Motheo district, one of the 5 educational districts of the Free State, seeks to align and improve all support efforts to schools. To this aim they meet quarterly with all partners active in the district. During January’s meeting partners shared their ideas about using Professional Learning Communities as a strategy for strengthening their interventions.
Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are put forward in the Integrated Strategic Framework for Teacher Education and Development (ISPFTED) 2011-2025 as a central instrument to strengthen teachers’ professional development. ISPFTED envisions thatPLCs at school level will be supported by a wide range of stakeholders, including departmental officials but also a variety of providers that work in partnership with the FSDOE in schools.
Kagiso Shanduka Trust, the UFS School Partnership Project, Afrikaanse Taal en Kultuur Vereniging (ATKV) and VVOB (via an EU funded project) decided to have a joined session on PLCs to ensure common understanding, to align interventions and avoid causing confusion amongst teachers.
This workshop started with a reminder about the ISPFTED, the framework which puts PLCs forward. Participants then engaged with concepts of effective Continuing Professional Development and Professional Learning Communities. The role of the SACE CPTD Management System was also discussed, especially with a focus of its implications for PLCs. They linked their understanding to current practices and roles. They tried to identify what implications the implementation of PLCs in the schools could/will have in their plans, activities and reporting.
The workshop ended with a plan for the way forward. Partners agreed that they would benefit from continuing sharing practices, challenges and successes. They therefore decided to form their own PLC about PLCs.
The workshop was facilitated by VVOB.
More pictures can be found here.
