The results of a jigsaw activity regarding the what Professional Learning Communities are and how they can be beneficial to educators.

1. PLC’s

2. Group 1
• Increase understanding between student and teacher by increasing their
quality of communication
• The main goal for teachers is to ensure the students learn successfully.
• Teachers must create a successful plan and rule out any negative points to
concentrate on the positive outcomes to ensure they are learning.
• Teachers will have to plan prior to engaging the students in the classroom to
ensure the method of learning will be successful along with having the
students engage in class participation.
• Teachers must have an open mind that not all students learn the same, teacher
must provide additional help to students who are struggling to help them
better understand.

3. Group 2
• PLC’s encourage collaboration between teachers and also between students.
• Collaboration is working together and each person is sharing and adding
information for others to use.
• Supports inquiry based learning and encourages student achievement.
• Supportive Leadership: admin works with teachers and encourages a
community of learners.

4. Group 3
• Ensures that students actually learn (as opposed to just a list of what teachers
need to do)
• Struggling students can be identified quickly and intervention can begin
immediately
• Can be used for staff development to implement school change and
improvement.
• Allows time to meet and talk and create a supportive community.
• Peer reviews

5. Group 4
What does a good PLC look like?
For staff:
• reduction of isolation of teachers
• increasing ownership and instructor buy-in for practices
• powerful and purposeful teaching is taking place
• better work environment- more satisfaction, higher morale, and lower rates of
absenteeism
• commitment to making significant and lasting changes

6. Group 4
What does a good PLC look like?
For students:
• increases attendance rates
• greater academic gains in math, science, history, and reading than in traditional
schools and
• smaller achievement gaps between students from different backgrounds

7. PLC’s
Image Credit: Puzzle Pieces – Bartek Ambrozik – Retrieved from: http://www.freeimages.com/photo/1440672