Blog
Entries by Rebecca DuFour
What a Gift!
Becky’s Recent Experience While sitting in a small open waiting area of a local salon one evening in early January, two young women engrossed in conversation came in and sat beside me. As . . . Read more
Is Departmentalization an Approved Practice in the PLC at Work™ Process?
Educators who embrace the PLC at Work™ process as the best hope for sustained and substantive improvement, know the first “big idea” is to ensure learning for all—students . . . Read more
Self-Directed Teams Contribute to Sustainability
We received a question from a school where teachers were upset that the administration seemed to be dictating what was to occur at their team meetings. Teachers resented being micromanaged, and administrators felt… Read more
Special Education Used as Intervention
Isn’t the system of interventions what special education is designed to do? Some people think the PLC concept is just another version of special education. They suggest, “If the kids can’t cut it, why not just put them in special education? That’s why we have it… Read more
What About the Whole Child?
Here is a question we often hear at our institutes: “All of this attention to academic achievement is a case of misplaced priorities. We need to address the needs of the whole child. What about the emotional needs of our children? What about… Read more
Neglecting the Gifted and Talented
Doesn’t PLC give attention to struggling students and emphasis on intervention result in neglecting gifted and high-achieving children? Educators who ask this question believe that focusing attention on needy, lazy, or low-performing kids… Read more
The Schedule Won’t Let Us Devote Time to Intervention
The most effective school systems in the world ensure that all of their schools have a process in place to monitor each student’s learning on an ongoing basis and a systematic plan of intervention that provides… Read more
Does This Seem Like a PLC Format?
We recently received the following question: At my school we have two mandatory PLC meetings scheduled per month in the mornings before our contract hours begin. We are in the process of preparing to establish schoolwide intervention… Read more
Should We Adhere to Our District’s Prescribed Curriculum or Engage in the Team Learning Process?
We recently received the following message from a principal: I’m trying to understand the relationship between essential outcomes and a math program. My interpretation is that the math program would support the students’ learning… Read more
Student Grouping in a PLC
We received a message from a school that had concluded assigning students to academic classes based on their ability was the best way to promote differentiated instruction for students. While we . . . Read more
Moving From a Tradition of Isolation to a Culture of Collaboration
Some faculty and staff may undoubtedly have a difficult time moving from a culture of isolation into learning communities. How may other faculty and staff help these professionals make that . . . Read more
Team SMART Goals vs. Smart Students
There are two assumptions we can make about teaching and learning. One is that students will learn according to their effort and ability and that their teachers and their school have no impact on their learning. The other is that… Read more
What’s the Difference Between a PLC, a Collaborative Team, and a Task Force?
We recently received an email from a high school math teacher who attended a three hour PLC overview session we provided for all of the staff members of his K-12 school district. Prior to hearing . . . Read more
The Case for Common Formative Assessments
We received a question from a principal of a high-performing middle school who wrote: "Although we have made significant growth in many of the core components of a professional learning community we continue to struggle with the perception of teacher autonomy as a result of… Read more
Team Structure in PLC
We have heard the concern expressed that the PLC concept only allows for course-specific teams at the middle and high school level or grade level teams at the elementary level. This is not the case… Read more