout the school culture because is it focused on the community supporting everyone learning not just the individual striving for their own goals.

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I do think that there is a lack of learning communities in our schools. The pace of teaching is so hectic and high stakes now that it has fostered an every man for himself mentality. This is counter productive. I see this plainly after reading the article.

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I think that the more I highlight partnerships and group efforts the more teacher's will shift their practice to a more community based learning design. Also offering opportunities and time for teachers to work together on projects that align with the school systems curriculum guidelines and goals.

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I thin that one important thing I should do as a leader to foster learning communities in my school is to understand the goals of the community and help people with like goals come together to develop ways to learn how to reach their common goal.