Why it works
The PLC at Work model centers teams on four questions: what do we want students to learn, how will we know they learned it, what will we do when they have not, and what will we do when they already have. PLCs that stay on these questions, using common assessments and shared responses, outperform teams that drift into logistics.
The research: DuFour and colleagues on Professional Learning Communities at Work.
The run-of-show
Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.
The core activity: plan a PLC around the four questions
Facilitators leave with a PLC planned around the four questions and a common assessment.
- Pick an upcoming unit or standard.
- Plan how the team will answer what do we want them to learn and how will we know.
- Plan the common assessment or evidence they will bring.
- Plan the response for students who have not learned it and those who already have.
Keep the PLC on learning, not logisticsIf a PLC becomes announcements and scheduling, it is just a meeting. Protect the time for the four questions and the data.
Facilitator notes
- Anchor every PLC in the four questions.
- Use common assessments and real student work.
- Move logistics elsewhere; build norms and a tight agenda.
Do not let the PLC drift to logisticsLogistics will expand to fill the time. Guard PLC time fiercely for student learning and the data.
Adapt it
- <b>Elementary:</b> grade-level teams around shared standards.
- <b>Secondary:</b> department or course teams.
- <b>All teams:</b> common assessments and shared responses.
Participant handout
One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.
K12 Academics · Professional Learning
Facilitating PLCs: the four questions
<b>Stay on learning:</b> what to learn, how we will know, what if not, what if already.
- The unit or standard:
- What we want students to learn and how we will know:
- The common assessment or evidence:
- Our response for not-yet and already-there:
- How we protect the time:
Make it stick
Four questions, every time:
- Anchor every PLC in the four questions.
- Keep logistics out.
- Bring a PLC that changed practice to the leadership team.
Common questions
What makes a PLC more than a team meeting?
Its relentless focus on the four questions about student learning, driven by common assessment data and a shared response, rather than announcements and logistics.
What are the four questions?
What do we want students to learn? How will we know they learned it? What will we do when they have not? What will we do when they already have?
How do I keep logistics out of PLC time?
Handle logistics by email or a separate meeting, and protect PLC time for the four questions with a tight agenda and norms.