As a leader, how do you build collaborative professional learning communities?
Being a team is not the same things as forming a team. If I have learned anything about implementing authentic PLCs (Professional Learning Communities) it is that the hard work of looking at student and teacher work, designing quality common formative assessments, and reviewing and responding to to data cannot be done well without first building a strong collaborative team. There is no bypassing this. Time spent team building, learning about each other's styles and preferences in working as part of a team, norm setting, and constructing community knowledge is never time spent in vain. Quite the contrary; failure to do these things promotes dysfunctional, ineffective PLCs with members who, at best, go through the motions of engaging in the requisite Essential Tasks with little or no impact on student learning. With no real gains observed, inauthentic PLCs soon revert back to the old ways of the comfortable, if ineffective, status quo.
Once a solid, collaborative foundation is established, PLCs are ready to do the heavy lifting of looking at student and teacher work, designing quality common formative assessments, and reviewing and responding to data, and they stand a good chance of doing them with fidelity so that student learning can actually improve. Well-established teams can tackle any obstacle that may arise as they pursue....
From: The Practice of Authentic PLCs by Daniel R. Venables
Published by: Corwin Press
"Time spent team building, learning about each other's styles and preferences in working as part of a team, norm setting, and constructing community knowledge is never time spent in vain."
ReplyDeleteAs a leader it is important to factor in the time necessary to build a team. Joining a staff as a new member will require a focus on establishing and building a personal relationship in order to move ahead as a member of an effective learning community. It will be crucial to get to know the staff and the areas of strength found in each person and to tap into the wealth of expertise which will enrich the knowledge base of the entire team.
I think that sometimes we feel the pressure of time and want things done quickly. Sometimes time pressures are also imposed on us. As leaders, we need to be able to slow time down and make sure that we are actually team building. We may need to do some "gate keeping" on issues that come our way so that we are working with teams on the more important ones and not every issue. I think that creating and budgeting time in the efforts of team building is a great challenge, but one that needs to happen.
ReplyDeleteHeather and Pam....I really like the way you focus on wise use of time and not rushing things. There is often a temptation as a leader to be expeditious and get things done quickly because new issues/tasks are always emerging. However, you've identified the need not to get caught up in a focus on efficiency and in the meantime, lose the essential aspect of building collaborative teams. This demands knowledge of HOW to do this and the skills to be able to deliver on it.
ReplyDeleteI think that there are two factors to consider - one that the relationship building and knowing your staff's strengths and needs is very important and takes an invesment of time. Our most saught after element. Another consideration is having valued team members as part of the leadership team to support this learning process and to facilitate the team building within a school. It is not common to convince all staff members that the PLC components and benefits are valuable at the same time and for the same reasons. Sometimes it takes the shared vision, supported collaborative planning, pressure and support to bring opinions around. We are always trying to focus on the benefits for the students and always celebrating the successes along the way. It seems that trying something new and taking a risk is a greater challenge for some people, this is where the knowledge about the individual staff members and the relationships can be very important. When a team is working well together there is a a high level of potential to achieve many goals.
ReplyDeleteThe comments relating to relationship building are imperative when we are trying to build community. Creating trust among staff is essential so everyone is valued. When staff feel they can be honest and know they will not be judged in a negative manner there are many more of these courageous conversations about the strengths and areas of concern. When trying new concepts or becoming a new member of a team many are apprehensive to share concerns. This is where facilitating the conversation is important. Facilitating the direction we are going and having staff buy in creates shared ownership and therefore a positive climate. The areas around time are essential; it does take time to build trust. For me this relates back to open communication, building relationships and creating the trust so we can facilitate the direction.
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