Activity 2.1: PLCs by design Activity 2.2: Design Models Activity 2.3: Designing PLCs for your school

Activity 2.1: PLCs by design

The Victorian PLC Theory of Action describes the critical steps and necessary design required to have a significant and positive effect on teacher professional learning. This includes knowledge, attitudes and professional practice. These are known to have a significant positive effect on teacher professional learning. They enable teachers to work collaboratively on disciplined cycles of inquiry and make data-informed decisions to diagnose and address student learning needs.

Creating a culture of working collaboratively to continuously improve teaching and learning is at the heart of the Framework for Improving Student Outcomes (FISO). The FISO Framework is used by all Victorian government schools to focus their efforts on key areas known to have the greatest impact on school improvement, one of them being Professional Leadership, in the areas of strategic resource management. Learn more here.

Student achievement, engagement and wellbeing

re21_UI_Gradient-Divider.bc81f6c7b0a66fec3575197a74332b9fa31a2226.jpg

The constants and variables of PLC design image

Activity 2.2: Design Models

Select one of the following models that best describes your school type to see how a case study school negotiated the constants and variables of designing a PLC to adjust the Victorian PLC Model for their context.

Note: Save this document so you can refer to it in the next activity.

Activity 2.3: Designing PLCs for your school

Use one (or more) of the school models from the previous activity to complete the following table. Discuss your answers and reflection with your learning partner.

Design Constants	Design Variables	Your answers and reflections
Student learning data	The types of data used The evidence of student learning The regularity with which data is used The type of data management system (if any)
Focus on students	The students to prioritise: whole cohorts smaller groups (based on differentiated support, special needs) case management approach for individual students.
Teams of teachers	The number of teachers in the teams The composition of the teams e.g. year level, domain, The amount of time teachers stay in the same teams The number of teams teachers participate in
Inquiry	The type of inquiry cycle to use The focus of the inquiry cycle The length of the inquiry cycle
Time	The scheduling of privileged time The duration of privileged time The frequency of privileged time The effectiveness of privileged time
Leaders	The number of instructional leaders The selection process for instructional leaders The alignment between PLC instructional leaders and Learning Specialists and Literacy and Numeracy leaders
Professional Development	The planning of professional learning opportunities to align with the school PL plan and AIP The use of Professional Practice Days (PPDs) The use of Professional Development Plans (PDPs)