Professional Learning Communities

Policy

This policy supports schools to implement the Victorian Professional Learning Communities initiative.

Summary

• Victorian government schools are receiving support to establish professional learning communities.
• A professional learning community (PLC) is a small group of teachers within a school who meet weekly or fortnightly to improve student learning and wellbeing in their classrooms.
• PLCs engage in staged and continuous improvement cycles aligned to whole-school goals and priorities.
• The work of PLCs is underpinned by data and evidence related to student learning and wellbeing, and teaching practice.
• For further advice on establishing and implementing PLCs in your school, refer to the Guidance tab.

Details

PLCs were introduced in 2016 and are now a core part of Victoria’s architecture for improvement in government schools.

PLCs are teams of teachers within a school who work collaboratively to improve student learning and wellbeing. PLCs work on the school improvement priorities outlined in their school’s School Strategic Plan (SSP) or Annual Implementation Plan (AIP). They use the Framework for Improving Student Outcomes 2.0 Improvement Cycle (FISO) to work through short, 6 to 8 week cycles focused on improving learning and wellbeing.

The department is supporting schools to implement PLCs, with the goal of all Victorian government schools having PLCs established by June 2024.

Schools begin implementation with a pilot PLC. Over time, additional PLCs are established across the school until all teachers and school leaders are working in PLCs.

When implementing the Victorian PLC initiative, PLCs should:

• comprise small teams of approximately 3 to 6 teachers meeting regularly (every 1 to 2 weeks)
• use the FISO 2.0 improvement cycle to engage in continuous improvement cycles focused on improving student learning and wellbeing
• ensure data and evidence forms the starting point for the improvement cycle, and is the foundation for all discussions
• use protocols and norms to guide the PLC, ensuring that:
  • all voices are heard
  • the inquiry moves past surface assumptions
  • conversations, while professionally challenging, remain safe and inclusive
• be explicitly supported by the school leadership team, with the principal as the school’s ‘lead learner’
• align improvement cycles to the school’s strategic direction, for example via the SSP or AIP
• focus improvement cycles on a small cohort of students within a class/classes.

Some elements of PLC implementation can be adapted to the individual school context, for example:

• the exact length of the improvement cycle (between 5 weeks and a term in length)
• the ‘crumb’ – or the specific learning focus – of the improvement cycle
• the structure/membership of the PLC itself.

Response to Intervention framework

PLCs play an important role in a school’s teaching and learning program. Using a Response to Intervention (RTI) framework, PLCs are categorised as Tier 1 support, where teachers have professional learning opportunities to meet the needs of as many students as possible and are supported to gather evidence about which students are responding to Tier 1 instruction and which students need additional support.

For further information on implementing effective PLCs in schools, refer to the Guidance tab.

Supports available for schools

Regional staff

Area and regional staff can provide support to schools on:

• use of the FISO improvement cycle
• curriculum and assessment
• data interpretation and analysis
• building a culture of collaboration
• school systems and structures
• resources and structures for PLCs.

For further information please contact your senior education improvement leader (SEIL) or email the Professional Learning Communities Unit at professional.learning.communities@education.vic.gov.au

PLC link schools

There are 51 PLC link schools, located in every area across the state and representing a diversity of school types, sizes, contexts and approaches to PLC implementation. PLC link schools share best practice and spread PLC excellence by providing peer-to-peer support to other PLC schools.

To find your area’s link schools and the supports they offer, ask your SEIL or email the Professional Learning Communities Unit at professional.learning.communities@education.vic.gov.au

PLC Coaching Program

PLC Coaching is a free capability-building opportunity for schools to continue to strengthen their PLC practices. Schools will be matched with a coach, who will support them to overcome challenges and adapt the PLC approach to the needs of their school. Areas for focus may include:

• middle leadership capability-building
• challenging conversations to drive learning and practice change
• developing cultures of feedback and trust.

The program includes 12 hours of coaching, split over a maximum of 4 sessions, for up to 3 staff. Coaching can be undertaken individually or in small groups and can be virtual or face to face.

Access to reimbursement for Casual Relief Teacher (CRT) costs is available, with funding differentiated by school size.

Participating schools are required to:

• complete a brief questionnaire to match the school with the most appropriate coach
• undertake a pre-coaching conversation with the coach
• work with the coach to develop a coaching plan that responds to the identified areas of focus.

To find out when the next intake for PLC Coaching is, email the PLC Unit: professional.learning.communities@education.vic.gov.au

Related policies

• Annual Implementation Plan
• Assessment of Student Achievement and Progress Foundation to 10
• Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO 2.0)
• School Review
• School Strategic Plan
• Student Resource Package – Targeted Initiatives
• Victorian Teaching and Learning Model

Contact

For further information on the PLC initiative, please contact the Professional Learning Communities Unit, Performance Division:

• professional.learning.communities@education.vic.gov.au
• 03 7022 5900

Guidance

• Preparing for and implementing professional learning communities
• 10 principles of effective professional learning communities
• What makes a professional learning community work?

Preparing for and implementing professional learning communities

Preparing for professional learning communities

The first step in becoming a professional learning community (PLC) school is identifying the members of the school’s pilot PLC who will lead PLC implementation in the school. Typically, the pilot PLC will include a member of the principal team, and a group of instructional leaders and experienced teachers.

The department provides pilot PLC members with free professional learning to develop the knowledge, skills and mindsets for PLCs, and support the pilot PLC to implement its first improvement cycle. The number of staff who attend will vary depending on the school’s size and context. Topics covered include 'Creating culture' and 'Leadership for PLCs'.

Implementing PLCs

After completing core professional learning, the pilot PLC leads PLC implementation within the school. This process typically begins with the pilot PLC completing a number of improvement cycles to further develop the knowledge, skills and mindsets required to lead PLCs in the school.

Over time, additional PLCs are established across the school until all teachers and school leaders are working in PLCs. Depending on school size and context, this may take some time.

10 Principles of effective professional learning communities

Found in all effective professional learning communities are 10 principles that bring together the best available research on school improvement:

1. Student learning focus – school improvement starts with an unwavering focus on student learning
2. Collective responsibility – for every child to achieve, every adult must take responsibility for their learning
3. Instructional leadership – effective school leaders focus on teaching and learning
4. Collective efficacy – teachers make better instructional decisions together
5. Adult learning – teachers learn best with others, on the job
6. Privileged time – effective schools provide time and forums for teacher conversations about student learning
7. Continuous improvement – effective teams improve through recurring cycles of diagnosing student learning needs, and planning, implementing and evaluating teaching responses to them
8. Evidence driven – effective professional learning and practice are evidence-based and data-driven
9. System focus – the most effective school leaders contribute to the success of other schools
10. Integrated regional support – schools in improving systems are supported by teams of experts who know the communities they work in

What makes a professional learning community work?

Leadership commitment

Evidence from best practice research suggests that for a culture of collaborative professionalism to take root in a school, its leader must commit to all 10 principles of effective professional learning communities (PLCs).

Principals of PLC schools show this commitment by:

• making PLC implementation a school improvement priority
• establishing effective professional learning team structures across the school
• allocating time for teachers to collaborate and work in professional learning teams
• appointing PLC instructional leaders to lead professional learning teams
• releasing PLC instructional leaders to build their capacity to lead teams effectively, including using a consistent and structured cycle of evidence-based curriculum planning.

Instructional leadership

Instructional leaders are classroom-based learning specialists who work directly with teachers to improve classroom practice. They are released from classroom duties to:

• lead teams of teachers and build their capacity to use collaborative practices that will have a positive impact on learning outcomes
• develop and embed a shared team vision and commitment to ambitious goals and targets for student and teacher learning
• focus their teams on using an inquiry cycle to measure the impact of their teaching and identify areas for professional learning
• support their teams to collect and analyse multiple sources of data to assess learning impact and build capacity in curriculum and assessment, and instructional and pedagogical content practices
• drive a culture of trust, quality relationships and individual and collective accountability
• build a shared understanding of outstanding teaching and a collective commitment to achieving it, using an inquiry approach embedded in the day-to-day work of every teacher
• develop and embed rigorous systems and processes to support a range of collaborative strategies that focus the work of PLCs
• evaluate impact and differentiate support to ensure all teachers are continuously improving their classroom practices
• build self-awareness and leadership skills that build collective efficacy through a culture of high expectations for all
• deepen understanding of how to implement effective classroom observation and feedback
• increase understanding of how student perception surveys can contribute to improving the quality of teaching.

Innovative evaluation

Effective PLCs use data about the impact of PLC implementation on teacher practice and student learning and wellbeing to track progress and identify areas for improvement. Data sources could include student work samples, notes from peer observations or learning walks, student feedback, pre- and post-testing.

Best practice networks

PLC leaders work with other PLC schools in their geographic area to share effective practice and solve common problems. Contact your SEIL for further information.

Resources

Video case studies

Why work in professional learning communities (PLCs)?

• Victoria University Secondary College share how PLCs lead to improved teaching practices
• Victoria University Secondary College share how PLCs improve teacher collaboration
• Lara Secondary College PLC Journey

The following video case studies provide examples of participation in PLCs at different phases in the improvement cycle:

• Officer Secondary College PLC meeting – Evaluate and Diagnose
• Officer Secondary College PLC meeting – Prioritise and Set Goals
• Grey Street Primary School – Setting Goals
• Officer Secondary College PLC meeting – Develop and Plan
• Officer Secondary College PLC meeting – Implement and Monitor

Other relevant resources

The High impact teaching strategies (HITS) and High impact wellbeing strategies (HIWS) can be used by PLCs, particularly during the develop and plan phase of the improvement cycle.

The Literacy Teaching Toolkit and Mathematics Teaching Toolkit are high-quality, evidence-based resources which can be used by PLCs, particularly during the develop and plan phase of the improvement cycle.

The Victorian Curriculum F-10 and VCE Curriculum are used during the evaluate and diagnose phase of the improvement cycle. PLCs measure the spread of student learning against the relevant curriculum and identify the specific learning outcome ‘or crumb’ of focus for their inquiry.