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Activating Collaborative Maturity

We all believe in the professionalism of teaching, and this belief must be lived out at all times, by every educator, every day. We are professionals and thus the behavior in PLC+ meetings must be professional. There is nothing wrong with being friendly and keeping the mood light, but there needs to be a professional atmosphere in every PLC+ meeting. That isn’t always easy. Sometimes this is because team members don’t get along or don’t fully respect the other adults on the team. A disrespectful or unfriendly atmosphere is a challenge some of you will face as activators. Also challenging for activators are PLC+ members who are too friendly. Then the bigger issue becomes how to keep team members from being so relaxed together that they get off task and talk more about an upcoming social gathering than about what’s on the meeting’s agenda. The struggle in this situation is to focus on the current task at hand. Meetings can become places where conversations are more like those at a cocktail party—and about everything except teaching and learning.

When team members are very friendly, another challenge can arise: team members may be unwilling to be fully honest. They may avoid healthy but challenging dialogue about teaching and learning. Hard conversations are necessary in a well-functioning PLC+. But if no one is willing to challenge practices, PLC meetings can become simply a “land of nice.”

The most striking result is the negative correlation between student achievement and “friendship” interactions among teachers—the more friendship interactions, the lower students’ academic achievement. . . . [These] findings based on correlations . . . do cast doubt on the perception that teachers must be friends or engage in social interactions for the school to be effective. (Marzano, 2003, pp. 61–62)

As activators, you set the tone for all PLC+ meetings, and in doing so, you develop credibility with your peers.

Reflection

How would you describe the level of collaborative maturity in your PLC or your PLC+? Why do you believe that? What role do you play in setting the level of collaborative maturity in the PLC or PLC+? Use the space below to jot down your thoughts.

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Be the Catalyst: Let’s look inside the playbook of a PLC+ activator. Using The PLC+ Playbook, identify modules that would specifically support you as an activator. List them in the chart below. In the second column, brainstorm how you would use the modules to serve as a catalyst for your PLC+ team and build capacity in your colleagues. Be specific. Plan out what you would say and do.

In addition to the specific modules in The PLC+ Playbook, there are other ways to promote collaborative maturity. Below are nine things to consider.

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