“How do we develop and sustain a professional learning community for teachers in small, rural schools?”

Research question …

Our Research Claims

1. Professional Learning Communities, such as Smurals, are an effective model of school improvement

2. Professional Learning Communities, such as Smurals, allow for effective delivery of professional development

3. Smurals is a sustainable professional learning community

4. Participation in Smurals improved the teaching practices of our teachers

Research Methodology

• Action research project

• Quantitative data: Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM)(Hall & Hord, 1987); number of participants; 5 years +

• Qualitative data: teacher evaluations and reflections, surveys and questionnaires, observations by administrators, brainstorming and planning notes

• Work produced: collaborative units

• Goal of Project: Professional Learning Community

Action Research

• Inquiry into your own professional practice

• Asks fundamental questions

• Requires action

• Focused by professional values as opposed to method

• Leads to new knowledge/practice

• Provides evidence

• Links new knowledge with existing knowledge

McNiff, Lomax & Whitehead (1996)

Action Research

“How do we improve the quality of our practice?” v

“What is happening here?”

“Action research is a way of defining and implementing professional development”Lomax (1990)

“Action research is about improving practice rather than producing knowledge”.Elliot (1991)

“How do we develop and sustain a professional learning community for teachers in small, rural schools?”

“…informed committed action that gives rise to knowledge rather than just successful action”

McNiff, Lomax & Whitehead (1996)

CBAM: Concerns-Based Adoption Model

• Model for change in individuals • Holds that people considering and experiencing change evolve in

the kinds of questions they ask and in their use of whatever the change is.

“The strength of the concerns model is in its reminder to pay attention to individuals and their various needs for information, assistance, and moral support”

“Being aware of the concerns allows those in charge of the innovation to tailor aid given to individuals”

Typical Expressions of Concern about an Innovation

 Stage of Concern  Expression of Concern

 6. Refocusing  I have some ideas about something that would work even better.

 5. Collaboration  How can I relate what I am doing to what others are doing?

 4. Consequence  How is my use affecting learners? How can I refine it to have more impact?

 3. Management  I seem to be spending all my time getting materials ready.

 2. Personal  How will using it affect me?

 1. Informational  I would like to know more about it.

 0. Awareness  I am not concerned about it.

Levels of Use of the Innovation: Typical Behaviors

 Levels of Use  Behavioral Indicators of Level

 VI. Renewal The user is seeking more effective alternatives to the established use of the innovation.

 V. Integration The user is making deliberate efforts to coordinate with others in using the innovation.

 IVB. Refinement The user is making changes to increase outcomes.

 IVA. Routine The user is making few or no changes and has an established pattern of use.

 III. Mechanical The user is making changes to better organize use of the innovation.

 II. Preparation The user has definite plans to begin using the innovation.

 0I. Orientation The user is taking the initiative to learn more about the innovation.

 0 . Non-Use The user has no interest, is taking no action.  

CBAM Questionnaire

• Focused on three innovations:– Assessment tools– Collaborative unit planning– Smurals Network

• Responded to three additional questions:– How do you feel about the innovations?– What concerns do you have?– Overall comments about the Smurals Network

• Before and During Smurals snapshots

“How do we develop and sustain a professional learning community for teachers in small, rural schools?”

Literature Review

Research question …

Literature Review

• Networks

• Professional Learning Community

• Professional Development

• Small Schools

• Sustainability

• Create structure• Build relationships• Develop focus• Share values• Evaluate data

“they engage people in collective work on authentic problems that emerge out of their own efforts, allowing them to get beyond the dynamics of their own schools and classrooms and to come face to face with other people and other possibilities”.

Darling-Hammond & McLaughlin (1995)

Research:

Networks

Networks Doug Reeves

“Behaviour does not stem from a rational consideration of evidence, but from an emotional attachment to a trusted colleague”

55% of adult workers do not feel connected to their organisation …

16% actively disengaged

Majority of workers take their cues from a trusted colleague rather than from the boss, the employee manual …

(Educational Leadership May 2006 Volume 63 Number 8 Pages 32-37)

Network A complex, interconnected group

or system. An extended group of people with

similar interests or concerns who interact and remain in informal contact for mutual

assistance or support. www.dictionary.com

CoalitionThe purpose of the

collaboration is to spark a sustained conversation about what the commonly held ideas might mean and how a variety of communities might assist

each other in finding their best practical expression. Coalitions

give strength in numbers, fortitude in times of pressure.

(Ted Sizer)

Professional Learning CommunityA small group with complementary skills; equally

committed to a common purpose, goals and working approach; hold themselves mutually

accountable; deeply committed to one another’s personal growth and success.

(Katzenbach & Smith)

Network

Coalition

Professional Learning

Community

Su

stai

nab

ilit

y

Time

Evolution of our Professional Learning Community

• Teachers pursue a clear shared purpose for all students’ learning

• Teachers engage in collaborative activity to achieve the purpose

• Teachers take collective responsibility for student learning

Professional community improves student learning

Newmann & Wehlage, 1995

Research:

Professional Learning Community

Professional Learning Community

Collaboration Learning and Teaching

Focus

Achievement and Engagement

Learning, Reflection and Review

Use of Evidence

Hargreaves, A. (2003) Sustaining Professional Learning Communities, Section 3, ‘Betrayal and Trust’. Available from http://www.aspa.asn.au/Confs/qspa2003/hargreavespart1.ppt

Characteristics of a

Characterized by 6 core principles:

– a culture of collaboration – shared mission, vision and values– collective inquiry into best practice– action orientation– continuous improvement– a focus on results

(DuFour & Eaker, 1998)

Professional Learning Community

Professional Learning Community

• 3 “Big Ideas”:– Ensuring that all students learn– Culture of collaboration– Focus on results

• 4 “Big Questions”:– What do we want each student to learn?– How will we know when each student has learned it?– How we will respond when a student experiences difficulty in

learning?– How will we respond when they already know it?

(DuFour, DuFour, Eaker & Many, 2006)

Engages teachers in tasks of teaching, assessment, observation and reflection: learning and development

• grounded in inquiry, reflection, and experimentation: participant-driven

• involves a sharing of knowledge and focus on collaboration: community

• sustained, ongoing, intensive and supported

• connected to and derived from teachers’ work with their students

connected to other aspects of school change

Research:

Professional Development

(Darling-Hammond & McLaughlin, 1995)

Professional Development

Liebermann (1995)…• Debate about the best way for teachers to learn:

direct instruction by outsiders vs. teacher involvement in shaping their practice

• Cautions about traditional forms of professional development in the “top-down” approach

• Traditional approach needs “radical rethinking”

• Practice & Share

• Focus on curriculum and instructional strategies • Develop skills

• Promote continuous learning

Four Conditions for Effective Professional DevelopmentJoyce & Showers (2002)

Research:

Small Schools

• Unique culture & climate

• Sense of community

• Flexible & cooperative

• Relationships

• Balance – danger of overload

• Priorities and common focus important

Klonsky 2002

Sustainability is the capacity of a system to engage in

the complexities of continuous improvement consistent with deep values of human purpose.

Fullan (2004)

Research:

Sustainability

Sustainability does not simply mean whether something can last. It addresses how particular initiatives can be developed without compromising the development of others in the surrounding environment, now and in the future.Hargreaves & Fink (2000)

Seven principles of sustainable leadershipHargreaves & Fink (2004)

Sustainable leadership …

1. Creates and preserves sustaining learning… learning that matters, that lasts and that engages students intellectually, socially and emotionally

2. Secures success over timeSuccession & leadership capacity

3. Sustains the leadership of others Shared leadership

Seven principles of sustainable leadershipHargreaves & Fink (2004)

Sustainable leadership …

4. Addresses issues of social justice Share knowledge & resources

5. Develops rather than depletes human and material resources.

Mentorship & support

6. Develops environmental diversity and capacity Innovative, adaptable, creative

7. Undertakes activist engagement with the environment Engaged & resilient

It is a common defect in men not to consider in good weather the possibility of a tempestMachiavelli, 1532

All leaders, no matter how charismatic or visionary, eventually die Collins & Porras, 1994

Few things succeed less than leadership successionHargreaves & Fink, 2006

Our Research Claims

1. Professional Learning Communities, such as Smurals, are an effective model of school improvement

2. Professional Learning Communities, such as Smurals, allow for effective delivery of professional development

3. Smurals is a sustainable professional learning community

4. Participation in Smurals improved the teaching practices of our teachers

Levels of Use - Before

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Assessment 0 3 3 1 4 3 1 1

Collaborative Unit Planning 1 5 3 1 2 3 0 1

Smurals Network 0 8 2 1 3 1 0 1

non-use orientation preparation mechanical routine refinement integration renewal

Research Claim #1:Professional Learning Communities, such as Smurals, are an effective model of school improvement.

Levels of Use - During

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Assessment

Collaborative Unit Planning

Smurals Network

Linear (Collaborative Unit Planning)

Assessment 0 0 1 2 0 5 6 2

Collaborative Unit Planning 0 0 4 0 4 3 4 2

Smurals Network 0 0 2 0 1 5 5 3

non-use orientation preparation mechanical routine refinement integration renewal

Research Claim #1:Professional Learning Communities, such as Smurals, are an effective model of school improvement.

Stages of Concern: Collaborative Unit Planning Before and During

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Before

During

Before 1 1 4 3 3 3 1

During 0 0 0 0 4 10 2

awareness information personal management consequence collaboration refocusing

Research Claim #2:Professional Learning Communities, such as Smurals, allow for effective delivery of professional development

Stages of Concern: Smurals NetworkBefore and During

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Before

During

Before 1 6 3 2 3 0 1

During 0 1 0 1 2 10 2

awareness information personal management consequence collaboration refocusing

Research Claim #3:Smurals is a sustainable professional learning community.

Levels of Use - Assessment Before & During

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Before

During

Before 0 3 3 1 4 3 1 1

During 0 0 1 2 0 5 6 2

non-use orientation preparation mechanical routine refinement integration renewal

Research Claim #4:Participation in Smurals improved the teaching practices of our teachers.

“I like the way SMURALS has helped me grow as a teacher. Observing others teach their lessons has helped me pick up new strategies for teaching. Collaborative assessment design, especially the work with rubrics, has helped me as a teacher. Also, our connection with other teachers has continued outside SMURALS.”

~Alana Albert (Teacher)

Impact of Smurals on system

Future Directions

Impact of Smurals on Student Learning

• Core leadership is key

• Relinquishing control

• Adapting organisational structure (eg. new school/teachers, timeline, planning to meet needs of teachers, financial support)

• High school & elementary collaboration

• Time for reflection –CBAM

• Patience & set short-term goals remembering purpose

• Reflect on principles of PLC

Lessons Learned

Smurals PLC Cmap