I am currently consulting with a school district leadership team as they plan to introduce Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) systemwide next school year.  Quite often, I am consulting with teams looking to strengthen, change, or fix PLCs that too are just another meeting on teachers’ busy calendars. The effectiveness of PLCs doesn’t lie in their structure alone—it lies in the shared purpose driving them. Without clarity around the “WHY,” PLCs can easily become routine or compliance-based rather than transformative. Its great to be engaged at the early stage where we can define the compelling reasons for PLCs before laying out the design and process.

My first planning session is looking at arriving at an agreed upon WHY. I thought that readers of this blog who have PLCs in place might find some of the questions and information we are exploring valuable in having your building and teacher leaders revisit their purposes as this school year comes to a close or next year begins.

We will start and end our first session with this slide.

These questions shared at the start of our session will be discussed as the leaders combine their thinking with material presented.

• How do you currently see teachers collaborating to support each other’s professional growth and student learning?
• What specific student outcomes or learning experiences do you want to see improved or enhanced?
• In what ways do you believe collaboration among teachers could directly influence the learning environment you envision for students?
• What do you see as the primary purpose of PLCs?

As an opening discussion leaders will respond to these statements.

Richard DuFour – “A Professional Learning Community is a group of educators who are committed to working collaboratively in an ongoing process of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve.”

Michael Fullan – “PLCs are not just about teachers working together, but about building the conditions where educators continuously develop the skills, knowledge, and shared purpose necessary to create meaningful student learning experiences.”

Andy Hargreaves & Dennis Shirley – “A true PLC is not merely a group of teachers meeting regularly but a structure where continuous professional inquiry, shared responsibility, and a focus on student outcomes are embedded into the culture of the school.”

Shirley Hord – “PLCs are composed of professionals who work interdependently in reflective dialogue and take collective responsibility for student learning in a way that leads to continuous improvement.”

Roland Barth – “The most powerful form of professional development is a community of teachers learning together, challenging each other’s assumptions, and testing new approaches in a supportive environment.”

In addition, we will listen to a podcast excerpt with Mike Mattos and Dr. Anthony Muhammad, two of the authors of “Learning by Doing: A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities – Fourth Edition  where they points out:

“The P in the PLC stands for professional and professionals don’t just go through a rite of passage or some course of study to enter the field, but are expected to continue to evolve with the evolving knowledge base in the field. It’s the assumption that a research-based profession continues to grow.  When teachers get a chance to learn, experiment, and grow their professionalism, their effectiveness improves.”

My plan is to add two elements from my work in defining PLCs.

First will be considering how planning backwards from desired student outcomes establishes the work of PLCs. (My favorite PLC question: What do our students need us to learn?)

Secondly, differentiating Professional Working Communities (PWCs) from Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)

As we reach agreements around how PLCs could assist in reaching this system’s mission and vision, we will be able to start the design of PLC groups and initial processes for them to tap the collective wisdom and passion of educators to continuously improve student learning. Our future planning will focus on the creating professional culture where teachers grow alongside their students, driven by shared goals and a belief in their combined capacity to make a difference. With effective PLCs teachers move beyond silos and develop a collective sense of responsibility for all students’ learning, breaking down barriers that might otherwise limit progress.

In their book, “Change the Culture, Change the Game,” Roger Connors and Tom Smith present the Results Pyramid. It illustrates that our experiences foster beliefs, our beliefs influence actions, and our actions produce results.

https://training.hr.ufl.edu/resources/LeadershipToolkit/job_aids/ChangingCulture.pdf

In order to initiate a change of culture in an organization, leadership needs to begin its thinking by working backwards, starting with results. “What organizational results do we want and how do they compare to what we are getting?”  Knowing the results you want leads to the question, “What actions or behaviors on the part of your team members would lead to these results? Then, the leaders can ask themselves, “What would people need to believe in order to take these types of actions?”  That leads to the last question, “What experiences do we, as a leadership team, need to create for people to shape the types of beliefs that lead to the actions and behaviors that will help us accomplish the results we want?”

The Results Pyramid, parallels my Backwards Design Model for impacting student success.The Results are the desired student learning outcomes. The Actions are taken by teachers and students to achieve those results. Teachers’ and students’ Beliefs generate the needed actions. The Experiences that we provide teachers impact the Experiences they provide students to create the driving beliefs.

Instructional coaches and school leaders can use the pyramid to understand teachers’ current actions and desired results.

• Ask teachers to reflect on key experiences in their careers that have shaped who they are as educators. This could include pivotal moments with students, interactions with colleagues, professional development experiences, or challenges they’ve overcome.
• Guide teachers to think about the beliefs these experiences have fostered.
• Have teachers discuss how these beliefs impact their teaching philosophy, classroom management, instructional approaches and interactions with students.
• Ask teachers to consider how their beliefs influence their daily actions in the classroom. This could involve lesson planning, student engagement strategies, or how they address challenges.

An example of a teacher’s response:

“In my second year of teaching, I had a student named Jordan who was constantly disengaged and disruptive. I initially saw him as a ‘problem student’ and focused on discipline to manage his behavior. However, after a particularly challenging day, I decided to meet with him one-on-one. During our conversation, I learned that he was dealing with a lot of issues at home, which was affecting his behavior in school. This experience was a turning point for me. I realized that understanding the whole student, beyond just their academic performance, is crucial.

This led me to believe that every student has potential, but they may need different kinds of support to achieve it. Building strong relationships with students is foundational to effective teaching. It’s not just about delivering content; it’s about creating a safe and supportive environment where students feel understood and valued.

I prioritize getting to know my students on a personal level, understanding their backgrounds, and tailoring my approach to meet their individual needs. In terms of classroom management, I focus on creating a positive and inclusive classroom culture where students feel respected and heard.

These beliefs influence everything from how I greet my students at the door to how I design my lessons. I make a conscious effort to check in with students who seem withdrawn or upset. When addressing challenges, I remind myself to consider the underlying causes of behavior or disengagement, and I aim to respond with empathy and support rather than frustration.”

An instructional coach having these insights from a teacher would be positioned to coach with a clear understanding of what I label as the teacher’s agenda.

If a school leadership team believed that building stronger teacher student relationships (change) was an important action to impact student success, they would need to identify teachers’ past and current experiences that influence their beliefs and thus their actions. Hearing the experiences of others that impact beliefs and thus current actions can be an important starting point. The teacher in the example above sharing her experiences that impacted her belief (“that understanding the whole student, beyond just their academic performance, is crucial”)  would be a good starting point.

At times, leaders may have teachers implement an action designed to create an experience that could generate a future belief that leads to the desired teacher action being implemented voluntarily and purposefully.

Example: Teachers in grade level teams are asked to identify a group of students with insufficient engagement practices. Each teacher selects two students from the group to interview with the 4 S’s interview from Search Institute.  Time is scheduled for teachers to discuss their findings and insights and plan actions for connecting with the students. Debriefing these experiences with the whole staff can encourage more similar actions and new beliefs.

Consider how you might use the Results Pyramid as you plan for understanding teachers’ current practices and plan for changing actions.