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A PLC is a team of "educators [that] work collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for students they serve. PLC’s operate under the assumption that the key to improved learning for all students is continuous, job embedded learning for educators." (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, Many, & Mattos, 2016, p.10)
NPS Professional Learning Communities (PLCs): A Collaborative Approach
NPS Professional Learning Communities (PLCs): A Collaborative Approach
PLCs in NPS are more than just meetings; they are dynamic professional learning communities where educators engage in collaborative inquiry to enhance teaching and learning. Within NPS, PLC teams may meet informally during the week to sustain collaboration, but one structured PLC meeting is held weekly with the instructional coach and the instructional leader (principal) as active participants. This structured time ensures coherence, alignment to district pillars, and collective ownership of student outcomes.
At the heart of every PLC is the inquiry cycle. Engaging in this cycle means teachers:
Collectively investigate a focused question about student learning.
Test instructional strategies that are responsive to student needs.
Reflect on evidence — student work, data, and classroom observations — to refine practice.
This cycle is not “extra work.” It is the engine of continuous improvement within PLCs, driving equity, coherence, and impact across classrooms. By committing to this ongoing process, NPS educators build collective efficacy and ensure that every child benefits from our shared learning.
Expectations for PLCs
Expectations for PLCs
Minutes: Maintain minutes in NPS Data using the NPS Minutes Template.
Data Use: Data is disaggregated by subgroups. Data can be qualitative (student work) or quantitative (performance on an assessment; data collected through observation survey, etc.). It is an expectation for all PLCs to prioritize and use student work for decision-making.
Cycles of Inquiry: Use action research to:
Identify problems related to student learning (the inquiry)
Identify a strategy to address the problem (action plan)
Execute the plan in your classroom (take action)
Monitor and evaluate, using evidence, the impact of your actions (complete the cycle of inquiry)
Impact Focus: The focus of every PLC is to improve instruction in response to student learning needs.
Non-examples of PLC expectations
Non-examples of PLC expectations
Brooms and Brushes or other business: "Let's talk about the upcoming field trip"
Daily planning: "Can we plan our daily lessons over the next two weeks?
Deferring responsibility: "The student has an IEP/ML so his needs are already being addressed"
Deficit Thinking: "The students came to us without the skills they were supposed to learn last year" or "These kids can't handle this kind of work"
Losing focus on locus of control: "His mom won't even come in for conferences" or "He transferred from another district - and their expectations are much lower than ours"
Is there ever a time when planning is appropriate?
Is there ever a time when planning is appropriate?
Yes! Planning is appropriate in a PLC when it directly advances the team’s inquiry cycle. Because PLCs exist to investigate and respond to problems of student learning, teams may need to co‑design or refine learning activities that address the specific needs surfaced in the data.
When the inquiry cycle leads the team to a strategy that requires a new or adjusted learning activity — for example, increasing rigor, strengthening discourse, or improving engagement — then short, targeted planning becomes an essential part of the “next instructional step” phase of the cycle.
In other words, planning is appropriate when it is a direct response to what students are showing us, and when it helps the team implement the instructional move they’ve collectively committed to testing in the next cycle. It should happen outside of the PLC meeting (elementary level - 1x a week) and during common planning time.
NPS PLC Look-Fors: Click here for the full document
NPS PLC Look-Fors
NPS PLC Look-Fors
Qualities of a PLC operating at a Level 3
Structured Meetings: Mission & purpose of the team, monitored norms, structure and routines, roles and responsibilities are evident. Agenda items align to stages of teaching and learning cycle. Teachers facilitate and lead their PLC.
Content-Specific Discussions: What will students know and be able to do? What will be the evidence of student success? What student misconceptions might arise?
Data-Driven Discussions: Multiple sources of qualitative and quantitative data are analyzed with a focus on student work. Data analysis impacts decision-making for educator practice. Different types of assessments are used for intended purposes.
Equity-Focused Discussions: Data is disaggregated and analyzed using the Courageous Conversations about Race FrameworkⓇ. Reflective dialogue focuses on adult action, centers student voice and agency, challenges peers’ thinking of peers, and uses asset-based thinking.
Research-Informed Dialogue: Identifying and implementing research-based strategies with a deep understanding of instructional moves.
Collaborative Cycles of Inquiry through Action Research: The PLC maximizes time for job-embedded professional learning. The team collectively inquires about improving student outcomes and then uses action research to simultaneously investigate and solve issues around classroom practice. Action research bridges theory and practice for improved professional practice and student outcomes.
*Collective Responsibility: Members demonstrate ownership over all students (not just the students in their own classroom), persist toward goals even when obstacles arise and progress seems slow. All members participate, support, and encourage one another.
*Accountability: Members own responsibility for student performance, openly discuss and analyze the success of practices with student work and other data, and hold one another accountable for shared commitments of the PLC.
*Reflection: Regular review, reflection, and assessment of the effectiveness of the PLC and, when necessary, goal-setting and adjustments to practice based on feedback.
*Qualities of a PLC operating at Stage 4.
Rating Scale for PLCs
Rating Scale for PLCs
Level 1: PLC has structured meetings, discusses content, and develops common assessments.
Level 2: In addition to Level 1 indicators, PLC discussions focus on student outcomes or student learning using disaggregated data. The PLC inquires about their practice to address the learning needs of students.
Level 3: In addition to Level 2 indicators, the PLC uses research-based Tier One practices (see NPS Essentials of Effective Instruction and NPS Instructional Core Site) and shows professional growth in teaching methods and practices through ongoing professional learning, highlighting a strong commitment to educational equity. Using action research, the PLC promotes culturally relevant pedagogy and responsive practices that aim to maintain high performance, improve student outcomes, and reduce predictable gaps.
Level 4: In addition to Level 3 indicators, the PLC consistently focuses on overcoming obstacles to student learning and actively seeks support for their professional development needs. Collaborative practices and professional growth can be seen in the classroom, and the effectiveness of these practices is analyzed using student outcome data. The PLC regularly engages in goal-setting by reflecting on the effectiveness of the PLC.
Why Protocols?
Why Protocols?
Protocols are an agreed upon set of steps or actions that drive team conversations. Protocols are a vehicle for collaboration and ensure that dialogue during the PLC is focused on teaching and learning. By providing a structure for deeper conversations, protocols increase the likelihood of substantive, results-oriented work. NPS PLCs use protocols for:
Equity and Trust (The Environment)
Protocols establish and maintain a safe, equitable, and trusting environment for teams to share vulnerable work. They achieve this by:
Preventing individual members from dominating the conversation.
Helping members gain differing perspectives and valuable insights.
Focus and Efficiency (The Structure)
Protocols are essential for maximizing the limited time PLCs have together. They ensure that work is targeted and productive by:
Structuring the time during meetings effectively.
Focusing the team's work and preventing off-topic conversations (or "housekeeping").
Ensuring meaningful and sustained dialogue on key issues.
Deepening Practice (The Reflection)
Protocols move the conversation beyond surface-level planning and into meaningful professional growth by:
Promoting reflection by both individuals and the team.
Driving the team toward actionable next steps based on evidence.
Essential Protocols for NPS PLCs
Essential Protocols for NPS PLCs
Data Analysis and Decision Making Protocol
Benchmark Advance Interim Assessment Analysis Protocol (appropriate for use with other assessment data)
Student Work Sorting Full Protocol and Student Work Sorting template
Looking at Student Work Protocol
Looking at Patterns in Student Work (good protocol to introduce looking at student work)
Examples of Focusing Questions for Looking at Student Work Sessions
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