Professional Learning Community Plan

To design a Professional Learning Community (PLC) for a high-leverage practice, the starting point is understanding that effective PLCs can be a great way for core principles of teacher practice to be developed and a great way to create a collaborative and reflective learning culture (Philip et al., 2019). Based on the insights from DuFour et al. (2016), which emphasizes learning by doing, the collaborative nature of PLCs, and the high-leverage practices from the TeachingWorks resource, here is a proposed plan.

PLC Focus: Using Formative Assessment to Guide Instruction

Objective

The objective is to develop and refine teachers' abilities to implement formative assessments effectively so as to improve student learning outcomes.

Participants

This PLC will involve teachers from various disciplines within a single school, allowing for cross-curricular learning and application.

Duration

The PLC will run throughout the academic year with bi-weekly sessions (90 minutes each).

Structure

1. Initial Workshop (Month 1)

Objective: Introduce the concept of formative assessments and their impact on student learning.

Activities:

Overview presentation by a lead...

Focused Development Sessions (Months 2-4)

Objective: Deep dive into specific formative assessment techniques and tools.

Activities:

Each session focuses on one technique...

…also use tools and software for creating and managing formative assessments. There should be a dedicated space for meeting and sharing resources as well (Moulakdi & Bouchamma, 2020).

Evaluation

Pre and post-assessment of teacher comfort and competence with formative assessments.

Student performance data before and after the implementation phase.

Teacher feedback on the PLC process and outcomes.

This PLC plan leverages the collective expertise and experiences of teachers, fosters a reflective practice, and focuses on a core area of teaching that impacts student learning directly. The iterative process of learning, applying, and reflecting ensures that the PLC is dynamic and responsive to both…