Individual+Questions+for+Presentation

=**What have you learned as a result of participating in the PLC process and other aspects of the course, e.g. class experiences, readings, discussions?**= Kelly- I have learned that the process of beginning a PLC is not easy. It requires time, collaboration and 100% buy in from all involved. I have also learned that PLC's are where schools' looking to move into 21st century teaching need to be focused. The process doesn't happen overnight so the sooner we start the better off we'll be.

Jenny- First of all, I learned what PLC stands for! I have also learned that a PLC requires a great deal of collaboration and a little give and take from everyone involved in a PLC. I learned that if we all just contribute a little bit, a lot of amazing things can happen.

Pete- From participating in the PLC process I have learned the importance of communicating with colleagues on various topics to improve student learning and making professional growth. I have learned that having appreciative leaders makes a huge difference in the way things are done and ran.

Kay - I have learned what the term PLC means in a school setting. Professional Learning Communities are a means of providing teachers with support, direction, motivation, and engagement in their profession. PLC's provide the learning staff access to learning strategies, instructional tools and ideas, and more importantly, collaboration among peers for support. PLC, if done properly, can be a tool to help students achieve success and help teachers provide sound, research-based pedigogy in the classroom.

Angela- As a result of this class I have learned what a real PLC looks like. I learned that it's more than just teams of teachers meeting and planning lessons.PLC's are working collaboratively with others on common assessments and using the information to help the students. =**Changes that have occurred (professionally, personally) related to your PLC journey in this course? **= Kelly - Many changes have occurred for me both personally and professionally. I am now a key player in the development and implementation of a PLC in my own school and in our school district. Prior to beginning this class, I didn't even know what a PLC was! Throughout the course and all of the reading and discussions I have become sold on the power and importance of PLC's in public education. I will also be presenting at the Principals' Academy in the spring. Pretty exciting!!

Jenny- I have now found more value in the conversations I have at school. My conversations have more direction and more purpose, especially regarding the success of my students. I have learned to appreciate the common planning time I have and recognize the great things that have come out of these unique, weekly planning times.

Pete- Since this class has started, I have been reflecting a lot about the collaboration that takes place in my grade level and have been making steps in the right direction to improve our planning process. We usually sit down once a week to discuss topics and themes we would like to cover. We must now incorporate going over assessment data to improve our instruction and brain storm together to get the most learning possible from our students.

Kay - Changes for me personally have been the understanding of what it takes to implement a PLC with "Fidelity" and the overwhelming challenges implementing a PLC can present if the administration is not on the same page. I would love to be a part of the PLC process at our school, unfortunately, I beleive the administration is not fully aware of the parameters of how to run a succesful PLC. They continue to pile more onto the staff, in the hopes of creating PLC's, yet the collaboration time is not yet discussed.

Angela- Changes that are occuring personally are that I am seeing the importance of differentiating the instruction in small group. I also can see the benefits of doing a PLC in your building and the positive impacts that PLC's can have on the attitude of the building. =**Any applications or changes you plan to make related to your PLC journey in this course?**= Kelly - I hope to become more knowledgeable of the workings of PLC's. I am currently enrolled in the PLC Mini academy at KSU and hope to continue to further my knowledge through continued reading and collaboration with others. Hopefully, I will be able to coach and inspire others in my district. I know I have a long way to go but I think I have a good foundation started.

Jenny: I hope to bring more data and assessment results to our common planning times. We are now using our common planning times to develop lessons, activities, and create assessments, but we do not look at the results and use them to guide our future planning. I think we could really see our students progress in great ways if we took the time to study these formative assessments.

Pete- I would like to bring more common assessments to my grade level that have been collaboratively made. Kindergarten does not have any formative/summative assessments and most of the assessing we do is at the end of the marking period. I would like to see more data in between like I did last year in the first grade.

Kay - I believe in the philosophy of "collaboration" with my peers, a key element of a successful PLC, but again, it comes down to how to find the time? I do plan on collaborating more with my peers, in terms of instructional practices, but I would like to be able to have "in-class" time to do this. I am going to give to my principals the book "Appreciative Leadership" for the holiday break, so that we can have an open discussion regarding the issue of collaboration and time.

Angela- I would like to see the common assessments that we are creating to be used and the data collected and shared quickly, so that students are being helped and enriched quickly. I would also like to see more positive collaboration with teams,