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PLC+
Better Decisions and Greater Impact by Design



June 2019 | 216 pages | Corwin
What makes a powerful and results-driven Professional Learning Community (PLC)? The answer is collaborative work that expands the emphasis on student learning and leverages individual teacher efficacy into collective teacher efficacy. 

PLC+: Better Decisions and Greater Impact by Design calls for strong and effective PLCs plus—and that plus is YOU. Until now, the PLC movement has been focused almost exclusively on students and what they were or were not learning.  But keeping student learning at the forefront requires that we also recognize the vital role that you play in the equation of teaching and learning. This means that PLCs must take on two additional challenges: maximizing your individual expertise, while harnessing the power of the collaborative expertise you can develop with your peers. 

PLC+ is grounded in four cross-cutting themes—a focus on equity of access and opportunity, high expectations for all students, a commitment to building individual self-efficacy and the collective efficacy of the professional learning community and effective team activation and facilitation to move from discussion to action. The PLC+ framework supports educators in considering five essential questions as they work together to improve student learning:  
  1. Where are we going?
  2. Where are we now?
  3. How do we move learning forward?
  4. What did we learn today?
  5. Who benefited and who did not benefit?

The PLC+ framework leads educators to question practices as well as outcomes. It broadens the focus on student learning to encompass educational equity and teaching efficacy, and, in doing so, it leads educators to plan and implement learning communities that maximize individual expertise while harnessing the power of collaborative efficacy.

 
List of Videos
 
About the Authors
 
Acknowledgments
 
INTRODUCTION
So What Is a PLC?

 
The Story Behind PLCs

 
Adding the Examination of Teaching Practice to the PLC Story

 
The Five Key Questions

 
What You Will Find in This Book

 
 
1. PLC+: The Plus Is YOU
Teacher Credibility and Efficacy: The Foundation of the Strong PLC+

 
Facilitating Collaboration: Making the Plus Count

 
Building Collective Efficacy

 
The Hope for the PLC+

 
Conclusion

 
 
2. Question 1: Where Are We Going?
The Story Behind the Question

 
A PLC+ Team in Action

 
Analyzing the Standard(s)/Curriculum Expectations

 
The Role of Teacher Clarity in “Where Are We Going?”

 
Developing Learning Intentions and Success Criteria

 
It’s Not Just High School English

 
Moving Beyond a Single Day

 
Autonomy in Teaching

 
The Professional Learning of a PLC+

 
Conclusion

 
 
3. Question 2: Where Are We Now?
The Story Behind the Question

 
A PLC+ Team in Action

 
Deficit Thinking

 
Initial Assessments

 
Analyzing for Equity Gaps

 
Data Collection

 
Data Analysis Protocols

 
Addressing Bias in Data Collection and Analysis

 
Identifying the Common Challenge

 
Conclusion

 
 
4. Question 3: How Do We Move Learning Forward?
The Story Behind the Question

 
A PLC+ Team in Action

 
Evidence-Based Instructional Practices

 
Assignment Analysis

 
Compensatory and Adaptive Approaches

 
Moving Teacher Learning Forward

 
Learning Walks

 
Using Microteaching to Improve Teaching and Learning

 
Conclusion

 
 
5. Question 4: What Did We Learn Today?
The Story Behind the Question

 
A PLC+ Team in Action

 
Reflection

 
Expert Noticing

 
Common Assessments as Triggers for Reflection

 
Determining Impact of Instruction

 
Progress Versus Achievement

 
Conclusion

 
 
6. Question 5: Who Benefited and Who Did Not Benefit?
The Story Behind the Question

 
A PLC+ Team in Action

 
Equity Audit

 
Response to Intervention

 
Universal Screening and Ongoing Assessment

 
High-Quality Tier 1 Instruction

 
Supplemental and Intensive Interventions

 
Meeting the Needs of All Learners

 
The Professional Learning of PLC+

 
Conclusion

 
 
7. The Next Question in the PLC+ Framework
After the Fifth Question

 
Beyond a Single PLC+

 
 
References
 
Index

Sample Materials & Chapters

Table of Contents

Introduction


Douglas Fisher

Douglas Fisher, Ph.D., is professor and chair of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Previously, Doug was an early intervention teacher and elementary school educator. He is the recipient of an International Reading Association William S. Grey citation of merit and an Exemplary Leader award from the Conference on English Leadership of NCTE. He has published numerous articles on teaching and learning as well as books such as The Teacher Clarity Playbook, PLC+, Visible Learning for Literacy, Comprehension: The Skill, Will, and Thrill of Reading, How Tutoring Works, and... More About Author

Nancy Frey

Nancy Frey, Ph.D., is a Professor in Educational Leadership at San Diego State University and a member of the International Literacy Association’s Literacy Research Panel. Nancy has published in The Reading Teacher, Theory Into Practice, Reading Psychology, Early Childhood Education Journal, and Educational Leadership on research related to literacy, school leadership, and effective instruction. Current books include The Teaching Reading Playbook, Teaching Students to Drive Their Learning, Welcome to Teaching, and The PLC+ suite of books. In 2008 she was given the Early Career Achievement Award by the Literacy Research Association and is a... More About Author

John Taylor Almarode

Dr. John Almarode is a bestselling author and an Associate Professor of Education at James Madison University. He was awarded the inaugural Sarah Miller Luck Endowed Professorship in 2015 and received an Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia in 2021. Before his academic career, John started as a mathematics and science teacher in Augusta County, Virginia. As an author, John has written multiple educational books focusing on science and mathematics, and he has co-created a new framework for developing, implementing, and sustaining professional learning communities called PLC+. Dr. Almarode's... More About Author

Karen T. Flories

Karen Flories was the Executive Director of Educational Services for 5 years and Director of Literacy and Social Studies for 2 years with Valley View School District in Illinois, after serving as the English Department Chair for Romeoville High School. Karen’s classroom experience includes high school English, special education, and alternative education. Karen holds credentials in general education, special education, and educational leadership. She earned her master’s degree in educational leadership from Concordia University. During her time at the district level, Karen led the implementation of Visible Learning+, specifically... More About Author

David T. Nagel

Dave Nagel, MsED, is an international educational consultant and researcher. Dave began his educational career as a middle school science and high school biology teacher. His administrative experiences involved middle school assistant principal, high school associate principal, and director of extended day and credit-recovery programs. He was honored numerous times as a ‘Senior Choice’ winner, where graduating seniors selected him as someone who dramatically affected their life in a positive way. Dave has credentials in school leadership and secondary science teaching as well as a master of science degree from Butler University. Dave is... More About Author

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ISBN: 9781544361796
$39.95