Critical Work of Professional Learning Communities

PLC Questions

Critical Steps - (Dufour/Aker)

Protocols /Templates to
Productively Engage in this
work

Have we created a
collaborative culture?

1. Set up our collaborative culture:

We have identified team norms and protocols to guide us in working
together.

Middle School Principal Example

of Norms

What do we want students

to learn?

2. Determine what is essential:

Each member of our team is clear on the knowledge, skills, and essential
learning that students will acquire as a result of (1) our course or grade level
and (2) each unit within the course or grade level

Potential Template to guide your

work (not required, just a guide):
Essential Learning Template

We have aligned the essential learnings with state and district standards and Link to Bloomington Standards
the high stakes exams required of our students.
Link to MN State Standards
We have taught students the criteria we will use in judging the quality of their
work and have provided them with examples.
3. Align essentials to units
We have aligned our essential learnings (and learning targets) with each
unit of study within the course or grade level.
We have identified course content and topics that can be eliminated so we
can devote more time to essential learnings.
We have agreed on how to best sequence the content of the course and
have established pacing guides to help students achieve the intended
essential learnings. (This does not mean that everyone is DOING the same thing on the
same day. It means that by unit, there is agreement on which essential learnings will be
mastered -- this is where the Dyad spends the most time looking at student work and
responding)

How will we know they

have learned it?

4. Develop assessments:
We have developed frequent common formative assessments that help us
determine each students mastery of essential learnings.

Potential Template to guide your

work (not required, just a guide):
Aligning Essentials to Units
Template
Standards Based Curriculum
Design Template
Nicole Vagle 1/25 PD
Presentation

Potential Template to guide your

work (not required, just a guide):
Developing a Common Formative

We have established the proficiency standard we want each student to

Assessment
achieve on each skill and concept examined with our common assessments.
(This means we each look at a sample of work and talk about how we would score/grade it.
Geography Example
Rubrics are designed and refined; Scoring Guides are established and used to communicate
proficiency)

Technology Course Example

Science Example
Nicole Vagle 1/25 PD
Presentation

5. Analyze assessments for rigor/validity:

We have agreed on the criteria we will use in judging the quality of student
work related to the essential learnings of our course, and we practice
applying those criteria to ensure consistency. (This means we look at items/tasks
on our assessments and determine depth of knowledge level. This means we bring samples
of student work from our common formative assessment and calibrate what we see -- and
coming to consensus on the criteria we use and the level of proficiency we see each sample.)

What will we do when

some students are not yet
learning?
How can we extend and
enrich learning for
students who have
demonstrated proficiency?

6. Analyze assessments to determine differentiated learning

We use the results of our common assessments to assist each other in
building on strengths and addressing weaknesses as part of a process of
continuous improvement designed to help students achieve at higher levels.
(This means our Dyads bring the results of the common assessments and plan instruction
from the misconceptions and understanding we identify in the data.)

Potential Template to guide your

work (not required, just a guide):
Aligning Items to Ensure Rigor
and Validity
DOK Levels Example by
Task/Item
Potential Protocol to guide your
analysis--See step 3. Pile, Stack
and Plan (not required, just a
guide):
Developing a Common Formative
Assessment
Geography Example