Outline and Show Notes
Show Title: Will the Real PLC Please Stand Up? with Dr. Chad Dumas
Power Quote: “Clarity precedes confidence”
Description:
I’m giving you fair warning – today’s show is loaded with both big ideas and small techniques. The discussion will feel like it is meandering a bit but stay with us because it all comes together into a powerful conclusion. As your thoughts are being stimulated and questions and ideas are firing off, be patient and just enjoy learning. At the end of the show we will point you towards resources and give you some simple concrete steps. I hope you have as much fun listening as I did recording.
Guest Bio:
Dr. Chad Dumas is a Solution Tree PLC at Work, Assessment, and Priority Schools associate and international consultant, presenter, and award-winning researcher. His primary focus is collaborating to develop capacity for continuous improvement. With a quarter century of successful leadership experience, Chad has led significant improvements for both students and staff. He shares his research and knowledge in his three books on PLCs, and his upcoming Teacher Team Leader Handbook, Chad’s consulting and training includes research, stories, hands-on tools, useful knowledge, and practical skills. He most recently was the executive director of elementary education in the Ames Community School District, a preschool thru grade 12 district of 5,000 students in central Iowa. Before this he was the director of learning for Hastings Public Schools in south-central Nebraska for nine years. With 3,700 students and 60% poverty, the district had five buildings recognized as national models for improving student learning. Dr. Dumas' career has also involved being a vocal music director at a middle school, school improvement chair, professional development coordinator for an intermediate service agency, and a high school principal.
Warmup questions:
· We always like to start with a celebration. What are you celebrating today?
· Is there a story that will help listeners understand why you are doing what you do?
Questions/Topics/Prompts
· Why is “PLC” one of the despised edu-talk words?
· What are the core differences between PLCs and meetings that masquerade as PLCs?
· Are there elements of PLCs that can be grafted onto other types of events?
· For APs who want to nurture a culture conducive to PLCs and other collegial work, what do you suggest?
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Closing questions:
· What part of your own leadership are you still trying to get better at?
· If listeners could take just one thing away from today’s podcast, what would it be?
· Before we go, is there anything else that you’d like to share with our listeners?
· Where can people learn more about you and your work…
Outro
There is so much in this episode that next week I will be releasing a follow-up that specifically focuses on how you can use change processes to begin sowing the seeds for teacher-driven PLC. We’ll dig a bit deeper into my train analogy, the Six Dimensions of Organizations, and the specifics of what it mean to support and grow teachers.
For this week, I encourage you to begin asking your teachers these two questions, about a lesson, a week, or a unit:
1. What did you want students to be able to do?
2. How did or will you know if they learned it?
You could incorporate one these into 5-minute coaching like this:
· What went well?
· What did you want students to be able to do?
· Were there any surprises?
· Is there anything you would do differently?
We will dig deeper next week, fir now focus on asking reflective questions!
Close
· Leadership is a journey and thank you for choosing to walk some of this magical path with me.
· Please remember to subscribe, rate, and review the podcast.
· Have a great rest of the week, be present for others and, more importantly, take time to reflect and recover so you can continue to live and lead better.
· Cheers!
Sponsorship:
I want to thank IXL for sponsoring this podcast…
Everyone talks about the power of data-driven instruction. But what does that actually look like? Look no further than IXL, the ultimate online learning and teaching platform for K to 12.
IXL gives you meaningful insights that drive real progress, and research can prove it. Studies across 45 states show that schools who use IXL outperform other schools on state tests. Educators who use IXL love that they can easily see how their school is performing in real-time to make better instructional decisions.
And IXL doesn’t stop at just data. IXL also brings an entire ecosystem of resources for your teachers, with a complete curriculum, personalized learning plans, and so much more.
It’s no wonder that IXL is used in 95 of the top 100 school districts. Ready to join them? Visit http://ixl.com/assistant to get started.
Chad’s links:
Frederick’s Links: