Fast Facts: What Are PLTs? - ARCOTS

1 fast Facts: what Are plts ? Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory Quality Teaching & Learning what do plts do? Although individual school needs define how the PLT Process looks at each school, four key strategies are used by plts . 1. Focus on data. To focus their efforts to improve student learning, plts use school and classroom data. Staff examine student achievement data and identify high-priority student learning challenges to be addressed in the upcoming school year. This analysis aligns plts with schoolwide goals and gives direction to the plts , which are formed based on this examination of data. plts also use a variety of classroom assessments throughout the process to better understand the causes of student learning gaps and to measure progress they make in improving teaching and learning.

2 2. Share and reflect on classroom practices. Teachers in plts share in-depth details about their individual classroom practices to explore how they can improve student learning. Their discussions break down traditional barriers to learning, leading teachers to reflect in new ways on their classroom practices. Teachers are encouraged to share and reflect on areas where they or their students struggle, as these are often the most productive areas to mine. 3. Apply research and best practices. Teachers analyze and evaluate research critically so they can understand its implications for their own classroom practice. They explore many different avenues for this work, including reading, observing, and contacting local and national experts.

3 4. Improve teamwork and collaboration skills. Teachers in plts consciously improve their team process by learning to run effective meetings, assign and rotate team roles, build trust, reach consensus, resolve conflicts productively, and collaborate well. These skills are developed throughout the PLT process using structured protocols and tools. These same skills have application in the classroom with students. All four strategies contribute to a process of refining, improving, and changing instructional practices to improve student achievement. Teachers use these practices deliberately, with a clear picture of how to improve their practices and measure progress. After several months, they have gathered enough information to share with one another and to evaluate the likelihood that this practice will be successful in the future, with more students.

4 This information is shared schoolwide, periodically throughout the year, to ensure that the whole school benefits from the lessons learned in each individual PLT. what is a Professional Learning Team (PLT)? Imagine teachers using proven methods for increasing student achievement in which they work collaboratively, and continuously, in cycles that are teacher initiated and teacher led. Imagine them taking ownership of the process of working together to improve teaching and learning because they know how to do it themselves. Imagine a PLT as: 9 A study group 9 An action research team 9 A critical friends group 9 All of the above A PLT is a small, highly collaborative teacher team of four to six members that engages in professional learning to improve student learning.

5 plts meet regularly, at least every other week, for about 90 minutes during the school day. This time is protected by administrators, to be used to focus on improving teaching and student learning. With the schoolwide PLT process, all teachers are organized into plts . The process connects the school s student data and the teachers knowledge and experience to the research and best practices shown to increase student achievement. Why should we use plts for professional learning? what does the research say? According to research, teacher quality affects student learning (NCTAF, 1996; Darling-Hammond, 1999). However, teachers years of classroom experience do not translate to greater teacher quality (Rosenholtz, 1989; Wenglinsky, 2000; Mayer, et al.)

6 , 2000), particularly after five years of experience. Furthermore, traditional professional development, typically in the form of isolated training, also does not improve teacher quality (Smylie, et al., 2001). what the research indicates does improve teacher quality is team-based professional learning focused on the subjects teachers teach the type fostered in plts . In fact , all six of the six features that have been linked to changes in teacher performance and/or student learning are present in the schoolwide PLT process as described in this fast fact , including: reform-oriented organization ( , study group, teacher network, mentoring relationship); collective participation and collaboration between teachers from same school, department, or grade level; opportunities for active learning, including engagement in meaningful analysis of teaching and learning ( , reviewing student work); and sustained time and duration, including total number of contact hours and span of time over which activity occurs (McLaughlin and Talbert, 1993; Porter et al.

7 , 2000; Garet, et al., 2001; Desimone, et al., 2002; Cohen & Hill, 1998; Kennedy, 1998). fast Facts: what Are plts ? - 1 6/13/2005 NWREL Quality Teaching & Learning The Role of School Leadership in the PLT Process Principals and other school leaders have an important role to play in developing and supporting a schoolwide PLT effort. They make decisions that influence the value of plts to staff and the school overall. PLT efforts that are well supported involve principals in the following roles and activities: Providing dedicated and protected time for professional development and collaboration during the school day whenever possible and compensating staff for time spent outside of the school day Focusing school improvement and PLT efforts on the same goals Advocating the use of data for making decisions, and making data available, in a variety of formats, to staff to use in instructional planning Building and supporting relationships based on trust Helping staff feel safe to share information about their classroom practices and to try new strategies in their efforts to improve instruction Assuring accountability for the time teachers spend in plts Creating avenues for two-way communication.

8 Including involving community, staff, and students in decision-making wherever possible Celebrating success throughout the process. Where can I find more information? Additional Resources Garmston, R., & Wellman, B. (1999). The Adaptive School: A sourcebook for developing collaborative groups. Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon Publishers. Hord, S. (1997). Professional Learning Communities: Communities of continuous inquiry and improvement. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. References Cohen, , & Hill, (1998). Instructional policy and classroom performance: the mathematics reform in California. Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) Research Report Series RR-39. Philadelphia: Consortium for Policy Research in Education.

9 Darling-Hammond, L. (1999). Teacher Quality and Student Achievement: A review of state policy. Seattle, WA: Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy, University of Washington. Desimone, et al. (2002). Effects of Professional Development on Teachers Instruction: Results from a three-year longitudinal study. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. 24(2). , et al. (2001). what Makes Professional Development Effective? Analysis of a national sample of teachers. American Education Research Journal. 38(4). 915-945. Kennedy, M. (1998). Form and Substance in Inservice Teacher Education. Research Monograph Number 13. Madison, WI: National Institute for Science Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Mayer, D.

10 P., Mullens, J. E., Moore, M. T., & Ralph, J. (2000). Monitoring school quality: An indicators report. Washington, : National Center for Education Statistics, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, Department of Education. McLaughlin, , & Talbert, (1993). Contexts that matter for teaching and learning: Strategic opportunities for meeting the nation s education goals. Stanford, CA: Center for Research on the Context of Secondary School Teaching, Stanford University. National Commission on Teaching and America s Future (NCTAF) (1996). what Matters Most: Teaching for America s future. New York: Columbia University, Teachers College. Porter, et al. (2000). Does Professional Development Change Teaching Practice?