Is a PLC?
A PLC “is an ongoing process in which educators work collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve” (DuFour et al., 2016, p. 10). The architects of the PLC process designed this definition with great care and precision. Reflect for a moment on what it means to be a PLC. Every word of the definition relates back to the steps you will take as a practitioner to bring the PLC process to life in your school. As a result, we will break down this definition and offer some specific insights that we know will assist you as we reflect on the experiences of SCSD2’s deep and sustained PLC implementation.
• “An ongoing process”: Schools that implement the PLC process must commit to a way of doing business, or a process for working in school. This process includes many elements. But to have the most success, schools must embrace the notion that becoming and maintaining a PLC is an ongoing endeavor that focuses on establishing a fluid system with defined tasks and disciplined points of process. As Rick DuFour was known to acknowledge, PLC is not a destination; rather, it is an ongoing journey of transformation.
• “In which educators work collaboratively”: Being a team member in a PLC requires different work than being a team member in a traditional school. In a PLC, team members commit to collaborating at a high level on a continuous basis. At the heart of a PLC lies the notion that staff who work together are more effective and create better outcomes than staff who work in isolation. Team members in PLCs find that working together feels good; however, they collaborate for much deeper reasons than this. In almost every profession that relies on innovation and intellect, professionals generally agree that staff absolutely must work together in a strategic, collaborative manner to explore the deepest and most impactful innovations (Blanchard, 2003). The most innovative companies and the most successful schools have this in common. They make collaboration a creative, innovation-driving non-negotiable by systematizing collaboration, innovation, and creative problem solving.
• “In recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research”: This part of the definition requires members to have ongoing, dynamic conversations in which they collectively ask themselves tough questions, and it requires them to commit to studying results. Educators must shift from the philosophical gamesmanship wherein they argue about what’s best and instead collectively put their money where their mouths are to impact learning, measure results, and share successes and failures with one another. This moves individuals away from thoughtful but unproductive debate and into an arena of continuous performance, evaluation, adjustment, and growth.
• “To achieve better results for the students they serve”: In a PLC, your best results are never enough. Teams expect that all students will achieve agreed-on results, and as soon as students reach those results, the team agrees on a set of even more challenging goals, articulating the strategies to achieve those goals. This commitment creates truly dynamic schools that constantly grow and innovate.
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