and over the past decade, the term Professional Learning Community (PLC) has become the buzzword in schools which, in most cases, means meeting. This meeting can be anything from a faculty meeting, a department meeting, to a group of teachers teaching the same subject. What happens in these meetings is decided by administrators and can cover anything from policy training, to best practices, to emergency training to a faculty book club. According to the principal architect of the PLC process, Richard DuFour, this perception of a PLC as any type of meeting is wrong. “First, the PLC is the larger organization and not the individual teams that comprise it. While collaborative teams are an essential part of the PLC process, the sum is greater than the individual parts. Much of a PLC's work cannot be done by a team but instead requires a school- or district-wide effort. Second, the PLC process has a pervasive and ongoing impact on the structure and culture of the school. If educators meet regularly with colleagues only to return to work as usual, they are not functioning as a PLC. Thus, the PLC process is much more than a meeting” (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, & Many, 2010, p. 10). The difference between a faculty meeting and a PLC is that you need to act on the knowledge gained from the discussion within the meeting. In most cases, teachers do not put into practice the information acquired during a school meeting. This can happen for a variety of reasons, such as not having or having had time to implement the information, disagreeing with the policies, or having become cynical about the constant cycle of “new” initiatives. For a true PLC to work, there must be time and effort on the part of administrators and teachers to achieve… middle of paper… community at work: bringing big ideas to life. Paper presented at Solution Tree, Salt Lake City, Ut.DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & Many, T. (2010). Learning by doing (2nd ed.). Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.DuFour, R., & Dufour, R. (2013, November). Building the collaborative culture of a professional learning community at work. Paper presented at Solution Tree, Salt Lake City, Utah. Eaker, R. (2013, November). What it means to be a professional learning community. Paper presented at Solution Tree, Salt Lake City.Sonju, B. (2013, November). The Big Rocks: Specific Actions That Make a Difference for PLC Leaders and Teams. Paper presented at Solution Tree, Salt Lake City, Ut. Williams, KC (2013, November). Are you interested or busy? Reconnect with why the PLC works. Paper presented at Solution Tree, Salt Lake City, Ut.

Topic > and over the past decade, the term Professional Learning Community (PLC) has become the buzzword in schools which, in most cases, means meeting. This meeting can be anything from a faculty meeting, a department meeting, to a group of teachers teaching the same subject. What happens in these meetings is decided by administrators and can cover anything from policy training, to best practices, to emergency training to a faculty book club. According to the principal architect of the PLC process, Richard DuFour, this perception of a PLC as any type of meeting is wrong. “First, the PLC is the larger organization and not the individual teams that comprise it. While collaborative teams are an essential part of the PLC process, the sum is greater than the individual parts. Much of a PLC's work cannot be done by a team but instead requires a school- or district-wide effort. Second, the PLC process has a pervasive and ongoing impact on the structure and culture of the school. If educators meet regularly with colleagues only to return to work as usual, they are not functioning as a PLC. Thus, the PLC process is much more than a meeting” (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, & Many, 2010, p. 10). The difference between a faculty meeting and a PLC is that you need to act on the knowledge gained from the discussion within the meeting. In most cases, teachers do not put into practice the information acquired during a school meeting. This can happen for a variety of reasons, such as not having or having had time to implement the information, disagreeing with the policies, or having become cynical about the constant cycle of “new” initiatives. For a true PLC to work, there must be time and effort on the part of administrators and teachers to achieve… middle of paper… community at work: bringing big ideas to life. Paper presented at Solution Tree, Salt Lake City, Ut.DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & Many, T. (2010). Learning by doing (2nd ed.). Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.DuFour, R., & Dufour, R. (2013, November). Building the collaborative culture of a professional learning community at work. Paper presented at Solution Tree, Salt Lake City, Utah. Eaker, R. (2013, November). What it means to be a professional learning community. Paper presented at Solution Tree, Salt Lake City.Sonju, B. (2013, November). The Big Rocks: Specific Actions That Make a Difference for PLC Leaders and Teams. Paper presented at Solution Tree, Salt Lake City, Ut. Williams, KC (2013, November). Are you interested or busy? Reconnect with why the PLC works. Paper presented at Solution Tree, Salt Lake City, Ut.