Eight Ways That PLCs Are Working in Dutch Elementary Schools

In this article in Elementary School Journal, Peter Sleegers (University of Twente), Perry de Brok (Eindhoven School of Education), Eric Verbiest Fontys (University of Applied Sciences), Nienke Moolenaar (University of Twente and University of California/San Diego), and Alan Daly (University of California/San Diego) say the basic idea of professional learning communities (PLCs) is that what “teachers do together outside their classrooms can be as important as what they do inside for school improvement, teachers’ professional development, and student learning.” At their best, PLCs have eight facets under three closely interrelated categories:

• Personal capacity – That is, teachers’ capacity to actively and reflectively construct knowledge about teaching and student learning. “In a PLC,” say the authors, “educators constantly reflect on, assess, critique, and reconstruct their personal knowledge by using available sources of information and knowledge that reside in their environment.” There are two facets of personal capacity: 

• Active reflection and construction of knowledge;
• Teachers’ “currency” – their personal capacity to apply recent knowledge and best practices within their PLC.

• Interpersonal capacity – That is, teachers’ ability to work together in teams on shared purposes, taking “individual and collective responsibility for the well-being and learning of others…” This has three facets:

• Shared values and vision about teaching and learning;
• Collective learning, including consultation and research for the group;
• Shared practices among team members to improve student learning.

• Organizational capacity – That is, the structures that maintain processes for individual and collective learning and improvement. The three facets are:

• Resources, structures, and systems – time, information, materials, and other resources within the school;
• Relationships and climate of the school – mutual trust, respect, inclusiveness, congeniality, and support among colleagues
• Stimulating and participative leadership – The degree to which school leaders support and stimulate teacher learning, delegate responsibilities, and share leadership. 

“Toward Conceptual Clarity: A Multidimensional, Multilevel Model of Professional Learning Communities in Dutch Elementary Schools” by Peter Sleegers, Perry de Brok, Eric Verbiest, Nienke Moolenaar, and Alan Daly in Elementary School Journal, September 2013 (Vol. 114, #1, p. 119-137), http://bit.ly/1dnHUP1 

From the Marshall Memo $498