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| Foreword | |
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| Preface | |
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| About the Authors | |
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| The Professional Learning Community: An Overview | |
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| Preview of the Chapter | |
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| What is a learning community? | |
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| What are the characteristics of a learning community? | |
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| What is the role of the learning community in an age of accountability? | |
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| What are the key elements of the school improvement framework for learning community schools? | |
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| How is student achievement affected by the learning community model? | |
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| How are teachers affected by the learning community? | |
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| How do refelection and reflective practice contribute to the building of learning communities? | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Making It Work | |
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| Activities | |
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| Learning Through Shared Leadership | |
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| What are the roles of educational leaders in a learning community? | |
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| What steps must a principal take to develop a shared mission and vision? | |
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| What strategies can educational leaders use to communicate and sustain the vision? | |
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| What about emotional intelligence and leadership? | |
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| How do principals build the trust that contributes to improved student achievement? | |
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| What communication skills do leaders need to successfully lead learning communities? | |
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| What do leaders need to know about the change process? | |
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| How do you begin the process of building a learning community? | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Making It Work | |
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| Activities | |
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| Learning Through Ongoing Professional Development | |
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| What are the guiding principles for professional development in learning communities? | |
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| What strategies meet the needs of adults as learners? | |
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| How can we find enough time for professional development? | |
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| How do we assess the effectiveness of professional development? | |
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| How do we get started with professional development? | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Making It Work | |
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| Activities | |
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| Learning Through Teamwork | |
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| How can we overcome barriers to effective teamwork? | |
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| What behaviors promote effective teamwork? | |
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| What are the stages of group development? | |
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| How may conflict among team members be effectively managed? | |
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| What are effective ways for teams to make decisions? | |
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| How should meetings be conducted to promote team development in learning communities? | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Making It Work | |
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| Activities | |
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| Learning Through Study Groups | |
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| What is a study group? | |
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| What are the purposes and benefits of study groups for a community of learners? | |
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| How do you initiate a study group? | |
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| How can teacher book study groups be planned and conducted? | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Making it Work | |
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| Learning Through Classroom Observation | |
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| What is the purpose of classroom observation? | |
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| How does the standards-based walk-through for teachers contribute to a culture of collaborative instruction? | |
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| How does conferencing with teachers set the stage for the calssroom observation process? | |
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| How does clinical supervision improve learning and foster collaboration? | |
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| What about the observation of the differentiated classroom? | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Making it Work | |
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| Activities | |
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| Learning Through Collaborative Approaches | |
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| How may issues of equity and diversity be addressed in a collaborative learning community? | |
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| What is the role of collaboration in the learning community? | |
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| How do mentoring and coaching enhance the learning community? | |
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| How does collaborative assessment of student work build learning communities? | |
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| How may we collaborate with parents in the learning community? | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Making It Work | |
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| Activities | |
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| Learning Through Professional Portfolios | |
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| What is the role of professional portfolios in the learning community? | |
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| What goes into a professional portfolio? | |
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| How do you get started developing the portfolio? | |
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| How should the portfolio be organized? | |
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| What about electronic portfolios? | |
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| How may the portfolio be evaluated? | |
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| What strategies support the development and use of portfolios in the learning community? | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Making it Work | |
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| Activities | |
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| Sustaining the Professional Learning Community | |
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| How do we sustain a culture that supports a collaborative approach to improving instructional practice and student outcomes? | |
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| How do we sustain the structures that support learning community schools? | |
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| What must we do to maintain the focus on continuous student learning that characterizes learning communities? | |
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| How do we maintain a focus on the school's mission and shared vision statements that stress student achievement? | |
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| What steps must be taken to ensure that shared leadership is sustained in learning community schools? | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Making It Work | |
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| Activities | |
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| References | |
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| Index | |