From Paralysis to Action

Implementing the PLC process is not linear or fixed; as our model illustrates, it’s interactive, allowing school personnel to identify and support the school they wish to become. We’ll examine best practices along with virtual solutions in the PLC process as we journey through each component, examining structures and practices that all schools must maintain. Each chapter ends with a series of coaching tips for virtual application. The book also contains reproducible documents to aid teachers, teams, team leaders, and leadership in moving their schools forward, starting on page 124 with “Quick Tips to Consider in a Virtual PLC.”

Educators in many schools and locations faced paralysis as they waited for the return to a traditional setting. At the time of publication of this book, the education process continued to pivot in response to the pandemic. Vaccines became readily available and rising demands from school communities to return to some forms of normalcy allowed students in some locations to return to more in-person instruction. The threat of long-term learning gaps and lack of a systematic response to educate students in nontraditional virtual and hybrid settings lacked structure and substance. In many settings, education was relegated to self-paced learning through the completion of curriculum packets. Learning was based on assignment completion and often it was unknown who was completing the assignments, parents, friends, or outside entities. It will not be another one hundred years before we will be faced with a new pandemic. The threat of COVID virus variants, natural disasters, terrorist threats, or the desire for parents to maintain the virtual or hybrid experiences will once again create a need for schools and school systems to pivot from the traditional learning model of in-person instruction. The PLC process is essential to ensure students learn at high levels despite even the most unprecedented challenges.

Chapter 1

The Three Big Ideas

Effective practice is the cornerstone of successful schools. And the Professional Learning Communities at Work process is proven to be an effective school-improvement process, allowing schools to focus on the highest levels of student learning. PLC is not a program or something that can be purchased and put in a school; it’s a lifestyle where multiple synchronized practices and structures focus on increasing student learning. This chapter examines the foundational elements of a PLC at Work—the three big ideas of (1) a focus on learning, (2) a collaborative culture and collective responsibility, and (3) a results orientation (DuFour et al., 2016) and how they can be implemented or strengthened in a virtual or hybrid learning environment.

As schools implement virtual learning, or a hybrid learning model with face-to-face learning and virtual learning, the need to function as a PLC is more important than ever to maintain high levels of learning for all students. Research indicates a significant number of educational organizations, associations, and researchers advocate PLC at Work and agree the process has positive effects on educators’ professional practice and students’ learning (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, Mattos, & Muhammad, 2021). An independent study published in December 2020 by Education Northwest indicates statistically significant academic gains within two years of implementing the PLC at Work process (https://bit.ly/3qSORl5). Moreover, hundreds of Model PLC schools (schools nationally recognized as PLCs) show at least three years of sustained growth and success by implementing the PLC process with high levels of fidelity. (See the PLC Locator on the AllThingsPLC.info webpage [www .allthingsplc.info/plc-locator/us] to find Model PLC schools.)

The practices of highly effective PLCs transcend to virtual school settings as well. However, as schools offer partial or full course loads of virtual classes, some faculty may challenge the need to continue the PLC process. Schools that have already implemented the PLC process may struggle to maintain PLC routines and practices in virtual teaching and learning environments if some faculty feel it’s too much work or it’s just one more thing on top of the high demands of virtual teaching and learning. However, it is helpful