Page 368 - DEDU503_EDUCATIONAL_MANAGEMENT_ENGLISH

Educational Management

Notes 28.5 Characteristics of a PLC

A PLC is not a model, it is an approach or process. Most PLC definitions assume a set of characteristics
that reflect the nature of a true PLC. An understanding of these characteristics provides educators
with a shared lens through which to examine their own PLCs. They also can provide an infrastructure
for shaping practice and assessing progress. A brief description of some of the most commonly cited
characteristics follow :
(i) Shared values and vision : Teachers and administrators share a vision focused on student
learning and a commitment to improvement. The vision is used as a context for decision making
about instructional practice and collaborative learning efforts. The vision statement should
result in a collective responsibility for and an unwavering focus on student learning.
(ii) Collaborative culture : PLCs are based on the premise that through collaboration, professionals
achieve more than they could alone. Teachers benefit from the resources that each brings to the
PLC. Collaboration provides a mechanism for sharing responsibility for student learning and a
means to work together toward a common purpose. Collaboration (e.g., opportunities for teachers
to engage in ongoing collegial opportunities where they talk about teaching, receive frequent
feedback on teaching, design classes together, teach each other, etc.) has been found in successful
schools and is missing in unsuccessful schools.
(iii) Focus on examining outcomes to improve student learning: PLCs promote results-oriented
thinking that is focused on continuous improvement and student learning (Reichstetter, 2006).
The focus goes beyond a team getting together to look at data. In PLCs, teachers respond to
data that require mutual accountability and changing classroom practices. Data help motivate
teachers to see what is happening and what they need to do collectively (White & Mclntosh,
2007).
(iv) Supportive and shared leadership : PLCs often are viewed as a foundation for developing
teacher leaders (Caine & Caine, 2000). Administrators are committed to sharing decision making
with teachers and providing opportunities for them to serve as leaders. Leadership is shared
and distributed among formal and informal leaders. The purposes and goals of a PLC grow
from among the participants, based on their values, beliefs, and individual and shared
experiences. Teacher leadership capacity sustains PLCs. Sharing power and authority with
teachers through decision making and shared leadership increases leadership capacity and
builds a belief in the school’s collective ability to affect student teaching.
(v) Shared personal practice: A major focus of PLCs is on professional learning in which teachers
work and learn together as they continually evaluate the effectiveness of their practices and the
needs, interests, and skills of their students. Teachers share experiences, observe each other,
and discuss teaching. Shared practice and collective inquiry help sustain improvement by
strengthening connections among teachers, stimulating discussion about professional practice,
and helping teachers build on one another’s expertise. Through continuous inquiry and reflective
dialogue teachers discover solutions and address student needs.

28.6 Supports are Necessary to Develop and Sustain a PLC

It can be difficult to build and sustain PLCs. While organizing into small collegial groups may
improve school culture, it does not necessarily result in improved instruction and student
achievement.
PLCs require organizational structures and supports to be successful (Supovitz & Christman, 2003).
A summary of two often-cited supports follows :
• Supportive leadership
• Structural supports

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