Chapter 11: Professional Learning Communities Writ Large

Fullan, Michael. (2005) Professional Learning Communities Writ Large. in R. Dufour, R.Eaker, and R. Dufour (eds). On common ground. (ppg 209-223) Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.

Abstract:
This chapter outlines a tri-level solution to creating PLC's. These levels are the school/community level, the district level, and the state or province level. This solution is taking a systems approach, and the strenght is scaffolded throughout the three levels.
At the school/community level, the focus is to improve student acheivement. Schools need a capacity to do this. This capacity comes from policies and programs from the district and state level. The district level looks to change the overall culture of the school district. This means entire districts are pushing to have professional learning communities within the various schools. How can they do this effectively? For success in a district it needs: leaders with driving conceptualization, a collective moral purpose, structure and roles for capacity building, lateral capacity building, deep learning, productive conflict, demanding cultures, external partneers, and growing financial investment. There are however, no examples where district wide PLC's have been implemented, but that doesn't mean it can't be done.The third level is the state or province level and totally depends on the policy the state or province has. Policy makers often perfur quick solutions, like putting a band-aid over a bullet hole type deal. This causes problems because PLC implemation takes time and effort.
There are 4 implications which come from the tri-level solution.
1) The neneds to address bias toward individualized solutions
2) need for system thinkers
3) imporance of learning from one another
4) danger of waiting for others to do something..
This tri-level agenda would make great progress if all three levels were able to become engaged in the process. This chapter argues that without the tri-level approach, it will be impossible for PLCs to work.

Reflection:
I found this chapter kind of confusing. First of all, I have no clue what "writ large" means. When I looked up the definition, the definitions they gave me had nothing to do with the title or the chapter. So I guess I didn't really get what it meant. Hopefully I didn't miss something to substantially important. The capacity thing kind of threw me off too. Maybe that is just the way I was interpreting it though. I thought this chapter was interesting and the idea of a tri level approach is a very good idea. The system has to be in place for PLC's to work, and it is important that it is tackled from more than one level, the school level. Support also needs to come from the district and the state. It is kind of like scaffolding, where levels and intertwined and build upon one another. I did feel that this chapter kind of contridicted itself in a way. It was giving us all these ideas about the tri-level approach and how effective it could be. Then, at the end of the chapter, the author tells us that no PLC's can be implemented without all three levels working. But also, in the chapter, it tells us that no district and very few states have implemented this system at these levels. I guess this was kind of disheartening, because if this is true, then are there no PLC's out there that work? I don't know. I guess I just felt like we have all this great information about PLC's and how they should work and will improve learning and stuff, then we are finding out that you need to have all three levels for them to work, and no schools have two of the levels yet. Ahh!