Deciding where you
are as a professional
learning community
Professional Learning Communities:
source materials for school leaders and
other leaders of professional learning
What is an implementation rubric?
Rubrics are usually used as assessment tools to measure pupils’ work. They are scoring guides that don’t depend on a numerical score. Instead, they list a full range of criteria or elements to assess a particular piece of work or performance. They describe varying degrees of quality
for each element, increasing from left to right. A benefit of rubrics is that they provide signposts to where you can get to as a result of development, and pointers to next steps that might be taken when trying to develop particular activities.
This implementation rubric helps you see where colleagues think you are as a professional learning community (PLC) as they reflect on different criteria related to specific characteristics and processes of PLCs. The 12 topics down the left-hand side are the eight characteristics and four developmental processes of PLCs we identified in our study. For each of these, a number of key descriptors are mapped out horizontally, showing the development of each through four phases of their journey, highlighted at the top of the four columns. These range
from what might be happening when you are starting on the journey to develop a PLC to action taken when the PLC is self-sustaining:
Starting out; acquiring information and beginning to use ideas.
Developing;experimenting with strategies and building on initial commitment. Deepening;well on the way, having achieved a degree of mastery and feeling the benefits. Sustaining;introducing new developments, re-evaluating quality – PLC as a way of life.
What is the purpose of this rubric?
You might choose to use the rubric in a range of ways. For example:
• individual staff members complete the rubric privately and give it to a designated person or team who collate(s) responses and feed(s) these back to the staff for discussion
• individual staff members complete the rubric before sharing and discussing their responses with each other
• small groups complete the rubric together and then compare and summarise their responses
The rubric on pages 3–9 and summary response sheet on page 10 can be photocopied for circulation. Each person completing the rubric needs to look at the descriptors, perhaps highlighting comments that represent your PLC. They can then decide which phase best
represents the PLC’s current position, either highlighting the appropriate box in the table or marking the box in the blank response sheet included after the rubric. There is also a space labelled ‘How do you know?’ where people can note down evidence.
Looking through individual highlighted
responses can help you see trends and patterns as well as differences in opinion. You can prepare a summary sheet of all the responses using the blank summary response sheet.
At the end of the activity, you will find some questions to discuss once you have pulled together the results.
Star
ting out
Acquiring inf
or
mation and be
ginning to use ideas
D
e
veloping
Experimenting with strate
gies and building on
initial commitment
D
ee
pening
W
ell on the wa
y,
ha
ving achie
ved a de
gr
ee of
master
y and feeling the benef
its
Sustaining Introducing ne
w de
velopments
, and r
e-e
valuating
quality – PL
C
as a wa
y of
life
Shar
e
d
values
and vision
P
rofessional lear
ning comm
unity
imp
lementa
tion r
ubric
Ho
w do y
o
u
kno
w this?
Staf
f
h
a
ve di
ver
se values r
ela
ted
to educa
tional issues. The
y ar
e
be
ginning to r
ecognise the need
to a
ttend to some PL
C-wide
issues. Ther
e ar
e initial
discussions a
bout
these issues. Some smaller g
roups (PL
Cs) within
the staf
f
m
a
y shar
e values a
bout
educa
tion and leader
ship
.
An incr
easing n
umber of
staf
f
shar
e educa
tional values, and
participa
te acti
vel
y in discussions
a
bout vision and values. Shar
ed educa
tional vision is often
str
onger and mor
e a
ppar
ent
in particular sections or departments of
the PL
C
.
Educa
tional values and vision ar
e
fair
ly
widel
y shar
ed thr
oughout
the PL
C and generall
y
demonstra
ted thr
ough practice.
The vision is r
e
visited r
e
gular
ly
and commitment to whole-school, centr
e
or colle
ge-wide pr
ofessional
values is incr
easing
.
Educa
tional values and vision ar
e
widel
y shar
ed thr
oughout the
PL
C
, r
e
gular
ly
r
e
visited and
re
vised as a
ppr
opria
te by the
whole staf
f,
and demonstra
ted
thr
ough practice.
Ther
e is a high de
g
ree of
commitment to whole-school, centr
e or colle
ge-wide
pr
ofessional values and a str
ong
sense of
cohesion and
consistenc
y of
a
ppr
oach.
PL
C
Star
ting out
Acquiring inf
or
mation and be
ginning to use ideas
D
e
veloping
Experimenting with strate
gies and building on
initial commitment
D
ee
pening
W
ell on the wa
y,
ha
ving achie
ved a de
gr
ee of
master
y and feeling the benef
its
Sustaining Introducing ne
w de
velopments
, and r
e-e
va
luating
quality – PL
C
as a wa
y of life Le ar ning-f ocused colla bora tion Ho
w do y
o
u
kno
w this?
Ho
w do y
o u kno w this? Many staf f mainl y wor k in isola tion. The y f
ocus on their own
goals, value self-r
eliance and rar el y shar e practices and stra te gies.
Some smaller g
roups or
departments colla
bora
te and
shar
e learning and teaching
and support stra
te
gies.
Some staf
f
wor
k together acr
oss
the PL
C
, with joint planning
,
sharing stra
te
gies, and eng
aging
in whole-school, centr
e
or colle
ge-wide pr
ojects.
Some support staf
f or car e wor ke rs
and teaching staf
f
colla
bora
te closel
y but this is
not a common fea
tur e. Staf f incr easingl
y plan together
,
colla
bora
te and shar
e ideas
thr
ough meetings, website
resour
ces, team teaching etc
.
Ther
e ar
e examples of
pr
oducti
ve
teamwor
k between teacher
s
and support staf
f.
Colla
bora
ti
ve planning of
learning
and teaching acti
vities is tak
en
for g
ranted.
Sharing of
ideas and stra
te
gies
and joint pr
oblem-solving ar
e
widespr
ead.
Teamwor
k involving teacher
s
and support or car
e staf f is widespr ead. Collecti ve responsibility Staf f
do not feel a sense of
whole-school, centr
e or colle
ge-wide shar ed r esponsibility f or all pupils.
Some smaller g
roups, particular
ly
those with common teaching or support r
esponsibilities, feel a
sense of shar ed r esponsibility . Ther e ar e fe w whole-school, centr
e or colle
ge discussions a bout learning , pr og ress, de
velopment and successes
of
pupils.
Some staf
f
member
s feel a sense
of collecti ve r esponsibility f or all
pupils in the school, centr
e
or colle
ge.
Smaller g
roups (PL
Cs) feel a sense
of
shar
ed r
esponsibility f
or all
pupils within their subject, y
ear
,
ke
y stage or phase.
Ther
e ar
e some whole-school,
centr
e or colle
ge discussions
a
bout pupils’ learning
, pr
og
ress,
de
velopment and successes.
Ther
e is a g
rowing sense of
collecti
ve r
esponsibility
thr
oughout the school, centr
e or
colle
ge f
or the learning
, pr
og
ress,
de
velopment and success
of all pupils. Discussions of learning , pr og re ss, de
velopment and success of
all
pupils.
A desir
e to do the best f
or all
pupils per
vades the school,
centr
e or colle
ge.
Ther
e is r
e
gular and deep
whole-school, centr
e or colle
ge dialogue a bout learning , pr og re ss, de
velopment and successes
Ho
w do y
o u kno w this? R ef lecti ve p rofessional enquir y Some staf f a re involved in acti
vities to investig
a
te and
impr
ove learning and teaching
,
e
g peer obser
va
tion and coaching
, action r esear ch, r e vie w and modera tion of pupils’ wor k etc . Da
ta collection and the use of
da
ta to inf
orm and de
velop
learning and teaching ar
e
varia
ble acr
oss the school,
centr
e or colle
ge. Many staf f a re acti vel y involved
and show incr
easing confidence
a
bout using dif
fer
ent methods
to explor
e and impr
ove
learning and teaching
.
Da
ta collection and the use
of
da
ta to inf
orm and de
velop
learning and teaching ar
e
incr
easingl
y consistent acr
oss
the school, centr
e or colle
ge.
A questioning orienta
tion to
practice and ‘need to know how we ar
e doing and how we can
impr
ove
’ is per
vasi
ve.
Staf
f
confidentl
y use a wide
range of
methods to investig
a
te
learning and teaching
, using
findings to inf
orm and
de
velop their practice.
Da
ta ar
e collected, anal
ysed
and used to support this pr
ocess.
Ho
w do y
o
u
kno
w this?
Ther
e is little r
e
flection on, or
enquir
y into
, practice.
Da
ta collection and the use of
da
ta to inf
orm and de
velop
learning and teaching practice are limited. Da
ta ma
y be seen
as an end in itself
and often
as someone else
’s
pr
oblem.
Existence of professional lear
ning Staf f a re generall y inter ested in a di ver
se range of
indi
vidual and
g
roup opportunities to incr
ease
their knowledge, under
standing and sk ills. Many staf f participa te enthusiasticall
y in whole-school,
centr
e or colle
ge pr
ofessional
learning experiences. Staf
f
generall
y feed back their
learning to the whole staf
f. All staf f a re enthusiasticall y
involved in a di
ver
se range of
indi
vidual, g
roup and
whole-school, centr
e or colle
ge
pr
ofessional learning experiences.
The school, centr
e or colle
ge as a
wor
kplace is seen as an important
site f
or learning by all staf
f. Staf f d e vote ef
fort and energ
y into incor pora ting valua ble ne w stra te
gies into their practice.
Learning is widel
y shar
ed
acr
oss the whole staf
f.
Pr
ofessional learning mainl
y
consists of
formal, short cour
ses
and whole-school, centr
e or colle ge in-ser vice training . T a
ke-up is largel
y based on indi vidual inter est. Enthusiasm f or whole-school, centr
e or colle
ge pr
ofessional
learning experiences is limited. Ther
e ar e fe w wor k-based pr ofessional learning opportunities e g peer obser va
tion, coaching etc
.
Ther
e is mainl
y ad hoc talk
a
bout learning fr
om external
cour
ses and visits.
A considera ble n umber of staf f ar e eng
aged in a variety of
pr
ofessional learning
opportunities based on indi
vidual inter est (e g cour ses, higher de g
rees etc) and incr
easingl
y
this is also link
ed to school,
centr
e or colle
ge aims. An incr easing n umber of staf f participa te enthusiasticall y in whole-school, centr
e or colle
ge
pr
ofessional learning experiences.
Staf
f
feed back on their learning
to smaller g
roups and,
sometimes, the whole staf
f. PL C characteristics Star ting out Acquiring inf or
mation and be
ginning to use ideas
D
e
veloping
Experimenting with strate
gies and building on
initial commitment
D
ee
pening
W
ell on the wa
y,
ha
ving achie
ved a de
gr
ee of
master
y and feeling the benef
its
Sustaining Introducing ne
w de
velopments
, and r
e-e
va
luating
quality – PL
C
as a wa
y of
Openness , netw o rk s a n d p a rtner ships Ther
e is ver
y little pr
ofessional
contact outside the school, centr
e or colle ge. External networ ks and partner ships ar
e limited, as is
the seek
ing of
external ideas and
stra
te
gies.
The school, centr
e or colle
ge is r ela ti vel y isola ted fr om its community . Some staf f a re inter ested and eng
aged in networ
ks and
acti
vities be
yond the school,
centr
e or colle
ge as a sour
ce
of
genera
ting and sharing
ideas and stra
te
gies.
Ther
e is some involvement
with the community
.
External sour
ces f
or genera
ting
and sharing ideas and stra
te gies ar e generall y per cei ved as valua ble. Staf f a re incr easingl y tak ing up
opportunities to become involved in networ
ks and external
partner
ships. Some
whole-school, centr
e or colle
ge
networ
king is being explor
ed.
Community partner
ships ar
e
generall
y welcomed and positi
ve.
Staf
f
look be
yond the school,
centr
e or colle
ge f
or ne
w ideas
and stra
te
gies. External input is
sought out and welcomed. Links with other schools, centr
es,
colle
ges and external agencies ar
e
seen as valua
ble, pr
oducti
ve
and important. Many staf
f
a
re
involved in
indi
vidual and school, centr
e or
colle
ge-wide external networ
ks. Community partner ships ar e thri ving . Inclusi ve member ship Member ship of the PL C is
confined to a small g
roup of
teaching staf
f
and some or all
school leader s. Input of support staf f is
not invited. Par
ental and g
overnor or school
council member involvement is limited.
Classr
oom support staf
f
a
re
incr
easingl
y involved as acti
ve member s of the PL C .
Other support staf
f
a
re
less involved. Par
ental and g
overnor or school
council member involvement is generall
y welcomed.
Many support staf
f
(teaching and
other) participa
te as acti
ve member s of the PL C . Par
ental and g
overnor or school
council member involvement is welcomed.
Ho
w do y
o
u
kno
w this?
Ho
w do y
o
u
kno
w this?
The PL
C includes all member
s
of
staf
f.
All support staf
f a re highl y valued member s of the PL C .
The whole-school, centr
e or
colle
ge PL
C dra
ws people together
fr
om acr
oss the org
anisa
tion.
Par
ental, pupil and g
overnor
or school council member involvement is welcomed and encouraged.
Star
ting out
Acquiring inf
or
mation and be
ginning to use ideas
D
e
veloping
Experimenting with strate
gies and building on
initial commitment
D
ee
pening
W
ell on the wa
y,
ha
ving achie
ved a de
gr
ee of
master
y and feeling the benef
its
Sustaining Introducing ne
w de
velopments
, and r
e-e
va
luating
quality – PL
C
as a wa
y of
life
PL
C
Ho
w do y
o
u
kno
w this?
Ho
w do y
o
u
kno
w this?
Optimising resour
ces and
str
uctur
es
Ther
e ar
e fe
w systems and
policies in place to support the de
velopment of
the PL
C
.
Time, space, mone
y and/or
communica
tion mechanisms
tend to act as barrier
s.
Attention is paid to tr
ying to put
into place the necessar
y
str
uctur
es, systems and policies
tha
t will help support PL
C
de
velopment: cr
ea
ting time;
loca
ting space; planning
communica
tion mechanisms;
use of
meetings and other
pr
ocedur
es; arranging staf
f
deplo
yment etc
.
Most of
the necessar
y str
uctur
es,
systems and policies ar
e in place
to support PL
C de
velopment.
Attention is paid to dealing with resour
ce and str
uctural issues
tha
t get in the wa
y of
PL
C
de
velopment.
Time, mone
y,
space, meetings,
communica
tion pr
ocedur
es and
staf
f
deplo
yment ar
e targeted as
a priority to pr
omote the ong
oing
de
velopment of
the PL
C
.
Resour
ce and str
uctural issues ar
e
dealt with s
wiftl
y and acti
vel
y.
Mutual tr
ust,
respect and suppor
t
Staf
f
rela
tionships highlight issues
ar
ound tr
ust and conf
lict.
A blame cultur
e ma
y exist.
T
rust and r
espect exists among
some member
s of
smaller g
roups
or departments. De
velopment issues ar
e vie
wed
as a thr
ea
t by a n
umber of
staf
f.
T
rust, r
espect and positi
ve
pr
ofessional r
ela
tionships ar
e
de
veloping school, centr
e
or colle
ge-wide.
Staf
f
a
re
incr
easingl
y open
a
bout their practice.
Staf
f
rela
tionships ar
e
characterised by openness, honesty
, mutual tr
ust, r
espect,
support and car
e.
Ever
yone
’s
contribution is valued.
A modera
te le
vel of
mutual tr
ust
exists school, centr
e or colle
ge-wide, with incr
easing mutual
respect, although ther
e is
some anxiety a
bout
classr
oom obser
va
tion etc
.
Ther
e is str
ong mutual tr
ust and
respect among some g
roups of
staf
f
who wor
k closel
y together
.
Star
ting out
Acquiring inf
or
mation and be
ginning to use ideas
D
e
veloping
Experimenting with strate
gies and building on
initial commitment
D
ee
pening
W
ell on the wa
y,
ha
ving achie
ved a de
gr
ee of
master
y and feeling the benef
its
Sustaining Introducing ne
w de
velopments
, and r
e-e
va
luating
quality – PL
C
as a wa
y of
life
PL
C
characteristics PLC
p
P
LC
p
rocesses
Ho
w do y
o
u
kno
w this?
P
romoting
p
rofessional
lear
ning
An explicit needs identifica
tion
pr
ocess is rar
el
y used, either f
o
r
indi
vidual staf
f
or whole-school,
centr
e or colle
ge needs.
Co-or
dina
tion r
esponsibility
for contin
uing pr
ofessional
de
velopment is unspecified
or unclear
.
Inf
orma
tion f
or staf
f
mainl
y
comprises details a
bout
cour
ses and training da
ys.
A needs identifica
tion pr
ocess
has been de
veloped and is being
used f
or staf
f
and whole-school,
centr
e or colle
ge pr
ofessional
learning needs. Contin
uous learning of
all staf
f
is incr
easingl
y pr
omoted.
Attention is paid to str
engthening
the co-or
dina
tion of
pr
ofessional learning
.
P
erf
ormance management is
starting to be used as a pr
ocess
to support the PL
C’
s de
velopment.
Staf
f
and whole-school, centr
e
or colle
ge pr
ofessional learning
needs ar
e clear
ly
identified.
Contin
uous learning of
all
staf
f
is pr
omoted and car
efull
y
co-or
dina
ted. A range of
opportunities is planned to ena
ble staf
f
to learn fr
om and
with each other and f
acilita
te
the transfer of
ne
w learning
into practice. Perf
ormance management is
used as a positi
ve pr
ocess to
support the PL
C’
s de
velopment.
Some staf
f
a
re
encouraged to
tak
e r
esponsibility in pr
omoting
the pr
ofessional learning
of
colleagues.
Staf
f
and whole-school, centr
e
or colle
ge pr
ofessional learning
needs ar
e r
e
gular
ly
and
consistentl
y identified.
Contin
uous pr
ofessional learning
and de
velopment f
or all staf
f
is
acti
vel
y pr
omoted and car
efull
y
co-or
dina
ted.
Attention is paid to ensur
e tha
t
ne
w learning is transferr
ed
into practice. Opportunities ar
e automa
ticall
y
planned to ensur
e staf
f
can
learn with and fr
om each other
.
Staf
f
a
re
acti
vel
y encouraged
to tak
e r
esponsibility in
pr
omoting the pr
ofessional
learning of
colleagues.
Star
ting out
Acquiring inf
or
mation and be
ginning to use ideas
D
e
veloping
Experimenting with strate
gies and building on
initial commitment
D
ee
pening
W
ell on the wa
y,
ha
ving achie
ved a de
gr
ee of
master
y and feeling the benef
its
Sustaining Introducing ne
w de
velopments
, and r
e-e
va
luating
quality – PL
C
as a wa
y of
Ho
w do w
e
kno
w this
Ho
w do w
e
kno
w
this
Leading and managing to promote the PL
C
Attention is gi
ven by senior
leader
s to de
veloping and
spr
eading a learning vision and
focus and building tr
ust.
Senior leader
s model teamwor
k and leader ship of learning . Other staf f a re
involved in leading
some PL
C acti
vities.
Senior leader
s maintain their
a
ttention to de
veloping and
spr
eading a learning vision and
focus and building tr
ust.
Senior leader
s model learning
. Leader ship f or dif fer ent PL C acti
vities is incr
easingl
y tak
en
up by other staf
f.
Senior leader
s ar
e deepl
y
committed to the de
velopment and sustaina bility of the school’ s PL
C and prioritise this as a major
leader
ship and management task.
Distributing leader
ship among
staf
f
is an accepted practice.
The headteacher (
principal)
wor
ks to build tr
ust and be
gins
to de
velop and shar
e a learning
vision and f
ocus.
Senior leader
ship team member
s
ar
e encouraged to participa
te in PL C leader ship . F e
w other staf
f
a
re
involved
in leading any PL
C acti
vities.
Evalua
ting and
sustaining the PL
C
The idea of
a PL
C is intr
oduced
to staf
f.
Ther
e is occasional e
valua
tion
of
how the pr
ocess of
the PL
C
opera
tes or how its de
velopment
pr
og
resses.
Ther
e is some e
valua
tion of
CPD’
s
impact and of
other PL
C acti
vities
The PL
C is consciousl
y and acti vel y de veloped. Ther
e is r
e
gular e
valua
tion of
how the pr
ocess of
the PL
C
opera
tes or how its de
velopment
pr
og
resses.
CPD’
s impact on practice is
e
valua
ted, as ar
e many other
PL
C acti
vities.
Being a PL
C is just ‘part of
the
wa
y we do things her
e
’.
P
eople under
stand and support
the idea of
a PL
C
.
Re
gular a
ttention is gi
ven to
e
valua
ting the pr
ocess, pr
og
ress
and impact of
the PL
C and all
of
its acti
vities, including CPD
.
Ther
e is little or no discussion
a
bout the concept of
a PL
C
.
Ther
e is little e
valua tion of how the pr ocess of the PL C opera tes or
how its de
velopment pr
og
resses.
Ther
e is little e
valua tion of contin uing pr ofessional de velopment ’s (CPD’ s) impact or of other PL C acti vities. Star ting out Acquiring inf or
mation and be
ginning to use ideas
D
e
veloping
Experimenting with strate
gies and building on
initial commitment
D
ee
pening
W
ell on the wa
y,
ha
ving achie
ved a de
gr
ee of
master
y and feeling the benef
its
Sustaining Introducing ne
w de
velopments
, and r
e-e
va
luating
quality – PL
C
as a wa
Shared values and vision
Collective responsibility
You can use this sheet to: a) mark down individual responses to the implementation rubric; b) summarise all of the responses of individuals.
Learning-focused collaboration
Existence of professional learning
Reflective professional enquiry
Openness, networks and partnerships
Inclusive membership
Mutual trust, respect and support
Optimising resources and structures
Promoting professional learning
Evaluating and sustaining the PLC
Leading and managing to promote the PLC
Starting out Developing Deepening Sustaining
Questions for reflection and discussion
What did you notice as you were completing the rubric?
Which are the characteristics and processes, or aspects of these, where you feel you have progressed furthest along the route? What factors seem to have helped you?
Which are the characteristics and processes, or aspects of these, where you feel progression has been slower? What seems to have been holding back the PLC’s development in these areas?
How will you move forward with this information? (You may also find it helpful to use
Investigating the culture of your professional learning community, another Auditactivity,
to gather some different kinds of data. Alternatively, the Planningand Actionmaterials
© Stoll, Bolam, McMahon, Thomas, Wallace, Greenwood and Hawkey, 2006
National College for School Leadership
Triumph Road Nottingham NG8 1DH
T: 0870 001 1155 F: 0115 872 2001 E: [email protected] W: www.ncsl.org.uk/nlc
General Teaching Council for England
Whittington House 19-30 Alfred Place London WC1E 7EA
T: 0870 001 0308 F: 020 7023 3909 E: [email protected] W: www.gtce.org.uk
DfES Innovation Unit
Sanctuary Buildings Great Smith Street London SW1P 3BT
T: 0870 000 2288
W: www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/innovation-unit
Effective Professional Learning Communities
University of Bristol Graduate School of Education 8-10 Berkeley Square Bristol
BS8 1HH
W: www.eplc.info
Audit
Investigating the culture of your professional learning community Comparing your preferred future and the current situation in your professional learning community
Deciding where you are as a professional learning community
or download from www.ncsl.org.uk/nlc www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/innovation-unit www.gtce.org.uk
