Effective Professional Learning Communities

Loose and Tight - This video describes how effective professional learning communities are simultaneously loose and tight, tight with the what but loose with the how.  The trick here is establishing a learning community where there are clear expectations and everyone is held accountable for meeting those expectations, but at the same time giving teachers the freedom to meet those expectations in whatever way best matches their approach and personality.  

Believers, Tweeners, Survivors, and Fundamentalists - Who are the members of your school community and what practices are most likely to build a positive learning community?  His suggestion to remove Survivors is a little strange but I think identifying the members of your community that fall into these categories can help identify the kind of leadership and professional learning that is most likely to improve their practice. 

Groups vs. Teams - At its heart, an effective professional learning community is a team. However, most schools do not have professional learning communities that function like a team.  Instead, they function more like a group.  The distinction is enormously important and gets at whether or not professional learning goals can be met.