Mathematics Learning Communities

“NONE OF US IS SMARTER THAN ALL OF US”

“LEARNING WILL OCCASIONALLY HAPPEN IN WORKSHOPS BUT MOST OF IT WILL OCCUR AS TEACHERS PLAN LESSONS TOGETHER, EXAMINE STUDENTS’ WORK TO FIND WAYS TO IMPROVE IT, OBSERVE ONE ANOTHER TEACH, AND PLAN IMPROVEMENT.”

Professional Learning Communitiesdefined

A professional learning community is a group of individuals who have committed to meet regularly for an agreed upon amount of time guided by a common purpose. PLC’s provide a forum for learning, assessing, planning and reflecting as a team. PLC’s create a collaborative environment where teachers can share, problem solve, and set goals that will strengthen teaching and learning in content literacyresulting in improved student learning and outcomes. Professional learning communities focus on learning outcomes, indicators of success and best practice.

  • Because definitions, objectives, and tasks of professional learning communities varies from site to site, we are going to narrow our focus a bit and call our PLC’s Mathematics Learning Communities or MLC’s.

The Goal:

The goal ofyour MLC is to help all team members become more knowledgeable about the Intel Mathematics Program, its connections to your everyday teaching and its connections to the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics through collaboration during team meetings and through individual study/work between team meetings, with the overall purpose of increasing student achievement and advancing mathematics pedagogy.

Characteristics of a Mathematics Learning Community – “Meeting Grounds for Learning”

Which of these characteristics are essential components for our purposes?

• Shared Mission (What are we trying to achieve?)

• Shared Vision (What do we hope to become?)

• Shared Values (How will we behave?)

• Spirit of Collaboration

• Action orientated - things happen at and between meetings

• Commitment to continuous attention to instructional strategies as presented in PD

• Outcomes orientated – focus on results for teachers and students

• Open classrooms

• Teams gather to share results of implementation of instructional strategies

• Develop plans for extending the use of instructional strategies

• Share ideas, success and frustrations

• Environments where teachers talk about their practice

What do MLC teams actually do at meetings?

At the first meeting….

  • TASK 1 – ESTABLISHING GROUP NORMS

The first thing the MLC team needs to do is to establish “norms” and a method to monitor them. In anMLC norms represent protocols and commitments to guide members in working together. Norms help team members clarify expectations regarding how they will work together to achieve their shared goal.

  • TASK 2- IDENTIFY A GOAL OR TARGET FOR THE GROUP

Deciding on a goal or target for the MLC team is an important step in the MLC process. It is essential that the team agree on a common goal. A primary goal for all MLC’s should be to provide content, pedagogical and professional support to team members throughout the academic year. What is it your group wants to get out of regular meetings (besides getting coursework done)?

  • TASK 3- Determine how the goal or target will be met

What actions will your team take to ensure that your team goal or target is met? How will you structure your MLC meetings, between meeting tasks, and collaborations so that you are making strides toward meeting your goal or target? What will each individual person be responsible for doing? What will the team be responsible for doing?

At subsequent meetings…

  • TASK 1 – review between-meetings assignments (e.g. content assignments, readings, etc.)
  • TASK 2 – collaborate on paired or group assignments (e.g. lesson plans, matrix development, etc.)
  • TASK 3 – reflect & share common experiences (e.g. update one another on changes you’ve made in content, pedagogy, thinking about teaching, thinking about mathematics, etc.)
  • Task 4 – revisit group goal/target

Are there changes you want to make to your group norms or goal/target for the year. As the academic year and Intel program progress, are there changes you want to make to expectations for your MLC? How can you better support one another in February than you did in September? What can you do to encourage collegial support and encouragement within the framework of the NAZIM program?

Expectations for MLC Meetings Between Intel Math Face-to-Face Sessions

Official MLC meetings are scheduled to occur between each of the face-to-face weekendINTEL math sessions held on the NAU campus. See the schedule below for expected tasks and outcomes for each of these meetings. This is a minimal expectation – feel free to meet with your MLC more often than is indicated on the schedule. It is expected that each member of the group come to their MLC meeting prepared – this could include having completed the content assignment, read the assigned readings, reflected on practice, implemented content or pedagogical pieces, etc.

Reporting

The Team reporting sheet should be completed at the end of each meeting by one member of your team. Rotate responsibilities for reporting on your meetings so that a new team member is creating the report each time. Submit copies online of team reports at the conclusion of each MLC meeting (do not turn these in during our Intel face-to-face meetings).

Adapted from NW #203 PLC Team Guide