PLCs: Learning and
Leading Together
AS I SEE “IT”
By Don Hall
Don Hall is the
CIO for the Minneapolis (Minnesota) Public
Schools, Minneapolis,
USA. He has more
than 20 years of experience in teaching and
administration and
is a veteran presenter,
author, and consultant.
Go to any school district in the United States today, and you will pick up the latest buzz phrase: professional learning
community (PLC). Everyone is building one,
but do we really understand what they are
and what impact they can have on technology
teams? After all, aren’t PLCs just for teachers?
The simple answer is no.
PLCs have many variations. Richard DuFour, a
recognized national expert in PLCs, finds that to
create a professional learning community, you must
“focus on learning rather than on teaching, work
collaboratively, and hold yourself accountable for
results.” While PLCs are appropriate for teachers,
they are equally fitting for any part of a learning
organization. If you are part of a school district’s
technology team, then PLCs are valuable to you
too. Here are the key attributes of a true PLC:
• Shared vision and values that lead to a
collective commitment by school staff,
expressed in day-to-day practices
• Solutions actively sought and openness
to new ideas
• Cooperation by working teams to achieve
common goals
• Encouragement of experimentation as an
opportunity to learn
• Questioning the status quo, leading to an
ongoing quest for improvement and professional learning
• Continuous improvement based on evaluation
of outcomes rather than on the intentions
expressed
• Reflection to study the operation and effect
of actions taken
It is important for leadership to establish and
maintain PLCs. Successful PLCs often require
a shift in the traditional leadership role from
leader-centered (top-down) directing to shared
leadership. Often, a top-down leader will create
a vision statement and encourage staff to adhere
to the goals outlined in the statement. The same
can be said of the way many of us run our tech-
nology programs. We develop a vision, usually
through a committee, but our staff has minimal
input in the process. As a result, staff members
also have little buy-in. Here is what you can do
to change this:
