Student Learning
"The primary goal of any learning community--improving student learning--is limited only by a school's ability to establish new structures, improve communication, enhance teacher learning, and develop collective intelligence" (Graham & Ferriter, 2010, p. 17).
"We have to teach students to think, innovate and learn.." (Joshua Katz).
In the words of Richard DuFour, Rebecca DuFour, and Robert Eaker (2008):
"When confronted with difficulty and uncertainty, it is natural for people to seek the security and comfort of the status quo. It will always be more comfortable, and easier, to focus on teaching rather than learning, to work in isolation rather than collaboratively, to use summative rather than formative assessment, to leave the question of responding to student difficulties to the discretion of each teacher rather than create a systematic response, to assign responsibility for results to others rather than ourselves, to care only about what happens in our room or our school rather than concern ourselves with the success and well-being of others, to cling to our assumptions and practices rather than examine them. It will always be easier to quit and return to the familiar than to persevere in the face of challenges, reversals, and disappointments. Therefore, the key to success in implementing PLC concepts is demonstrating the discipline to endure at the hard work of change rather than retreating to the comfort of traditional practices" (p. 421-422).
"When confronted with difficulty and uncertainty, it is natural for people to seek the security and comfort of the status quo. It will always be more comfortable, and easier, to focus on teaching rather than learning, to work in isolation rather than collaboratively, to use summative rather than formative assessment, to leave the question of responding to student difficulties to the discretion of each teacher rather than create a systematic response, to assign responsibility for results to others rather than ourselves, to care only about what happens in our room or our school rather than concern ourselves with the success and well-being of others, to cling to our assumptions and practices rather than examine them. It will always be easier to quit and return to the familiar than to persevere in the face of challenges, reversals, and disappointments. Therefore, the key to success in implementing PLC concepts is demonstrating the discipline to endure at the hard work of change rather than retreating to the comfort of traditional practices" (p. 421-422).