RSA#2

RSA#2: Module 3 and "Urban Education and Professional Learning Communities"

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The reading of Module 3 focuses a lot on creating outcomes, SMART goals, student progress and how to monitor it.  SMART goals give a clearly defined method for creating goals for a PLC.  Dufour, Dufour, Eaker, and Many advise to great goals that are attainable and not a goal that is so far out of reach, that it is impossible (2006).  “If the only goals educators pursue are stretch goals, teachers are principals are prone to give up in hopelessness” (Dufour, Dufour, Eaker, and Many, 2006, p. 137).  Teachers need to be realistic when creating common assessments that they will use to judge students success when monitoring and redesigning curriculum.  

My second article that I would like to share discusses the implementation of PLC in under-performing, urban communities.  This article discusses the success that they experiences in the reading scores once a PLC was implemented effectively and on  small scale, throughout the urban schools.  The teachers worked together to create common assessments, used monitoring to collect data, and ended with a rise in performance from the students. “Teachers outlined several reading skills and teaching strategies they discussed during PLCs to address students' needs collectively” (Williams, 2012). 

I chose this article because I have a lot of students who have moved from under-performing, urban schools.  The majority of these students come to my classes lacking the necessarily skills needed to function as a successful 8th grader.  Every case for the student entering our district is different.  I always seek advice from my team members on how to better assist the student.  There are too many students in need of a PLC implementation in our school.  A PLC is for our students, not for our personal gain.  This article gives realistic proof that PLCs can help in some of the most hopeless situations.  As a reading teacher, it gives me so much pleasure to see students make substantial gains in their reading scores.  A PLC seems to be the answer to this epidemic. 

Direct Link to Article 

DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., Many, T. (2010).  Learning by doing: A handbook for professional learning communities at work. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Williams, D. J. (2012). Urban Education and Professional Learning Communities. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 79(2), 31-39.