Page 370 - DEDU503_EDUCATIONAL_MANAGEMENT_ENGLISH

Educational Management

Notes to keep people involved and informed (e.g., meetings to discuss problem areas and new ideas,
schoolwide announcements and distribution of information) also are in place.
Perhaps the most significant resource that is required is time-PLCs require sufficient time to meet
and talk. Numerous strategies have been attempted to provide structured time. Examples include :
(i) Classes are scheduled to create common planning periods.

(ii) Particular school days are extended to bank time for professional learning.
(iii) The schedule is built so that teachers are freed up by “specials” (music, art, physical education,
student assemblies, etc.).
(iv) Monthly faculty meetings and district professional development days are used for PLCs.
(v) Combine classrooms to free teachers to meet. This should only be done when the teacher who
is covering the class has expertise in the instructional content.
(vi) The schedule is adjusted. For example, every other Thursday, student start time is delayed 20
minutes; classes start late one day and teachers arrive 30 minutes earlier on that day.

Self Assessment
2. State whether the following statements one ‘True or False’ :
(i) The PLC concept is relatively new, having grown out of the work in the mid-1990s to reculture
schools by examining the effects of school organization on teachers’ work and their
commitment to school improvement.
(ii) Today, PLCs have at their cover a belief in teacher leadership and involvement in school
improvement efforts.
(iii) A PCL is a model, it is not an approach or process.
(iv) Focus on examining does not outcome to improve student learning
(v) It can be difficult to build and sustain PLCs.

28.7 Summary

• In the context of school improvement, Professional Learning Communities (PCLs) shift the
focus of school reform from restructuring to reculturing.
• The PLC concept is relatively new, having grown out of the work in the mid-1990s to reculture
schools.
• Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) shift the focus of school reform from restructuring
to reculturing.

• In some schools, PLCs are extended to community members and students, as appropriate.
Through participation in PLCs, teachers enhance their leadership capacity while they work as
members of ongoing, high-performing, collaborative teams that focus on improving student
learning.
• A PLC is more than simply a collection of teachers working together or a social network of
educators who share stories, materials, and advice.
• The PLC concept is relatively new, having grown out of the work in the mid-1990s to reculture
schools by examining the effects of school organization on teachers’ work and their commitment
to school improvement.
• Today, PLCs have at their core a belief in teacher leadership and involvement in school
improvement efforts.

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