Professional Learning Communities

Now that's a big idea.

DuFour colleague Tom Many spent August 20th in the Mid-Prairie District providing his expertise to Mid-Prairie teachers, associates and administrators.  During the morning Tom conducted a workshop for district staff that addressed "why" Mid-Prairie is embarking on this journey.  The afternoon saw Tom working with the Instructional Leadership Team and the principals advising them on ways to more fully implement the PLC philosophy and practices.

To me, at its most basic form, the "why" is simple: Learning for all students occurs best when it happens in a collaborative culture centered around a shared vision and common goals facilitated by interdependent educators focused on continuous improvement who believe they are mutually accountable for student achievement results.  Easy to say, hard to do.

I am grateful to the Instructional Leadership Team.  They spent the last year developing their leadership capacity in order to facilitate the work in their schools.  Members went to conferences the last two summers in Lincolnshire and Minneapolis sponsored by Solution Tree and met frequently during the last twelve months studying the book "Learning By Doing."  It's time to take the next steps.

I'm sure the journey won't be easy.  But I have faith in our staff, even after all these years, they still surprise me with their efforts and accomplishments.

It's now your turn, Mid-Prairie educators.  Do you share my excitement?  What critical questions do you have?  How can I assist you as we begin our new adventure together?

Professional Development

Bill Ferriter teaches 6th grade language arts in North Carolina, where he was named a Regional Teacher of the Year for 2005-2006.

The link below takes you to a blog post written by Bill Ferriter.  In it he is highly critical of past professional development offered by his district.  His district moved toward Professional Learning Communities (PLC).  Do you share his enthusiasm for PLCs?  Why or why not?  What are the positives of PLCs, the negatives?  What are the "traps" to avoid that hinder the success of PLCs?

http://teacherleaders.typepad.com/the_tempered_radical/2007/09/i-finally-drank.html

Randy Rodgers on Creativity

Short video about creativity.  Does creativity get short-changed?  In what ways do you or would you like to develop student creativity and higher levels of learning in the classroom?  What can the school district do to help you?

If the video doesn't appear, this is the url: http://bit.ly/gfWQqU

Thanks, Beth, for the video idea.

Teacher Salary Plans

Last night, I had a short Twitter exchange with Jason Glass, the new Iowa Department of Education Director.  He posted a link to an article about an Innovation Acceleration Fund created in Tennessee to give incentives to school districts willing to experiment with alternative teacher salary plans.  Here is the link to that article: http://trunc.it/ecd5r

I think it is common knowledge that one of the reasons Governor Branstad appointed Mr. Glass to the DE position is because of his past work in promoting and creating alternate teacher salary plans.  What do you think?  What are the pros and cons of paying teachers with current salary schedules?  What "landmines" do you think exist in trying to change the way teachers are paid?  What advice do you have for Mr. Glass?  And most importantly, do you think changing the way teachers are paid will result in better student learning/achievement?

Replying anonymously (respectfully) is always an option. 

 

Brian Crosby - Back to the Future

 

Cool ideas in a fourth grade classroom.  Comment below:  What barriers are in the way that prevent more activities like this from happening in MP's or Keota's PK-12 classrooms?  How could those barriers be removed?

You can post a comment by clicking on the word "comments."  Don't forget to click the "Post Comment" button.

If the video does not appear above - this is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66mrAzz7nLw