A Customized Approach to Engaging Educators in Professional Learning
Professional learning must be tailored to educators’ unique needs to achieve meaningful growth. Research confirms that individualized approaches significantly enhance teacher effectiveness and student outcomes. Rooted in the Learning Designs standard from the Standards for Professional Learning, this discussion explores strategies for engaging educators in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). Through methods like fostering collaboration, integrating existing knowledge, promoting equity, and optimizing time, schools can create environments where educators thrive and drive improvement.
Engaging Educators in Diverse PLCs
Consider the PLC team at Anywhere Middle School. Its six members span a wide range of teaching experience, from four to twenty-five years, and each possesses strengths in areas like pedagogy, assessment, and relationship building. However, none excel in all areas, and the team struggles to collaborate effectively. Despite a decade of PLC experience, they lack professional development on meaningful collaboration. While they value the PLC process, their conversations often lack focus, rarely challenging classroom practices or fostering shared growth.
These challenges are common in many PLCs. Discussions may become unstructured, veer off-topic, or avoid difficult subjects like equity or student data. Despite agreed-upon norms discouraging such behaviors, they remain unaddressed. Consequently, the team misses opportunities to leverage each other’s strengths for the benefit of their students.
John Hattie highlights the importance of collaborative expertise, emphasizing that teacher collaboration must be guided by shared goals, impact assessments, and scalable strategies (Hattie, 2015). Without these, teams risk perpetuating disengagement and missing the transformative potential of collective expertise.
The Impact of Intentional Engagement
Sustained engagement is critical for productive PLCs but requires intentional effort. Many teams establish interaction norms, but vague or generic guidelines often fail to ensure accountability or focus. Effective norms must address behaviors that underpin genuine collaboration, like active listening, reflective practice, and commitment to shared goals.
For instance, clear norms could discourage off-topic conversations or avoidance of challenging topics, fostering a culture of presence and accountability. When these expectations are explicit and reinforced, they create an environment where educators feel supported and motivated to engage meaningfully.
Creating this culture demands continuous attention. Building trust and psychological safety ensures that team members feel secure enough to share ideas and challenge each other constructively. In such an environment, collaboration thrives, leading to improved practices and outcomes.
Addressing Human Behavior in PLCs
The success of PLCs hinges on understanding how individual behaviors influence team dynamics. Teachers bring diverse perspectives that can enhance problem-solving and improve student outcomes. However, this diversity is only beneficial when team members feel psychologically safe to express their views. Without this safety, educators may withhold insights, diminishing the team’s potential (Reynolds & Lewis, 2018).
Leaders play a vital role in cultivating psychological safety by addressing disruptive behaviors and setting clear expectations for engagement. At Heatly School, for example, staff use the Fist to Five protocol as a social-emotional check-in, enabling transparent communication about their emotional states. This practice fosters trust and openness, creating a safe space for vulnerable conversations.
Additionally, monthly rounding interviews allow teachers to provide honest feedback on their PLC experience, reinforcing a culture of continuous improvement.
When educators see feedback as a tool for growth rather than evaluation, they become more willing to engage transparently. These approaches ensure that human behavior supports, rather than hinders, collaboration.
Developing an Engagement Continuum
Heatly School in Green Island, New York, offers a model for addressing engagement systematically. Recognizing that their PLCs lacked the impact needed to drive change, Superintendent Dr. Dan Kalbfliesh and Director of Innovation Bruce Potter introduced an Engagement Continuum to guide teacher participation. Adapted from Dr. Amy Berry’s student engagement model, the continuum outlines levels of engagement, from “Obstructing” to “Leading.”
This tool helps teachers self-assess their involvement and identify areas for growth. For instance, those “Evading” discussions may shift toward “Contributing” by recognizing the value of their input, while those already “Committing” might take on leadership roles. This framework encourages educators to reflect on their behaviors, fostering accountability and collective responsibility.
By embedding reflection into the PLC process, Heatly transformed its culture. Teachers grew more invested in each other’s success, viewing collaboration as a shared responsibility. Regularly evaluating engagement ensured that time and resources spent on PLCs yielded tangible benefits for both teachers and students.
Cultivating a Culture of Reflection and Growth
Reflective practice is pivotal to professional development, bridging real-world experience with deeper insights (Kelly, 2017). At Heatly School, reflection is central to PLC meetings, with educators regularly assessing their engagement and contributions. This self-assessment fosters accountability and creates a culture where learning from each other becomes a shared priority. Superintendent Dr. Dan Kalbfliesh highlights that reflection is about honesty, not perfection: “We don’t expect everyone to thrive at the highest engagement level all the time; rather, we ask for honesty in recognizing where we are and a commitment to growth.” This perspective nurtures a supportive environment centered on collective progress.
Challenges are reframed as opportunities for collaborative problem-solving. Teachers address obstacles together, transforming PLC meetings into spaces for meaningful dialogue and growth. By embracing shared responsibility, educators engage in open feedback, celebrate successes, and use missteps as learning opportunities. This approach strengthens the team’s ability to adapt and evolve, promoting an ethos of continuous improvement.
Reflective PLCs also prioritize trust and psychological safety—key elements for authentic engagement and open dialogue. Frequent self-assessments help educators appreciate diverse perspectives, fostering a culture of mutual respect. Leaders reinforce this by establishing norms that support respectful disagreement and providing opportunities for anonymous feedback. These strategies ensure all voices are valued, building trust that deepens professional relationships and facilitates richer discussions about instructional practices and student outcomes.
Aligned with the core values of professional learning communities—inclusivity, collaboration, and growth—reflection serves as a constant reminder that professional learning is a journey, not a one-time event. At Heatly, educators are not passive participants; they are active contributors, shaping a space for continuous learning. By valuing every contribution and addressing challenges collectively, the school has created a growth-oriented culture that inspires professional renewal and advancement.
This reflective culture has yielded remarkable results. Since introducing the engagement continuum, classroom academic engagement has increased by 45%, and 4th-grade ELA proficiency scores have risen by 30%, surpassing state averages. Empowering educators as change agents has transformed Heatly’s PLCs into a driving force for long-term success, demonstrating that when teachers are supported and engaged, the entire school community flourishes.
References:
Berry, A. (2022). Reimagining student engagement: From disrupting to driving. Corwin.
Hargreaves, A. (2003). Teaching in the knowledge society: Education in the age of insecurity. New York: Teachers College Press.
Hattie, John. (2015). What works best in education: The politics of collaborative expertise.
Horn, I. S., & Little, J. W. (2010). Attending to Problems of Practice: Routines and Resources for Professional Learning in Teachers’ Workplace Interactions. American Educational Research Journal, 47(1), 181-217.
Kelly, Jennifer (2017) “Professional Learning and Adult Learning Theory: A Connection,” Northwest Journal of Teacher Education: Vol. 12 : Iss. 2 Article 4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15760/nwjte.2017.12.2.4
Opfer, V.D. and Pedder, D. (2011) Conceptualizing Teacher Professional Learning. Review of Educational Research, 81, 376-407.
Reynolds A., Lewis D. (2018). The two traits of the best problem-solving teams. Harvard Business Review
