AR+Background

Source-clipart.com __** BACKGROUND **__  The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development of Victoria highlights the importance of a Professional Learning Team in the document “Professional Learning in Effective Schools: The Seven Principles of Highly Effective Professional Learning”. The Department recognises that “learning communities in effective schools have a culture of collaboration and collective responsibility to improve student achievement, and respect and acknowledge that teachers are adult learners who learn in different ways.”**(**DEECD)

The seven principles are o Professional Learning is focused on student outcomes o Professional Learning is focussed on and embedded in teacher practice. o Professional Learning is informed by the best available research on effective learning and teaching o Professional Learning is collaborative, involving reflection and feedback o Professional learning is evidence based and data driven o Professional Learning is ongoing, supported and fully integrated into the culture and operation of the system o Professional Learning is an individual and collective responsibility

What does the talk in these Professional Learning Teams sound like, look like and feel like as they travel along the continuum to becoming an effective community and become what Barth describes as a ‘a community of learners.’ (Barth 2001:13)