Revisiting Professional Learning Communities at Work: New Insights for Improving Schools

by Richard DuFour; Rebecca DuFour; Robert Eaker

This 10th anniversary sequel to the author's best-selling book, Professional Learning Communities at Best Practices for Enhancing Student Achievement (DuFour & Eaker, 1998), is a merger of research and practice. It offers educators specific, practical recommendations for transforming their schools into professional learning communities so their students learn at higher levels and their profession becomes more rewarding, satisfying, and fulfilling. The authors examine research, practices, and standards in education, as well as organizational development, change processes, leadership, and successful practices outside of education. They provide core information on the professional learning community concept, along with new insights gleaned from their work with leaders in education and in real schools and districts across North America. They encourage educators to undertake the challenging but rewarding process of building their collective capacity to create schools and districts that operate as high-performing professional learning communities. This volume features a detailed chapter on the rise and fall of school reform, information on assessment, strategies for intervention and enrichment, and chapters on the roles of classroom teachers, the principal, the central office, and parents and the community in a professional learning community. The most extensive, practical, and authoritative professional learning community resource to date, it goes further than ever before into best practices for deep implementation, explores the commitment/consensus issue, and celebrates successes of educators who are making the PLC journey.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, School, Leadership, Teaching

520 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Cassie_Reads_Books · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book literally can be wrapped up in one sentence; working together makes schools better.

[Kristie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Educators! We bought this for all 50+ PLC facilitators in our district! It’s a perfect resource since it summarizes the highest-yielding, research-supported PLC components and also frames it within the MTSS framework. Every district who is striving to meet the needs of all learners through MTSS, using the PLC model to improve Tier 1, will benefit from this book as a key resource.

[Yulia Vasyliv · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Cultural changes are less visible, more amorphous, and much more difficult to make; yet unless efforts to improve schools ultimately impact the culture, there is no reason to believe schools will produce better results"

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books like this are my life now. #PLCs4ever

[Kristina]

Great resource

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The authors' vision of PLCs is certainly brilliant and could exist, theoretically, in every school. Unfortunately, true PLCs are something of a bird never seen in the wild, so to speak. It is nothing short of a tragedy that schools have failed, by and large, to enact the PLC structure that these authors' articulate.

Every educator in the US should read Chapter 9 - it convinced me that common assessments can actually lead to a more professional experience as a teacher, as opposed to limiting teacher autonomy. They provide the common text that enables educators to engage in meaningful discussion about best practices, review student data to ensure that all students are learning, and actually collaborate and learn from one another as opposed to existing confined to our individual classrooms.

This book both made me hopeful for the future of education and also infuriated that so many schools botch the PLC approach and water it down to a series of hoops for teachers to jump through. It truly is a loss for teachers and students alike.

[Alabama Best Practices Center · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is represents ten years' worth of the Rick and Becky DuFour and Robert Eaker's thinking and sharing the concepts related to professional learning communities. It is not simply a consolidation of the former books, but rather a view from experts who have been working with educators on PLCS originally as practitioners and now as consultants.

Full of useful information, this book is highly recommended.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have ever wondered why your principal is "making" you change what you are doing and have done for years, there are many answers in here. Great stories that help teachers and administrators understand the need for change in our schools.

Worth the time.

[Emily Rozmus · Rating 4 out of 5]

The go-to book for school reform.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read for anyone in education.

[Adam Uhler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great resource with solid examples--revisit frequently.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Give me lots to think about . I believe it is a book for all educators. You don't have to agree with what is said, just read it and think about what it is telling you.

[Dr.Given · Rating 4 out of 5]

Offers concrete ways to implement the theories and ideas behind Professional Learning Communities.