Action Research Project Title: Professional Learning Communities
Blog URL: http://bridgettnull.blogspot.com
Number of AR Project Documented Hours: 20
AR Project Summary (at least 250 words):
My research project is going well. Prior to school starting, I met with my principal and my team leader to brainstorm possible structures, particular needs, etc. This was very important because I was brand new to this campus. Professional learning communities were completely unfamiliar to this staff, and they were unaccustomed to being required to attend meetings more than once per month. I planned and organized introductory materials for a staff development session, and I presented to the staff during orientation before school started. These presentations were completed in three sessions so that the groups were small and could offer question/answer opportunities. Each team (grade level and subject) were required to submit their calendar of meeting dates, which is one day per month. This day is not to take the place of a planning day but is an additional meeting. Each team is allowed to choose their PLC material so that their specific needs are being addressed. I'd also like to note that because PLCs are brand new to my campus, my principal and I decided that starting small is the best way to win over the staff. PLCs are occurring only within teams and not as one large collective group. I will be conducting periodic surveys and questionnaires to compile data, and I will also be attending PLCs for different teams as my conference schedule allows. My goal is to remain available to all staff members for questions or assistance as needed. I teach 5th grade ELAR, and we had our first meeting this past week. We asked our librarian to come in and help us with BookShare, an online audio program reserved for children with special needs. This program is completely free to these students; they need only an account and a device. This PLC was very important to our team because we have a very large group students that are eligible for this program. We need to understand how to use the program so that we can help the students when questions arise.
