On-site professional learning communities:

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On-site professional learning communities

• One centers experience
• with site-directed learning

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Our setting
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Winnemucca Adult Learning Center

• Small, rural site, 113 students
• Seven part-time staff members
• 200-plus miles for professional development
• Limited time for improvements

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Where we are
Winnemucca, Nevada
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Our students and staff
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Our problem

• How can we
• Make professional development relevant to OUR
  needs?
• Find time for improvements?
• Do this without burdening staff?

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Our answer learning communities

• Combine study with action
• Focus on our specific needs
• Spend extended time on topic
• Collaborative
• Credits earned decided by each instructor

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Our format

• Meet monthly
• Examine research
• Share lesson plans
• Support each other
• Develop improvements

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Our topicsfirst semester

• Nevada Content Standards
• How can we
• Become familiar with standards?
• Use our new textbooks?
• Include standards in lesson plans?

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What we did

• Studied the standards
• Created monthly lesson plans
• Shared experiences with peers
• Made it a habit
• Built in social time

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Our topicscurrent semester

• Student goal-setting, achievement
• Integrate goal work into classroom
• Encourage student ownership of goal process

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Student goals
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What were doing now

• Reading what research says
• Assessing our current program
• Creating monthly questions
• Creating lesson plans to try-- then share

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Student goals
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Conclusion

• Learning communities are
• Site specific
• Flexible
• Staff-friendly
• Practical

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Site specific

• Focus on Winnemucca
• Use materials we already have
• Solutions work with OUR students

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Flexible

• Respond quickly to changes.
• Snowstorm stopped technology LC
• Goal-setting quickly took its place!

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Staff-friendly

• Puts teachers in the drivers seat
• Topics generated by instructors
• Builds in time for study, reflection
• Gives excuse to get together

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Challenging

• Deeper learning over period of time
• Instructors as collaborators
• Active process feels like more work
• Actually, time spent is same

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Who benefits?