Revisiting Professional Learning Communitis at Work: New Insights for Improving Schools

This 10th anniversary sequel to the author's best-selling book, Professional Learning Communities at WorkTM: Best Practices for Enhancing Student Achievement (DuFour & Eaker, 1998), is a merger of research and practice. It offers educators specific, practical recommendations for transforming their schools into professional learning communities so their students learn at higher levels and their profession becomes more rewarding, satisfying, and fulfilling. The authors examine research, practices, and standards in education, as well as organizational development, change processes, leadership, and successful practices outside of education. They provide core information on the professional learning community concept, along with new insights gleaned from their work with leaders in education and in real schools and districts across North America. They encourage educators to undertake the challenging but rewarding process of building their collective capacity to create schools and districts that operate as high-performing professional learning communities. This volume features a detailed chapter on the rise and fall of school reform, information on assessment, strategies for intervention and enrichment, and chapters on the roles of classroom teachers, the principal, the central office, and parents and the community in a professional learning community.

The most extensive, practical, and authoritative professional learning community resource to date, it goes further than ever before into best practices for deep implementation, explores the commitment/consensus issue, and celebrates successes of educators who are making the PLC journey.

Benefits

• Discover specific, practical recommendations for transforming schools into PLCs so that students learn at higher levels.


• Connect descriptions of the PLC framework with real-life examples from educators who have implemented the concept.


• Reinforce core beliefs of the PLC concept while tackling the misconceptions and common problems educators face during the transition to a PLC.


• Examine organizational development, change processes, leadership, and successful practices outside education for different perspectives.


• Understand the roles of the principal, central office, parents, and community in a PLC.

Contents
1 New Insights Into Professional Learning Communities at Work
2 The Rise and Fall of School Reform
3 Making the Case for Professional Learning Communities
4 The Challenge of Cultural Change
5 Clear Mission and Shared Vision
6 Shared Values (Collective Commitments) and Common Goals
7 Teaching in a Professional Learning Community
8 Assessment in a Professional Learning Community
9 A Tale of Excellence in Assessment
10 Intervention and Enrichment in a Professional Learning Community
11 The Classroom as a Learning Community
12 The Role of the Principal in a Professional Learning Community
13 The Role of the Central Office in a Professional Learning Community
14 The Role of Parents and the Community in a Professional Learning Community