What is a professional learning community?

To create a professional learning community, focus on learning rather than teaching, work collaboratively, and hold yourself accountable for results. — Richard DuFour

DuFour's "big ideas" of a professional learning community:

• Big Idea #1: Ensuring That Students Learn
• Big Idea #2: A Culture of Collaboration
• Big Idea #3: A Focus on Results

DuFour is the originator of the professional learning community (PLC), having created them at Adlai Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois, when he was the principal. DuFour's books focus on developing and maintaining PLCs.

His work involves the work of others, including Robert Marzano (Classroom Instruction That Works) and Mike Schmoker (Results Now).

At Sheridan Elementary School, we are on our journey to becoming a true professional learning community. We value school improvement and base our professional development activities on our school improvement plan. We identified our needs, goals, objectives, strategies, and actions and are moving forward.

Recently, we had a professional development activity and were discussing our goals for the school in three, then five, years. The answers were thought–provoking. Our mission is "Preparing today's child for tomorrow's world" and we try to keep this mission on the forefront at all times.

I posed an idea. Because of the relationship between (technology becoming more advanced, i.e. better) and (the price falling in half of said technology) within three years we will have a unique issue at Sheridan. Young students, maybe four or five, will have cell phones at school. We will need to be prepared in how we handle the infusion of phones in only a few years. What would Marc Prensky say?

How does it all fit together? How does education happen? It's an amazing journey.