Laying the Foundation of a PLC
- School objectives reframing (Correctly presenting school goals to students and emphasizing rather than evaluating the goal to teach).
- Relating the objectives, plan, vision, and mission to daily tasks, interactions, and aspirations (Creation of a plan for everyday tasks based on the school’s overall mission).
- Delivering the school’s vision, mission, and assets within the establishment, to the learners and the school community (Conducting an open school policy on mission and values, providing lessons and lectures on this topic).
Who is responsible for initiating/sustaining activities
The headmaster, the current teachers, and other educational support staff are responsible for implementing these actions in the system. The introduction of these activities requires specific steps at each level of the school personnel.
Realistic Timeline for implementing activities
A realistic timeline for introducing and systematizing these steps takes six months to a year, including monthly compliance checks. After that, monthly checks can be eliminated, provided the system is fully established (Voelkel & Chrispeels, 2017).
Method of Evaluation for effectiveness
Ongoing observation and assessment of the content, syllabus, marketing/promotion, and current trends and expectations of learners concerning the school’s shared values and mission (Regularly conducting a variety of quality assessment activities in the context of the school’s mission).
Effective Communication
- Further use of both vertical and horizontal approaches to communicate effectively with teachers, supervisors, and assistants.
- Creating particular conditions for both students and teachers to communicate freely, openly share ideas without the fear of outrage.
- Utilizing readily accessible data to determine the exact needs of students and staff.
- Conducting ongoing elimination of misunderstandings, ambiguities, and questions.
- Engaging students in ongoing conversations to collect feedback to help enhance the learning environment and improve student learning outcomes.
Who is responsible for initiating/sustaining activities
First and foremost, the headmaster is responsible for building effective communication, introducing the school’s communication rules, and giving instructions to all lower-level staff. Subsequently, the teachers are accountable for the effectiveness of the communication, communicating directly with the students. Therefore, the principal is primarily responsible for sharing within the teaching community, and the teachers are accountable for communicating with the students.
Realistic Timeline for implementing activities
A realistic timeline for introducing and systematizing these steps takes about one year, including each semester’s compliance checks.
Method of Evaluation for effectiveness
To monitor the effectiveness and correctness of introducing the steps into the system, feedback from teachers and students should be constantly collected, and the information received should be processed quickly and efficiently. Furthermore, written evaluations of the quality of communication should be carried out every semester, both among teachers and pupils.
Clearly defined outcomes
- Strong collaboration with the accreditation bodies, vocational supervisors, program instructional teams, support personnel, and employers to identify the required learning outcomes.
- Ongoing collection and evaluation of data to meet educational aims and expectations, sharing data across departments.
- Teachers take a more active role in developing learning trends and developing patterns of student progression and expectations.
Who is responsible for initiating/sustaining activities
The headmaster is primarily responsible for introducing these steps, as they require out-of-school communication and the systematization and evaluation of the school’s overall performance against given criteria (Brown et al., 2018). In addition, the principal also gives teachers new schemes of work to follow.
Realistic Timeline for implementing activities
A realistic timeline for introducing and systematizing these steps takes one to two years, including each semester’s compliance checks.
Method of Evaluation for effectiveness
To assess the implementation of these steps, a written evaluation should be carried out each semester of the student’s engagement in extra-curricular communication and the compliance of the learning process with the outlined plan.
Monitoring Each Student’s Learning
- The progress of students is in line with the learning objectives.
- Cooperation between teachers, subjects, and grades makes it possible to keep track of pupils’ activities.
- Both teachers and pupils create portfolios of pupils’ work maintained online, pupils have shared access.
- More individual and measurable work is enabled.
- Different ways of assessing skills are used by teachers (assessments, fulfillment of assignments, involvement in classroom discussions, standards-based quizzes, activities in small groups, application of knowledge in other areas).
Who is responsible for initiating/sustaining activities
The school headmaster is responsible for creating these steps, while the teachers, who work directly with students, are responsible for direct and active implementation.
Realistic Timeline for implementing activities
A realistic timeline for introducing and systematizing these steps takes six months to one year, including each semester’s compliance checks.
Method of Evaluation for effectiveness
To assess this criterion properly, the quality of independent work should be evaluated each semester and an overall assessment of the dynamics of the quality of learning following the introduction of more individual work.
Building a collaborative culture
- Focus on establishing a collaborative culture through permanent lecturers.
- Make emphasis on communication, experience exchange, anticipation, and tutoring.
- Give the faculty members time for collaborative learning, facilitation, projects, and studies to improve student performance.
- Construct systems that create communities beyond the current constraints.
Who is responsible for initiating/sustaining activities
The headmaster is responsible for introducing these steps, as the actions of this particular clause are primarily directed at teachers rather than students.
Realistic Timeline for implementing activities
A realistic timeline for introducing and systematizing these steps takes one to two years, including each semester’s compliance checks.
Method of Evaluation for effectiveness
To assess the introduction of these steps, a teacher survey should be conducted each semester with a focus on determining the building of a collaborative culture.
Using School Improvement Goals to Drive Team Goals
- The investigation, setting, and publication of SMART objectives drive a cooperative approach to reach the goals.
- Objectives should be strategically focused on student achievement, quantifiable, achievable within a given time frame, valid, and time-bound.
- Student goals have to be based on academic evidence and entwined with the purposes of the school; objectives have a concrete aim and agenda, and teachers should communicate them to students.
Who is responsible for initiating/sustaining activities
The headmaster is directly responsible for introducing these steps, as he or she is ultimately responsible for shaping and maintaining the school’s strategy.
Realistic Timeline for implementing activities
A realistic timeline for introducing and systematizing these steps takes two to three years, including compliance checks twice a year.
Method of Evaluation for effectiveness
In order to assess these criteria, the overall school strategy should be evaluated twice a year, as well as the processes of each unit separately among both the school management and the teachers (Dehdary, 2017).
Turning Data Into Information
- Establish a dedicated record for collecting learners’ progress rates.
- Operate collectively to match the objectives of the work to the progress of the learners.
- Develop time frames and metrics to measure the achievement of the objectives using particular evidence and other measures of student achievement.
Who is responsible for initiating/sustaining activities
The headmaster is responsible for introducing these steps, introducing methods for assessing student achievement, and working with teachers to improve operations at all levels of the school staff.
Realistic Timeline for implementing activities
A realistic timeline for introducing and systematizing these steps takes two to three years, including compliance checks twice a year.
Method of Evaluation for effectiveness
In order to assess the introduction of these steps, records of student achievement should be kept, and a thorough bi-annual assessment of the collected data should be carried out.
Systematic Intervention
- The school provides specific low-level admission assessments to assist in identifying a pupil’s academic record.
- •Some punitive disciplinary measures exist depending on students’ particular misconduct, such as plagiarism or lack of participation in group tasks.
- •The school provides more help with academic issues, which is individual.
Who is responsible for initiating/sustaining activities
The headmaster and teachers are responsible for introducing these steps and ensure that disciplinary measures and appropriate levels of teaching and assessment are maintained.
Realistic Timeline for implementing activities
A realistic timeline for introducing and systematizing these steps takes one to two years, including each semester’s compliance checks.
Method of Evaluation for effectiveness
To assess this criterion, it is necessary to conduct written assessments of the appropriateness of disciplinary measures among teachers and reviews of the school’s assistance with academic issues among pupils.
Conclusion
To introduce a professional learning environment, it is necessary to follow the specific steps outlined in this paper. Therefore, the school will be able to improve student success rates, establish team communication and build a successful system for evaluating the functioning of the education plan. In addition, the introduction and appropriate monitoring of the steps for the implementation of a professional learning community will help increase the overall rating of the school and the interest of the students.
References
Brown, B. D., Horn, R, S., & King, G. (2018). The effective implementation of professional learning communities. Alabama Journal of Educational Leadership, 5, 53-59.
Dehdary, N. (2017). A look into a professional learning community. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 8, 645-654.
Voelkel, R. H. Jr., & Chrispeels J. H. (2017). Understanding the link between professional learning communities and teacher collective efficacy. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 28(4), 505-526.