Modern professional learning links the Professional Learning Community (PLC) with the Professional Learning Network (PLN). Help teachers improve teaching by using both together in powerful ways.
An Excerpt from Modern Professional Learning: Connecting PLC's with PLN's
Great teaching knowledge dies every day. It retires. It leaves. Perhaps the secret of saving this knowledge lies in a unique melding of two professional learning practices that teachers use today: the professional learning community (PLC) and the professional learning network (PLN). Someone must pass along the knowledge. Someone must “build the craft.” Excellent craftsmanship throughout history often happened in places where large professional networks grew.
The same is true today.
The Professional Learning Community
The PLC has long been a mainstay of excellent schools. Jonathon Saphier(PDF) found:
The reason professional learning communities increase student learning is that they produce more good teaching by more teachers more of the time. Put simply, PLCs improve teaching, which improves student results, especially for the least advantaged students.
Typically a Professional Learning Community is “a group of educators that meets regularly, shares expertise, and works collaboratively to improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students.”
But this isn't a “book group.” A PLC is made up of “a school's professional staff members who continuously seek to find answers through inquiry and act on their learning to improve student learning.” (Huffman and Hipp 2003)
Why PLCs Are Effective
But, there’s a new element of PLCs and their ability to improve teaching.Matthew Kraft and John Papay (PDF) found…
Read the rest of the article on Edutopia
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Good post, Vicki! I have to admit, you’re right about the lack of new ideas when it comes to learning communities, even if it’s a bit hard to admit.