This document provides information about a workshop on Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) led by Susan Hillyard. The workshop will explore definitions of PLCs and models of PLCs. It will discuss the importance of PLCs and how they can be implemented in schools. Exercises are included to help participants understand concepts like connectivism, leadership, motivation theories, and strategies for launching a PLC. Questions are provided to guide discussion and reflection on topics such as the need for change, PLC structures, and participant needs, knowledge and goals regarding PLCs.

1. Susan Hillyard – PLCs for a Change
PLCs for a Change?
Susan Hillyard B.Ed.(Hons)
e-mail: ssnhillyard@gmail.com
Blogspot:
http://susanhillyard.blogspot.com.ar/
Abstract
In this workshop we will explore the meaning of “Professional Learning
Communities”, analyse a number of models and consider the value of planning and
launching a PLC in the context of the ICPNA school environment. We will define
PLCs and why they are considered to be important, basing some of these concepts
on recent theories of connectivism and trust. Leadership will be seen as a shared
experience in a change-ready school. The skills for motivating and inspiring a whole
school culture through reference to Maslow and McGregor will be examined while
the concept of both Heads and Teachers as learners in their own right will be
stressed. Finally, strategies for launching a PLC in an ICPNA school will be
discussed.
Handouts
Questions for Session 1
1. Why is there a call for change?
2. What are the existing structures like?
3. What are your needs?
4. What do you know about PLCs?
5. What do you want to know about PLCs?
6. What are PLCs?
Exercise 1
Look at a collage. Choose 2 images and write either
a) A caption or
b) A comment related to your own feelings
c) Share with the group
Exercise 2
Watch a video and make five comments answering the Question “Why is there a
Call for Change?”
Exercise 3

2. Susan Hillyard – PLCs for a Change
Complete the KWL chart
 What I Know Today
 What I Want to Know Today
 What I Learned ( Session 3)
Exercise 4
Mc Gregor’s Theory X and Theory Y - Douglas McGregor developed a
philosophical view of humankind with his Theory X and Theory Y in 1960. These are
two opposing perceptions about how people view human behavior at work and
organizational life.
Theory X - With Theory X assumptions, management's role is to coerce and control
employees.
 People have an inherent dislike for work and will avoid it whenever
possible.
 People must be coerced, controlled, directed, or threatened with
punishment in order to get them to achieve the organizational objectives.
 People prefer to be directed, do not want responsibility, and have little or
no ambition.
 People seek security above all else.

3. Susan Hillyard – PLCs for a Change
Theory Y - With Theory Y assumptions, management's role is to develop the
potential in employees and help them to release that potential towards common
goals.
 Work is as natural as play and rest.
 People will exercise self-direction if they are committed to the objectives
(they are NOT lazy).
 Commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with
their achievement.
 People learn to accept and seek responsibility.
 Creativity, ingenuity, and imagination are widely distributed among the
population. People are capable of using these abilities to solve an
organizational problem.
 People have potential.
Changing: The thrust is on forging sound relationships, developing a system of
effective communication and modelling natural authority rather than authority by
position. We are working with people, not paper or machines and this sensitivity
must override all other considerations.
The basis of Natural Authority
 Integrity
 Fairness
 Confidence
 The putting of others before self
 Respect and concern for others
 An understanding of people as people
 An ability to make decisions
 Acceptance of responsibility
 Breadth of vision
 An ability to tell the story to the pueblo
 Knowledge of the job.
Personal Leadership Checklist
1. Am I X or Y?
2. Do I set aside planned time to talk to people and do I REALLY DO it?
3. Before taking decisions do I consult with the ones who will be affected?
4. Am I approachable?
5. Does each member of my team have an individual development plan?
6. Do members of the team come to me with ideas?
7. Do I react to CHANGE negatively or positively?
8. Do I communicate well?
9. Am I a good listener?
10. How well do I manage time?
11. Do I make decisions well?
12. Do I delegate well?
13. Am I enthusiastic?
14. Do I always put others before myself?
Security, as a vitally important feature, will be observed through the necessity of
workers to enjoy clear communication of an atmosphere of approval, to have

4. Susan Hillyard – PLCs for a Change
knowledge of what is expected, to be guaranteed forewarning of changes, and to
expect consistent discipline.
Exercise 5
Looking and listening to the principles of PLCs
Exercise 6
Consider some quotations about change and innovation
BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Ashbaugh, C.R. and Kasten K. L. 1991 Educational Leadership Longman, NY
 Freire P, 1993, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Continuum, New York
 Hartle F, Everall K, and Baker C, 2001, Performance Management, Kogan
Page, London
 Walling, D.R. Ed. 1994, Teachers as Leaders, Phi Delta Kappa Ed
Foundation, Bloomington, Indiana
 Pedler, M,Burgoyne, J, Boydell T. 1978 A Manager’s Guide to Self
Development McGraw-Hill, UK
 SEDL Organisation Retrieved 23/11/2010
http://www.sedl.org/pubs/change34/
 The Quantum Theory of Trust Retrieved 23/11/2010
http://www.netform.com/html/s+b%20article.pdf
 Siemens G: Connectivism Retrieved 23/11/2010
http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Jan_05/article01.htm
Questions for Session II
7. What did you learn about PLCs?
8. Where are you and where is your school?
9. What is connectivism?
10. What is a leader?
11. What is Innovation Theory?
Exercise 1: Layers of the Onion
1. Tell your partners what you feel you learned and if/how your thinking has
changed vis a vis your school/situation
2. Share with the group
Exercise 2: Where are you? Group discussion
Take out your Group’s PLC Assessment Grid and discuss where your context is
placed and what you would like to change.
Exercise 3: What is connectivism? Think Time
Follow the rules of think time and write down what you think this term might mean
given today’s media age.

5. Susan Hillyard – PLCs for a Change
Exercise 4: What is a Leader? Inclusive brainstorming in Groups.
Follow the Instructions and create a living list of the qualities of a leader.
Exercise 5: Maslow’s Pyramid and Trust
To what extent does your school help the staff to reach the pinnacle? How well
trusted are your staff? Where are you, yourself, on the pyramid? Write a
monologue.
Exercise 5: Innovation Theory
Innovation Theory
A.Innovation adopters
1 Innovators
Typically people who are enthusiasts, highly knowledgeable, and who may even
play a vital role in the invention of the innovation itself.
2 Early adopters
Usually people who are well placed in social networks, who attend conferences and
who have the confidence to adopt innovations before
the majority. Early adopters are often influential opinion leaders.
3 Early majority adopters
This group represent the point at which the innovation takes off. They often rely on
recommendations from opinion leaders.
4 The late majority
These take up the innovation when it becomes impossible not to do so because
everyone else has. It is the point at which NOT adopting carries with it penalties.
However, they will be looking for a proven, well debugged product which can
be adopted quickly without pain. The motives and aims of these later, mainstream
adopters are often very different from those of early adopters. Although they are
the late majority, their power to form an opinion block should not be
underestimated.
5 The ‘laggards’
A resistant minority who will be very slow to adopt, or who may never do so. Their
motives for non-adoption may be varied, from poverty through to circumstance or
ideology. The standard distribution curve used by many analysts suggests laggards
may total around 16% of the total population.
Source: E. M. Rogers (2003)
B.The Gartner hype cycle
Complementing theories of innovation diffusionis the ‘Gartner hype cycle’ outlined
below. This builds on the ideas of innovation diffusion researchers by describing the
typical stages which a new technology goes through. If we apply these ideas to the
development of global English, then perhaps the period in the 1990s represented
the period of inflated expectations. If so, we may now be somewhere between the
‘trough of disillusionment’ and the ‘slope of enlightenment’, in which some countries
are already shifting national priorities (perhaps to Spanish or Mandarin) whilst
others are making progress with the groundwork which will ensure they reach the
‘plateau of productivity’. I think the important insight is that it takes time, and
perhaps some failures, to reach a stage in which the benefits of global English are

6. Susan Hillyard – PLCs for a Change
maximised and the costs (both economic and cultural) are minimised. Furthermore,
we can see that the needs and aspirations of users of global English are very
different from those of early adopters, and the benefi ts they will receive will also
be different. We are entering a phase of global English which is less glamorous, less
news-worthy, and further from the leading edge of exciting ideas. It is the
‘implementation stage’, which will shape future identities, economies and cultures.
The way this stage is managed could determine the futures of several generations.
The IT market research consultants Gartner uses what they call the ‘hype cycle’ to
help understand the process of innovation diffusion. They identify 5 stages in a
typical hype cycle for new technology.
1 The technological breakthrough or trigger that makes the innovation possible.
2 Peak of inflated expectations
A frenzy of publicity typically generates over-enthusiasm and unrealistic
expectations. There may be some successful applications of a technology, but there
are typically more failures.
3 Trough of disillusionment
Technologies enter the ‘trough of disillusionment’ because they fail to meet
expectations and quickly become unfashionable. Consequently, the press usually
abandons the topic and some users abandon the technology.
4 Slope of enlightenment
Although the press may have stopped covering the technology, some businesses
continue through the ‘slope of enlightenment’ and experiment
to understand the benefi ts and practical application of the technology.
5 Plateau of productivity
A technology reaches the ‘plateau of productivity’ as the benefits of it become
widely demonstrated and accepted. The technology becomes increasingly stable
and evolves in second and third generations. The final height of the plateau varies
according to whether the technology is broadly applicable or benefits only
a niche market.
Bibliography
 Professional Learning Communities Assessment Grid:
http://www.sedl.org/pubs/index.cgi?l=item&id=plc01&smc=banner-html
 Gartner Hype Cycle:
http://www.gartner.com/technology/research/methodologies/hype-cycle.jsp
 Innovation Diffusion Theory
http://www.enablingchange.com.au/Summary_Diffusion_Theory.pdf
 Connectivism:
https://www.hetl.org/wp-content/uploads/gravity_forms/2-
298b245759ca2b0fab82a867d719cbae/2013/01/Connectivism-hand-out.pdf

7. Susan Hillyard – PLCs for a Change
Questions for Session III
12. Why trust your staff?
13. What is Social Intelligence?
14. How do I start to create a Community of Professional Learners?
15. KWL: What did you learn?
Exercise 1: What is EI and SI?
Watch a video and answer these questions:
1. What is Emotional Intelligence?
2. What specific PROBLEM does DG mention regarding an executive who was
failing to lead?
3. What is higher order integration?
4. How do we assess our own strengths and weaknesses as leaders?
5. What is social intelligence?
6. Where does passion fit in?
7. What is Herb Kelleher’s success?
8. What is the easy 5 step process?
9. What are the best companies investing in?
10.Name three individual skills in EI
11.Name the main social skills in SI
Exercise 2: Is yours a change-ready school?
How do people communicate?
What is the state of listening in your school?
Exercise 3: Starting to plan your PLC
Read your fragment of the article and start your plans:
http://www.sedl.org/pubs/sedl-letter/v21n01/prof_learn.html
Resources List
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES
Books and Journal Articles
 Cowan, D. (2009, November). Creating a community of professional
learners: An inside view. SEDL Letter, 21(2), 20–25. Retrieved from
http://www.sedl.org/pubs/sedlletter/v21n01/SEDLLetter_v21n01.pdf
 Cowan, D., Joyner, S., & Beckwith, S. (2008). Working systemically in
action: A guide for facilitators. Austin, TX: SEDL.
 Fleming, G. & Leo, T. (1999). Principals and teachers: Continuous learners.
Issues about Change, 7(2). Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development
Laboratory.
 Hall, G. E., & Hord, S. M. (2006). Implementing change: Patterns, principles,
and potholes. Boston: Pearson.
 Heppen, J. B., & Therriault, S. B. (2008). Issue brief: Developing early
warning systems to identify potential high school dropouts. Washington, DC:
American Institutes for Research. Retrieved from
http://www.betterhighschools.org/pubs/ews_guide.asp

8. Susan Hillyard – PLCs for a Change
 Hipp, K. A., Huffman, J. B., Pankake, A. M., & Olivier, D. F. (2008).
Sustaining professional learning communities. Journal of Educational
Change, 9(2), 173–195.
 Hipp, K. K., & Huffman, J. B. (Eds.). (2010). Demystifying professional
learning communities: School leadership at its best. Lanham, MD: Rowman
and Littlefield.
 Hord, S. M. (1997). Professional learning communities: Communities of
continuous inquiry and improvement. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational
Development Laboratory.
 Hord, S. M. (1997). Professional learning communities: What are they and
why are they important? Issues About Change, 6(1). Austin, TX: Southwest
Educational Development Laboratory.
 Hord, S. M. (2000). Multiple mirrors: Reflections on the creation of
professional learning communities. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational
Development Laboratory.
 Hord, S. M. (2007, April). What is a PLC? Shared beliefs, values, and vision.
SEDL Letter, 19(1), 3–5. Retrieved
http://www.sedl.org/pubs/sedlletter/v19n01/SEDLLetter_v19n01.pdf
 Hord, S. M. (Ed.). (2003). Learning together, Leading together. New York:
Teachers College Press.
 Hord, S. M., & Sommers, W. A. (2010). Leading professional learning
communities: Voices from research and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Corwin.
 Hord, S. M., Meehan, M. L., Orietsky, S., & Sattes, B. (1999). Assessing a
school staff as a community of professional learners. Issues about Change,
7(1). Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.
 Hord, S. M., Roussin, J. L., & Sommers, W. A. (2010). Guiding professional
learning communities: Inspiration, challenge, surprise, and meaning.
Thousand Oaks, CA:Corwin.
http://www.sedl.org/pubs/sedl-letter/v22n02/SEDLLetter_v22n02.pdf
 Huffman, J. B., & Hipp, K. K. (2003). Reculturing schools as professional
learning communities. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.
 Leo, T. & Cowan, D. (2000). Launching professional learning communities:
Beginning actions. Issues About Change, 8(1). Austin, TX: Southwest
Educational Development Laboratory.
 Morrissey, M. S. (2000). Professional learning communities: An ongoing
exploration. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.
 Shankland, L. (2010, Fall/Winter). Reading the warning signs: Using
research to prevent high school dropouts in Texas. SEDL Letter, 22(2), 6–7.
Retrieved from
 Tobia, E. (2007, April). The professional teaching and learning cycle:
Implementing a standards-based approach to professional development.
SEDL Letter, 19(1), 11–15.Retrieved from http://www.sedl.org/pubs/sedl-
letter/v19n01/SEDLLetter_v19n01.pdf
 Waters, E. (2010). Early Warning Data System: A research-based online tool
for identifying potential high school dropouts. Retrieved from
http://txcc.sedl.org/resources/ewst/