Professional Learning
Communities (PLC’S)
Scholars in Action: The
2011 UNI Symposium on
Research, Scholarship and
Creative Activity
Getting Started

Session Facilitators
–
–

Mary C. Herring, PhD
College of Education - Interim Associate Dean
Kelly Jones, LISW
School Improvement Consultant, GWAEA
Recorder
–
Stacey Snyder, Teacher Quality Partnership
Project Manager/Instructional Designer
Outcomes



Create a shared understanding of the
benefits and outcomes of PLC’s
Reflect on the current state of PLC’s at
UNI and the desired future
Identify how the attributes of PLC’s might
better support faculty in their teaching,
scholarship, and professional
development
Developing an Understanding

Review Components of PLC’s
Figure 1:1

While watching youtube video, what ideas
are presented that correspond with the
components on Figure 1:1?

DuFour: Professional Learning Communities
Self Reflection

On your index card do the following:
Formulate a “hypothesis” about how the
PLC contributes to your learning and
teaching practices?
Paired Sharing


Find a partner to form a pair
Each partner share their
“hypothesis”
Text Expert

Membership in the Community of Professional
Learners and Professional Learning Community
Benefits

Professional Learning Communities: What Are
They and Why Are They Important?

Each partner choose a different text to read
Record, Reflect and Share



Record on your index card, 3-4 key ideas
from your text and share them with your
partner
Individually reflect on your learning and
hypothesis
Share with your partner what impact this
learning had on your hypothesis
Thinking about UNI



Find another pair and form a quad
Identify a facilitator, recorder, timekeeper
and reporter
As a group, respond to the reflective
questions and record on poster paper
Reflective Questions


What have you observed, heard,
experienced at UNI that reflects the
attributes of a PLC?
If your group could have whatever it
wanted (do not consider time or
resources); how might UNI embrace the
attributes of PLC’s to better support
faculty in their teaching, scholarship, and
professional development?
Current Reality and Desired Future



Reporter for each quad share one item
from the first question. Continue till all
items from each group are reflected on
the public notes
Repeat the process for the second
question
Stacey will record on Google Doc