Collaboration

Collaborating with a Professional Learning Community (PLC) Versus Working in Isolation Although recent research suggests that collaborative work among teachers results in higher student acheivement, lower rates of teacher burnout & and a greater sense of confidence, many teachers continue to work in isolation in the 21st Century classroom. Some factors that contribute to the isolation are visible, while others are not.

The most visible isolation practices found in schools are the teachers working alone, teaching lessons they have taught for years. Not because the lesson is aligned with state indicators, and was developed to get students to learn a specific target. But rather, because they are comfortable teaching the lesson. These teachers have a file cabinet in their room organized by unit in sequential order from the first unit through the final day of school. Learning targets are abstinent from any of the material, and the assessments have gone through minimal change. Typically it may sound or look like, "My class, my curriculum."

Less visible are the teachers that work through the collaboration process and are very agreeable. However, when they get back to their class and shut the door, they abandon the collaborative plan, and work in isolation once again.

One very subtle catalyst for this isolation has been the "buffer" described in Mike Schmoker's book "Results Now". This invisible force exists in almost all schools. Essentially the buffer is a protective barrier between teachers, administration, and community members. The buffer ensures a harmoneous relationship between all stake holders. The buffer disallows for meaningful conversations to take place between teachers, administration and community members. By meaningful, we are referencing the discussions about our achievement, teaching and growth. Without this open dialogue our collaborative efforts towards the common good of the school are almost nonexistant. Working in isolation is an unintended consequence of the buffer beaking down these lines of communication, in part, due to our own egos. Ironically we work in isolation to protect ourselves from critique and constructive criticism, and by working in isolation we perpetuate mediocre teaching.

If you find the isolation thoughts interesting please see Mike Schmoker's "Results Now". The first two chapters are outstanding and provide rich explanations of the isolation and the "buffer". [] [|Author Interview] Check out this interview with Mike Schmoker

media type="file" key="Workshop Richard DuFour.flv"The PLC is the antithesis of working in isolation. We have been working in our professional learning communities for only a short 4 years. The isolation our profession has been working in has taken over a century to develop, so the progress we have made has been tremendous. However, we need to continue striving towards a total work system working together for the greater good of our organization. Collaboration has proven to be an effective path to reach high achievement. We are a district of great talents and expertise. If we truly start to work together, we could have huge gains in achievement, climate and culture, staff moral, student moral, and most importantly our own craft will improve dramatically.

In today’s classroom teachers and school leaders are held accountable for the learning of their students. This begs the question: Does this isolation serve us positively, or negatively? We almost all agree that we could accomplish more together than alone. In light of this, we still work in isolation. We are all accountable for the wellbeing of our students and schools, so we need to work together. We rush to judgement and are quick to speak of collaboration, but remember, it needs to be a constant, meaningful dialogue and trust between all parties involved.

Although we talked about what a PLC is, we did not cover what a PLC does. A PLC works on indicators, develops scope and sequence, builds assessments, aligns grading practices, analyzes data, provides intervention, re-assesses, and reports achievement.

Article on PLC by Richard Dufour,