Principles Of Design Energize Learning Communities

FEATURE ARTICLE

Principles of Design Energize Learning Communities

Practical Tips Put The Emphasis on Learning

Vol. 33 No. 4

At School A, the professional learning community is engaged in implementing a mandated mathematics program. At School B, the professional learning communities are grade-level teams of teachers and classroom aides pursuing their own agendas for improvement according to school goals. At School C, mixed grade-level and subject-area professional learning communities meet during the school’s faculty meetings to discuss issues the principal and others have raised. Which is the true learning community? The groups at all three schools may be professional learning communities, but the extent to which they are professional learning communities may vary. Learning is more than just the middle word in professional learning communities. Learning is living, according to Peter Senge and associates: “Learning is at once deeply personal and inherently social; it

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Authors

Lois Brown Easton

Lois Brown Easton (leastoners@aol.com) is a senior consultant for Learning Forward and an educational consultant and author at LBELearning. Easton is the editor of Powerful Designs for Professional Learning (NSDC, 2008). Her most recent book is Professional Learning Communities by Design: Putting the Learning Back Into PLCs (Corwin Press & Learning Forward, 2011).

References

Easton, L.B. (Ed.). (2008). Powerful designs for professional learning (2nd ed.). Oxford, OH: NSDC.

Easton, L.B. (2011). Professional learning communities by design: Putting the learning back into PLCs. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press & Learning Forward.

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Hord, S. (2011). Introduction. In L.B. Easton, Professional learning communities by design: Putting the learning back into PLCs. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press & Learning Forward.

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