Georgina Luna

SCED 3311 FALL

Field Observation Reflection 9 & 10

Today, I observed a math professional learning community (PLC). To restate, “A

PLC is educators committed to working collaboratively in ongoing processes of collective

inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve. PLCs

operate under the assumption that the key to improved learning for students is continuous,

job-embedded learning for educators.” There are three main ideas: ensuring learning, focus

on results and collaboration. Along with the idea of PLC there are also six essential

characteristics:

1. Shared mission, vision, values, goals

2. Collaborative teams focused on learning

3. Collective inquiry

4. Action orientation and experimentation

5. Commitment to continuous improvement

6. Results to orientation

While observing and sitting in during the PLC, I saw many ideas and characteristics

expected during the hour and 30-minute meeting at the campus.

Similarly, to the previous two PLC I observed, the subjects again sat in their groups

and followed the procedures of signing in and being given an agenda for the day. The

agenda for to day was solely for the purpose of planning the upcoming Unit exam and
upcoming week. For planning the upcoming week, in the beginning of the year, the teachers

had gotten together and looked at the Year at a Glance TEKS to be covered, then penciled in

the expected days, and planned checkpoint in the middle of units to help themselves and

their students see where they stand. In a way, the checkpoint is a formative assessment

that gives feedback, then following the check point is the summative unit exam. The unit

exam was on transformation of figures in a coordinate plane such as translation, rotation,

reflection, and dilation. Since geometry was coming to the close of their unit 2B, the

teachers began working on building a unit exam. In order to build their exam, they looked

at an exam they used last year and compared it to the TEKS that were covered this year as

well as what was covered in the textbook. Using all their resources, they were able to get

rid of questions that did not address what was to be covered as well as add in new

questions based on the expectations of the students for the unit. Once the exam was

created, they shared the exam with one another via email ad posted the exam on eduphoria

for administration to have access to what was to be done.

Today in the Geometry PLC, the inclusion teachers joined in the lesson planning so

that they were up to speed on what is to be covered in the classes they aid other teachers

in. the support changed the dynamic of the meeting and heled gage realistic questions that

should be tested opposed to tired questions that don’t necessarily test the standard.

Seeing all the planning that goes into a year or even a 9week of school is amazing.

The teachers are prepared weeks in advance and at times months in advance even if it is

just a layout of what’s expected.