Identifying the benefits of a Professional Learning Community (PLC) can help you understand the power of collaboration. Educators play a critical role in preparing, delivering, and assessing learning. Working collaboratively to ensure students are provided instruction that positively influences learning can benefit all learners.

Imagine you are a teacher at a K-3 grade school where your principal has asked you to oversee the PLC committee on your campus. As the school year is approaching, you are required to create a digital presentation for teachers on assessment literacy, data literacy, and how PLCs can support teachers in analyzing data, monitoring student progress, and adjusting instruction to better meet the needs of students.

The 10-12 slide digital presentation must:

• Define PLC and the benefits of collaborating with colleagues as part of the assessment cycle to assess student progress and guide instructional planning
• Explain how the PLC can assist teachers as they move through their assessment cycles.
• Define and compare data literacy and assessment literacy, explaining how to use both to improve instruction.
• Summarize a vision for the school, as a whole, for using PLCs to collaborate and plan for learning.
• Address technological tools or resources that can be used to monitor student progress and share data with the PLC.
• Opportunities to include students in the assessment cycle process.
• Model appropriate strategies to provide feedback to students and families.

Include a title slide, reference slide, and speaker’s notes in your digital presentation.

Support your presentation with 2-3 scholarly resources.

While APA style format is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and in-text citations and references should be presented.

Allocate at least 2 hours in the field to support this field experience.

A Professional Learning Community (PLC) is defined as a group of educators that meet regularly to share expertise and work collaboratively to improve the learning of all students. Most school environments implement PLCs to provide an opportunity for grade level teachers to work together through the assessment cycle, analyzing student performance data, and determining strategies to improve instruction for students. It is critical for this collaborative analysis to include all students, including those who are above, at, and below grade level, to ensure instruction is stimulating and challenging.

For this field experience, interview a K-3 teacher with PLC experience who has worked collaboratively with a team of teachers to analyze student data, determine appropriate intervention strategies to support all learning levels, and monitor learning progress to demonstrate growth during learning.

In addition, interview an instructional coach or administrator who has facilitated a PLC. While some states may refer to this community in a different way, the goals are similar. 

In your interviews, ask the following questions:

• How does your school implement PLCs?
• What do you focus on during the PLC meetings?
• How do PLCs support collaboration with colleagues to identify common curriculum goals and evaluate progress towards the goals?
• How would you change or modify PLCs?
• What is the biggest change you have seen in student learning since you started collaborating with other educators?