RSA #3 Common Planning Time

http://www.eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=EJ914054

Interdisciplinary is crucial in a PLC school. Teams of teachers need to have quality time to meet to discuss curriculum, common assessments, outcomes, and essential questions.  According to Cook (2010), curriculum alignment, development of common assessments and student assessment are key functions of the professional learning community planning time.  Since the 60’s the discussion of common planning in middle school has been a “hot” topic.  However, the effective use of common planning time is very limited in some schools. Unfortunately, l am only able to meet with my subject area teachers four times a year.  There have been other opportunities to meet, but only for a short amount of time.  This is not enough time to implement or fully integrate the philosophy behind the PLC.

What I have found in my team meetings is that we sit around and complain about student behavior or school policies. We all rant or vent about the negative issues we have to deal with instead of having a productive meeting about student learning.  There is no common content or objectives to be shared, so in turn we focus on the one thing we have in common, the students (DuFour, 2010).  So we can sit around and discuss why Mary has a “bad attitude” in math class, but that does not determine Mary’s skill level or knowledge.  Again, it becomes a run around discussion about why Mary has a bad attitude instead of student performance, growth, and assessment.

The best team structure is a team who teach the same grade level subject. These teachers have a common interest in exploring the critical questions of learning (Daring-Hammond, Wei, Richardson, 2006).  There is on-going research that indicates that common planning, teachers working together, leads to improved student performance and achievement.  Having the opportunity to share ideas, outline ideas and compare assessments and student progress opens the door to all students receiving the most appropriate instruction (Cook, 2010). Teachers are able to learn different strategies and techniques and collaborate about student outcomes.