Professional
Learning
Communities
The Corvallis School District is invested in moving from a traditional school structure to the Professional Learning Community (PLC) model. At the core of this transformation is our mission to assure that all students learn at high levels.
An important shift is from a focus on teaching to a primary focus on learning. High-quality teaching remains critical, but our teaching strategy revolves around these four critical questions:
· Exactly what do we expect students to learn?
· How will we know when they have learned it?
· How will we respond when they do not learn?
· How will we respond when they have already learned it?
Using the PLC model, teachers have formed collaborative teams who meet regularly to address these questions and to work together to serve the learning needs of their students. These teams are now meeting once a month to once a week.
They have identified the essential core state standards that all students must master to be successful at the next level. They also have created and are expanding on writing and giving common assessments to regularly monitor students’ learning struggles, mastery, or need for acceleration.
Our district is focused on results, not intentions. Learning results -- revealed by assessment data, student work, and teacher observation -- have become our measure of success and cause for celebration as we see results across the district.
What the Research Says
The following links to various Web sites, published articles and research provide additional information on the proven effectiveness of Professional Learning Communities:
