Contemporary Professional Learning Communities: Schooling by Design to Meet Modern Challenges West-Pratt, Jordan EDU 8719-2011-3

An uncertain future and an inadequate education system

DRUCKER knowledge economies flexibility, adaptability, problem solving skills, ability to transfer knowledge and skills.

Friedman Giving so many people access to all these tools of collaboration, along with the ability through search engines and the Web to access billions of pages of raw information, ensures that the next generation of innovations will come from all over Planet Flat. (Friedman, 2006, p. ch3).

Sir Ken Robinson Where do schools come from Industrial age assumptions The future requires us to be creative and collaborative, two things schools are teaching out of children.

Wiggins and McTighe: Renovation

Schooling by Design Have a clear Mission and Vision Know where you want to go Plan, Plan, Plan

Stranded

What is the mission of schooling? prepare students for knowledge economies

What should curriculum accomplish ? classroom learning activities, and student learning assessment to promote flexibility, adaptability, problem solving skills, and ability to transfer knowledge and skills.

What actions will we take, and how will we measure our own success?

Who is in charge? Teachers providing rich learning experiences for students engage with each other in reflective research practices Administrators resource allocation keeping the school solvent development of leadership potential

Parallel Leadership and Professional Learning Communities

Parallel Leadership “a process whereby teacher leaders and their principal engage in collective action to build school capacity. It embodies three distinct qualities – mutual trust, shared purpose, and allowance for individual expression”

Professional Learning Communities a professional learning community consists of a group of educators within or across schools, who are dedicated to ensuring that students learn, who espouse a culture of collaboration, and who are focused on results.

Conclusion

Image references Slide 2: Highway:http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/munkittrick20100210 http://giorbymiranda.blogspot.com/2011/11/my-lung-operation.html Slide 3: http://www.mbaapplicant.com/peter_drucker.html Slide 4: http://www.learningdreams.org/blog/860 Slide 5: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/assessment/2002/03/thomas_friedman.html Slide 6: http://schoolworkhelper.net/2011/02/the-world-is-flat-by-thomas-l-friedman-analysis/

Image references Slide 7: http://englishweekly4u.blogspot.com/ Slide 8: http://sirkenrobinson.com/skr/out-of-our-minds Slide 9: http://www.kmconstruction.ie/building-services Slide 10: http://pirates.wikia.com/wiki/File:Upsidedowncompass.jpg Slide 11: http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/scary-stories3.htm Slide 12: http://iscopes.wordpress.com/2011/12/01/interdisciplinary-teamwork/

Image references Slide 13: http://coe.jmu.edu/LearningToolbox/solved.html Slide 14: http://learnthis.ca/2012/02/making-goal-setting-work-for-you/ Slide 15: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/897342 Slide 16: http://www.yupedia.com/how-can-professional-learning-communities-raise-the-bar.html All images current as of 3-2-2011