Bringing Your Learning Community to Life
A Road Map for Sustainable School Improvement

First Edition

Edited by:

Stephen S. Kaagan - Michigan State University, USA
Linda Headley

Other Titles in:
Collaboration & Team Building | Professional Learning Communities | School Change, Reform, & Restructuring

February 2010 | 160 pages | Corwin

"This book is structured for the busy educator! The authors invite readers to journey toward professionalizing learning places. From the beginning of the journey (where ever you are) to the high points, low points, midpoint, and endpoints, the reader is transformed to the PLC way. A must-read for staff developers, instructional coaches, school improvement coordinators, and human relations specialists."
—Marian White-Hood, Director of Academics, SeeForever Foundation
Maya Angelou Public Charter School, Washington, DC

The do-it-yourself guide to creating and sustaining a professional learning community in your school or district!

How can you take the concept of a learning community from theory to the school building? This how-to guide walks you through the process of establishing a PLC step by step over a flexible timeline of nine to twelve months.

Leadership and organizational development specialists Stephen S. Kaagan and Linda Headley provide school and district leaders with a concrete road map and numerous tools for creating and sustaining a PLC focused on improving student learning. Readers will find everything they need to get a PLC up and running, including:

Specific tasks that help educators "learn by doing" as they create a PLC
Practice exercises for conducting productive meetings, building individual and group communication skills, and shaping the group's identity
Brief case studies of problems encountered by educators to spark discussion and support educators' growth as learners and leaders
Guidelines for appropriately pacing the chapters, tasks, and exercises with your faculty

Bringing Your Learning Community to Life is an invaluable manual for building capacity and creating an effective, sustainable PLC focused on continuous improvement.

Available Formats

ISBN: 9781412972970	Paperback	Suggested Retail Price: $39.95	Bookstore Price: $31.96
ISBN: 9781452271231	Electronic Version	Suggested Retail Price: $36.00	Bookstore Price: $28.80

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Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Preface

Section I. Laying the Foundation

1. Having Productive Discussions 101: Cultivating Individual Skills

Introduction

Ten Pillars of Productive Discussion

Interpreting the Pillars

Initial Self-Assessment

Practice Exercises 1-3

Conclusion

2. Having Productive Discussions 102: Cultivating Group Skills

Introduction

Practice Exercises 1-4

Self-Assessment Reprise

Future Use of the 10 Pillars

Conclusion

Section II. Putting Your New Skills to Work

3. Shaping a Group Identity

Introduction

Soul Searching via a Careful, Clean, and Crisp Culture Audit

Metaphor, the Path to the Future

Professional Learning Community Attributes

Ground Rules to Accompany the Attributes

Practice Makes Perfect

Conclusion

4. Small Moves Make a Big Difference

Introduction

Small and Different Moves Elaborated

Moving on the Small Moves

Putting It All Together

Conclusion

5. Sustaining Learning Community Growth

Introduction

Learning Strategies

The Power of Authentic Learning

Experiential Learning, a Complement to Authentic Learning

A Little Experience, a Lot of Learning Potential

Qualifying Experiences as Authentic

Making the Most of Experience for Learning

Outcome Narratives: Authentic Learning of Choice for Professional Learning Communities

Why Outcome Narratives Work

How Outcome Narratives are Developed and Used

Learning to Walk Before You Run

Conclusion

Additional Exemplary Outcome Narratives

Endnotes

Conclusion: Taking the Leap

Reproducible Resources

References

"This book is structured for the busy educator! The authors invite readers to journey toward professionalizing learning spaces. From the beginning of the journey (wherever you are) through the high points, low points, midpoint, and endpoint, the reader is converted to the PLC way. A must-read for staff developers, instructional coaches, school improvement coordinators, and human relations specialists."

Marian White-Hood, Director of Academics, See Forever Foundation

Maya Angelou Public Charter School, Washington, DC

“Excellent cases support and clarify each point, and the examples are very true to life and useful to the reader. The timeframes were also very true to life—change does not occur overnight, and the book clearly states this”

Ginnie Drouin, Principal

Alfred Elementary School, ME

Key features

Illustrates how to ensure that all staff development experiences are educationally authentic
Shows leaders how to engage staff in effective discussions, use a balanced approach for integrating discussion techniques with interactions that can have consequences for the school community
Provides a template for adapting and adopting principles of team leadership as a foundation for effecting staff collaboration—and makes these integral to all PLC efforts
Provides in-depth details about the small moves that principals and teachers can make as they undertake PLC work—including how to kick off meetings in ways that grab the attention of all participants, how to arrange meeting room furniture to encourage collaboration, and how to incorporate distributive leadership principles at every meeting
Shows how to use "Outcome Narratives" (brief cases connected to desired outcomes) as a staff development tool to spark conversation about hypothetical dilemmas, roles, and outcomes