Professional Learning Communities: Taking teaching and student learning to the next step K-12

Instructor Ellen Holmes

Professional learning communities occur when teams of teachers, school leaders, or curriculum coordinators set out to work intentionally to develop their skills, explore student achievement, develop solutions to challenges, and learn from each others' strengths. This four day professional development opportunity is designed for administrators and teachers with differing understandings about PLCs and their implementation. The goals of this training are to develop a common understanding of what professional learning communities are, what they are focused on and what they do.

Participants will learn about different types of student data and how to begin to use that data as part of a professional learning community to make changes in their instructional practice. Participants will learn about using protocols for looking at student work that are simple and concrete in order to "diagnose" next teaching steps. Participants will practice using protocols with student work to build their facilitation and problem solving skills. Participants will receive ready to use tools, resources and information allowing them to easily apply their new skills in their classroom settings.

Ellen Holmes is a native Maine educator with 14+ years of classroom, university and community education experiences at the local, state, and national level. This varied background has provided her with a broad set of experiences in managing educational change and developing teacher leaders. Ellen also has served as program manager for one of NASA Langley's education and public outreach programs, has served as Director of Professional Development and as a UniServ director for the Maine Education Association, and is currently serving as a Distinguished Educator for the Maine Department of Education.

3.0 CEU's

COST: $550 for out-of-district participants