1

Establishing a Continuous Professional Learning Culture

Maria A Galindo

College of Education, Grand Canyon University

EAD-513: Shaping School Culture

Dr. Jarret Sharp

October 28, 2020

Establishing a Continuous Professional Learning Culture

Professional Learning Culture

Having teachers attend professional development (PD) establishes a culture of learners.

Teachers are role models for students, and gain new tools to implement in the classroom.

However, teachers must attend sessions that are meaningful to the students, PD they are willing

to implement shortly after attending, and able to share with their colleagues.

Professional Learning Topics

Prior to attending professional development, teachers will deliver a proposal to the

administrative team during a weekly professional learning community (PLC) meeting. Proposals

must include how the PD will support the campus mission and vision. Professional development

teachers attend will include incorporating technology outside of centers use. PD will support

student centered learning, student collaboration, and blended learning, to support all our students.

Professional Learning Shared

An email will be sent out by the curriculum coaches to share with teachers of an

opportunity to attend professional development. The expectation is that at least one member per

grade level attend the PD to create a committees of professionals to share what they learned.

After the committee attends PD, they will create a schedule of topics they will share with

teachers during weekly professional learning community meetings. During PLC, the expectation

is for the committee to apply what they have learned and provide opportunities for all teachers

practice their newly acquired strategy.

Implementation into Professional Practice

Reasons for having a committee share what they learned attending PD is so they decide

which strategy is the best to begin implementing. During PLC, teachers will receive everything
 3

they need to implement with the students. Teachers will have the opportunity to implement the

strategy for a month. The committee will receive feedback from teachers, and provide support as

needed. During administration walk-throughs and curriculum coach walk-throughs, teachers will

be evaluated on the implementation of new strategies. Feedback will be uploaded to a shared

documents channel through Teams. The committee will visit teachers during their scheduled

planning time at least once a week to gather feedback on the new strategy.

Providing Reflective Feedback

Teachers will implement a 30 for 30 meeting; meet for thirty minutes in thirty days, to

review teacher feedback, review notes from administrators and curriculum coaches, and any

notes they collected as a team. At the 30 for 30, pros and cons will be reviewed. Ideas to support

teachers struggling with implementing the strategy will be provided at a 30 for 30. During the

meeting the committee decides to implement a new strategy, or provide additional supports if

teachers are struggling in implementing the strategy.

Appropriate Timeline

Implementing a new strategy will be an ongoing process. The committee attending the

professional development must share what they learned within a month from attending PD. With

the integration of technology, the turnaround can be much quicker. The committee can share a

Nearpod code and finish with a Kahoot game to review the newly shared strategy. We will know

that strategy is working once students can complete the task on their own. Some will accomplish

this sooner than others, so a concrete timeline may not be appropriate. However, teachers can

move on to implementing a new strategy when ninety percent of their students can perform the

strategy independently.

Rationale
 4

What does it mean to have a professional learning culture through professional learning

communities? According to The Glossary of Education Reform, “A professional learning

community, or PLC, is a group of educators that meets regularly, shares expertise, and works

collaboratively to improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students.” (2014).

PLC provides those opportunities for teachers to share research-based strategies through

collaborative study and dialogue. PLC also provides the time to share data to ensure we are

implementing best practices with rigor and meaningful to the students. We share student work to

receive feedback on modifying or improving student work.

PLC is also great for teachers to share ideas to better their practice. PLC can hinder

implementing innovative practices if PLCs focus too heavily on common assessments and a

common understanding of what students are learning, leading to a common everything (Miller,

2020). Miller adds reviewing data is good, however, the purpose of PLCs are to share innovative

ideas to improve teaching skills. It is important to establish norms and have visuals to remind

teachers we are having PLCs to ensure student success through teamwork. “PLCs are the

lifeblood of innovation and risk taking in school. When structured well, they can be teams that

constantly learn together and work to discover what is best for students.” (Miller, 2020).

Professional learning communities should support the mission and vision of the campus.

Students should be the center of PLCs. As a campus, we need to focus on things that align to our

mission and vision, and things that will be shared and supported by our stakeholders. “It will

keep professional development relevant and focused and increase morale for the entire PLC.”

(Miller, 2011). PLCs will support a culture of learners by working collaboratively and sharing

our wealth of knowledge.

References

The Glossary of Education Reform. (2014). Professional Learning Community. Great Schools

Partnership. https://www.edglossary.org/professional-learning-community/

Miller, A. (2020). Creating Effective Professional Learning Communities. Edutopia.

https://www.edutopia.org/article/creating-effective-professional-learning-communities

Miller, A. (2011). Professional Learning Communities can Build School Culture from the

Ground Up. ASCD.org. 6(12). http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol6/612-

newvoices.aspx