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Facilitating Teacher Teams and Authentic PLCs: The Human Side of Leading People, Protocols, and Practices: The Human Side of Leading People, Protocols, and Practices
As professional learning communities become more widespread, educators have learned that they can’t simply form grade-level or subject-area teams and call it a day. To profoundly affect teacher practice and student learning, PLCs need strong and knowledgeable leadership. In Facilitating Teacher Teams and Authentic PLCs , Daniel R. Venables draws on his extensive experience helping schools and districts implement effective PLCs to explore this crucial but often-overlooked need. Taking a two-pronged approach to PLC facilitation, Venables offers targeted guidance both for leading the people in teacher teams and for facilitating their work . This practical resource provides Current and prospective PLC facilitators at every grade level will find this book an essential guide to navigating the challenging and rewarding endeavor of leading authentic PLCs. Build your skills, and help your team rise to the next level.
165 pages, Paperback
Published December 20, 2017
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July 28, 2023
I wish I had read this before I became a PLC lead, but hopefully some of the systems Venables shares will still work, even if implemented later than what is ideal.
“In my experience, the degree to which change is embraced rarely correlated with the validity of the change in question. Teachers’ acceptance of change is a function more of what that change means to them personally than of why the change is a good idea or stands to improve student learning (Evans, 2001)” (25).
“In my experience, the degree to which change is embraced rarely correlated with the validity of the change in question. Teachers’ acceptance of change is a function more of what that change means to them personally than of why the change is a good idea or stands to improve student learning (Evans, 2001)” (25).
August 1, 2023
I am so glad that I read this book just before starting my new position as English II PLC Lead!!!! It was relatively short for the amount of knowledge it provided, which I think is necessary for any professional development book.
Quotes that I thought were helpful:
"Challenges precede growth" (Venablisms).
"PLC coaches - especially new ones - should err on the side of too thigh rather than too loose. Like teachers who run an extra-tight ship at the beginning of the school year, they can always back off a bit and loosen their facilitation in time" (Chapter 1).
"Safety is not an option. We cannot ask teachers to show vulnerability unless we insulate them from the possibility of a bad experience" (Chapter 2).
"In cases where it's not practical or advisable to give PLC members full decision power, offering them options to choose from runs a close second" (Chapter 2).
"More effective than telling teachers what we think, what we would do, what we value, and what we prefer is asking them what they think, what they would do, and what they prefer. There is a simple psychology at play here: teachers who are asked what they would do are more likely to do it. Further, teachers' answers to questions about what would be best for students or what action they should take are likely to be consistent with what they perceive the group leader wants to hear... The fact is, seeking insights and advice from teachers truly does give them voice and choice; it's just that the resulting groupthink overwhelmingly skews in the direction of actually helping kids learn, even when that means some sacrifice on the part of the teachers" (Chapter 3).
"Silence rarely implies agreement" (Chapter 3).
"If there's one phrase that can singlehandedly shut down a room of teachers, it's 'What I do is...'" (Chapter 6).
"Looking at student work is a vital endeavor of any serious PLC, but looking at teacher work arguably has an even greater impact. The reason is simple: student work happens after instruction has occurred, so any response teachers make based on looking at the student work is reactive. By contrast, teacher work - particularly work not yet implemented - happens before student work is produced, so changes or improvements made to it before implementation are proactive. For this reason, I suggest that PLCs look at teacher work two times for every one time they look at student work" (Chapter 7).
I also did a write-up on different protocols that I thought would be the most relevant, which can be accessed here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z...
Notes that I took while reading:
Collaboration in the form of lesson planning, assessment creation, rubrics, etc is the foundational element of answering the question, “What is best for kids?” Once this has been established, you can move on to deeper forms of PLC work, if you have been given the bandwidth by your admin and PLC members to do so (Consider: when books are being banned in your district, you may need to spend more time decompressing than when you have an admin that supports your work.) Starting with planning together will hopefully make the PLC feel relevant from the beginning. Then, once there is buy-in and trust, you can move into discussions on grading systems, data, etc. which teachers might not do independently of the PLC, thus are in danger of feeling irrelevant if done from the beginning.
Instead of reading texts together, we could aim to do the same PLED trainings and use those to construct community knowledge (It is not reasonable to expect to do more than two text-based discussions per year.) It is not my job to “deliver community knowledge.” It is my job to help “construct community knowledge” through my facilitation.
Look at student/teacher work and try to find ways to improve it, not criticize it.
It is best if feedback that talks about potential failings of a work is paired with a suggestion on how to improve.
Article on giving effective feedback:https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/how-...
When discussing data, Venables points out that the focus should be related to the actionable gaps in student knowledge, specifically the least trivial gaps. Students or former teachers should not be blamed for those gaps, instruction should be blamed.
General Tasks of a PLC:-Construct community knowledge through readings, professional development, or discussions of professional development-Find potential solutions for teacher and shared dilemmas - Create common assessments and rubrics, ensuring that grading is aligned-Collect and analyze student learning data- Share instructional ideas and give feedback on teacher work.
My ideal PLC norms:-The only work done on laptops is the shared work of the PLC-We’re here to do what’s best for kids. Through collaboration, we all grow as teachers-Respect your team. We need everyone’s perspective to be successful-Embrace challenge-Get shit done. None of us get paid to work outside of school
Is a shared calendar necessary? I think that having units that last the same amount of time is important, and having common assessments due at the same time. But, as a starting point, sharing my calendar as an option may be a good idea since the teachers in my PLC are used to working with complete independence.
Planning protocol rubric and protocol should only be used for activities that are new to every member of the PLC or on lessons and assessments being used by multiple teachers, according to Venables. I personally think that it could be a good self-evaluation tool for a teacher’s individual planning.
Topics to discuss/ tasks to accomplish before students come back:
- How rooms/desks are being set up to create an ideal learning environment, including posters that will ideally be shared between members.
- Brief GTKY and “highlights from summer” paired with sharing of ideas on how to gtk our students in the first week. Include “quirks and irks,” favorite snacks/ how you like to be thanked, Hogwarts house?? Some of the gtky could be “homework” to be completed prior to the next meeting.
- Set PLC norms/values - begin with reading about what is an effective PLC???
- plan YAG or at least SAG. See group willingness and boundaries to follow a shared calendar.
- Discuss how grade books will be set up, particularly how grade book categories should be weighted for the benefit of students.
-Define workshop and writer's notebook. See if we can come to a shared definition. Discuss how notebooks are introduced and implemented.
-Can we come up with a phone policy that is PLC-wide and backed by admin? Discuss procedures in general (I’m really excited about my class DJ of the day idea!!)
-Find out what PLC members are most concerned about for getting ready for the school year. Make sure these topics are discussed as well.
Quotes that I thought were helpful:
"Challenges precede growth" (Venablisms).
"PLC coaches - especially new ones - should err on the side of too thigh rather than too loose. Like teachers who run an extra-tight ship at the beginning of the school year, they can always back off a bit and loosen their facilitation in time" (Chapter 1).
"Safety is not an option. We cannot ask teachers to show vulnerability unless we insulate them from the possibility of a bad experience" (Chapter 2).
"In cases where it's not practical or advisable to give PLC members full decision power, offering them options to choose from runs a close second" (Chapter 2).
"More effective than telling teachers what we think, what we would do, what we value, and what we prefer is asking them what they think, what they would do, and what they prefer. There is a simple psychology at play here: teachers who are asked what they would do are more likely to do it. Further, teachers' answers to questions about what would be best for students or what action they should take are likely to be consistent with what they perceive the group leader wants to hear... The fact is, seeking insights and advice from teachers truly does give them voice and choice; it's just that the resulting groupthink overwhelmingly skews in the direction of actually helping kids learn, even when that means some sacrifice on the part of the teachers" (Chapter 3).
"Silence rarely implies agreement" (Chapter 3).
"If there's one phrase that can singlehandedly shut down a room of teachers, it's 'What I do is...'" (Chapter 6).
"Looking at student work is a vital endeavor of any serious PLC, but looking at teacher work arguably has an even greater impact. The reason is simple: student work happens after instruction has occurred, so any response teachers make based on looking at the student work is reactive. By contrast, teacher work - particularly work not yet implemented - happens before student work is produced, so changes or improvements made to it before implementation are proactive. For this reason, I suggest that PLCs look at teacher work two times for every one time they look at student work" (Chapter 7).
I also did a write-up on different protocols that I thought would be the most relevant, which can be accessed here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z...
Notes that I took while reading:
Collaboration in the form of lesson planning, assessment creation, rubrics, etc is the foundational element of answering the question, “What is best for kids?” Once this has been established, you can move on to deeper forms of PLC work, if you have been given the bandwidth by your admin and PLC members to do so (Consider: when books are being banned in your district, you may need to spend more time decompressing than when you have an admin that supports your work.) Starting with planning together will hopefully make the PLC feel relevant from the beginning. Then, once there is buy-in and trust, you can move into discussions on grading systems, data, etc. which teachers might not do independently of the PLC, thus are in danger of feeling irrelevant if done from the beginning.
Instead of reading texts together, we could aim to do the same PLED trainings and use those to construct community knowledge (It is not reasonable to expect to do more than two text-based discussions per year.) It is not my job to “deliver community knowledge.” It is my job to help “construct community knowledge” through my facilitation.
Look at student/teacher work and try to find ways to improve it, not criticize it.
It is best if feedback that talks about potential failings of a work is paired with a suggestion on how to improve.
Article on giving effective feedback:https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/how-...
When discussing data, Venables points out that the focus should be related to the actionable gaps in student knowledge, specifically the least trivial gaps. Students or former teachers should not be blamed for those gaps, instruction should be blamed.
General Tasks of a PLC:-Construct community knowledge through readings, professional development, or discussions of professional development-Find potential solutions for teacher and shared dilemmas - Create common assessments and rubrics, ensuring that grading is aligned-Collect and analyze student learning data- Share instructional ideas and give feedback on teacher work.
My ideal PLC norms:-The only work done on laptops is the shared work of the PLC-We’re here to do what’s best for kids. Through collaboration, we all grow as teachers-Respect your team. We need everyone’s perspective to be successful-Embrace challenge-Get shit done. None of us get paid to work outside of school
Is a shared calendar necessary? I think that having units that last the same amount of time is important, and having common assessments due at the same time. But, as a starting point, sharing my calendar as an option may be a good idea since the teachers in my PLC are used to working with complete independence.
Planning protocol rubric and protocol should only be used for activities that are new to every member of the PLC or on lessons and assessments being used by multiple teachers, according to Venables. I personally think that it could be a good self-evaluation tool for a teacher’s individual planning.
Topics to discuss/ tasks to accomplish before students come back:
- How rooms/desks are being set up to create an ideal learning environment, including posters that will ideally be shared between members.
- Brief GTKY and “highlights from summer” paired with sharing of ideas on how to gtk our students in the first week. Include “quirks and irks,” favorite snacks/ how you like to be thanked, Hogwarts house?? Some of the gtky could be “homework” to be completed prior to the next meeting.
- Set PLC norms/values - begin with reading about what is an effective PLC???
- plan YAG or at least SAG. See group willingness and boundaries to follow a shared calendar.
- Discuss how grade books will be set up, particularly how grade book categories should be weighted for the benefit of students.
-Define workshop and writer's notebook. See if we can come to a shared definition. Discuss how notebooks are introduced and implemented.
-Can we come up with a phone policy that is PLC-wide and backed by admin? Discuss procedures in general (I’m really excited about my class DJ of the day idea!!)
-Find out what PLC members are most concerned about for getting ready for the school year. Make sure these topics are discussed as well.
April 17, 2024
Helpful for those starting out in leadership in schools
June 16, 2019
Really helpful advice for leading teams in education!
September 9, 2019
A great book to help beginning PLC teams get started and experienced PLC teams hone their craft.
December 30, 2019
This book is a nice mix of theory and practicality. There are some great protocols to use whether you’re in a new PLC or an established one.
August 7, 2020
Great for supporting teachers who lead PLCs. The protocols have been extremely helpful in supporting not only PLCs, but several professional learning opportunities.
May 3, 2022
Interesting to participate in this book study while exploring the different aspects of my job this year. I got good ideas for classroom activities too, to make class more interactive.
July 26, 2023
Definitely a great book for intro to coaching PLC work...I wish I had read it my first year!
June 7, 2025
Good strategies for solving problems in PLCs. As always, frustrated by the limitations of time to use the strategies.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews