PLCs PD

International Literacy Association Standards for Reading Professionals

The International Literacy Assciation (ILA) have a set list of six standards that all literacy professionals can use to norm their expetations and prepare all of these educators for their careers.

• The ILA standard that will be focused on through this professional development presentation is Standard 5: Literate Environment

(Standards, n.d.)

PLCs for Literate Environment Continued...

While both classrooms showed student engagement, I believe there is always room to grow in the sense of student choice. This is one of the most difficult things for experienced teachers to implement into their lessons because they are so used to telling students exactly what they should be doing.

--> Allowing, and encouraging, more student choice means more opportunities for students to make mistakes, and therefore showing them that the classroom is a place where they can feel comfortable and unafraid to be themselves, make their own discisions, and sometimes make mistakes.

--> Teachers should consider offering more chances where students of all levels can make choices in their activities, writing prompts, and group work.

Step 1

Preparing learning organization:

For a PLC to be successful, there must be norms set among the teachers participating. These norms includ setting expectations for the group meetings, establishing roles and responsibilities among the members, and determining what the end result may be.

Step 3

Assess findings and adjust instruction

In order to gather data on their students to show student growth, and thus the effectiveness of the PLC, teachers must assess the capability of their students, pertaining to the focus skill, and then adjust their instruction to meet the needs of the students who are struggling. This is where the collaboration among teachers comes in!

Step 4

Examining the results

To conclude a PLC cycle, teachers should examine the results of their instruction, analyze student growth, and conclude by determining the focus for the next cycle of PLCs!

PLCs and Equity of Education

In higher elementary/ middle school grades, sometimes English Language Learners are not as focused on as they are when they're present in lower grades. It should be considered that “because of their language difference, many students learning English face various challenges in the academic setting, thus resulting in larger academic performance gaps and increased drop-out rates” (Crumpler, 2014). Teachers in diverse populations, as the classrooms where many of us work, have a unique opportunity to structure students in small groups to ensure that ELL students are benefiting from language supports, as well as social interactions.

During PLC cycles, as teachers evaluate best practices and student growth, special attention should be paid to the diverse learners in the classrooms!

Example of Organizational Change

For example, last year my grade team was able to use a novel that seemed to bare more similarities to another book that our students enjoyed, and use current event articles to supplement the text with non-fiction readings as well. This type of flexibility is something that helps add positive organizational change to an environment.