Math Professional Learning Community (PLC)

A math Professional Learning Community (PLC) is made-up of course team members that are teaching the same subject of math.  For example, course teams members who are all teaching Algebra I or all teaching Pre-Calculus.  In small schools, the course team may consist of one PLC team/group of teacher teaching the math level of math such as college prep class or gifted classes. Either way the course teams are designed the purpose of the PLC team does not change.

My experience of being team leads of several different math course teams and also being just a member of course teams has taught me the following:

1. Set a pacing calendar that all team members have input on the design. This may take several days or a week to fully design because of the varying input from all team members. I suggest to Not move forward until EVERYONE is on-board and agrees to the structure of the content pacing.

2. Set group norms.  What are the expectations at the meetings and between meetings? 

3.  Assign duties/expectations to each members strengths.  

4.  Allow for everyone to be respectful for others weakness.  Do Not assign a task to a person's weakness as it is not your responsibility to improve a person's weakness.  This will only cause resentment, frustration, and much dysfunction. 

5. Work towards creating common assessments so that data among course team members can be collected and measured. This data is not to point out bad teaching or low performing scores, but to showcase the gains and good efforts of teaching.  This is where conversations of sharing ideas about teaching strategies is born. 

6. The heart of each meeting should be spent discussing teaching strategies to improve each teachers ability to teach each math concept.  For example, having teachers demonstrate their approach to teaching the Pythagorean theorem will showcase varying teaching styles. 

7.  Leave every meeting my creating the next meetings agenda together.  What is each person on the team going to contribute at the next meeting?  What assessment data will we look at?  What math concept will be presented by each team member? 

This list will keep your meetings on topic as well as keep everyone involved and engaged in the meeting. 

Have great next PLC meeting and share your ideas and comments to this blog.