Professional Learning Communities at Work TM and Virtual Collaboration: On the Tipping Point of Transformation

Now is the time to transform school culture! By combining the capacities of the PLC at Work(TM) process and powerful technology tools, teams of educators can meaningfully modify teaching and learning. Realize the potential of virtual collaboration to support the PLC process, and discover research-based strategies that teams of educators can implement to meet contemporary challenges in collaboration. Using technology, create conditions that foster constant teacher learning. Educators will enhance their own and their virtual teams capabilities in the learner-focused culture that PLCs promote.

Benefits:

• Learn about the three strategic levels for organizing virtual teams, and consider the 10 dimensions for engineering a strategic e-connection.
• Gain insights on how to organize virtual and face-to-face teaming in order to bolster the success of your professional learning community.
• Examine an example case scenario in which a high school successfully uses technology to implement the PLC at Work(TM) process.
• Study the elements of PLC leadership in collaborative teams and approaches that can help ensure effective teaching in all classrooms.
• Reference a comprehensive glossary of PLC and virtual collaboration terms and a list of websites to help support virtual teamwork.

Contents:
Introduction
Chapter 1: Examining the Past to Understand the Present
Chapter 2: Focusing on the Right Work
Chapter 3: Organizing Virtual Connections
Chapter 4: Strategizing for e-Collaboration
Chapter 5: Enhancing Learning With e-Acceleration
Chapter 6: Improving School-Based Teams With Virtual Teams
Chapter 7: Virtual Teaming: A Case Scenario
Chapter 8: Leading School-Based and Virtual Teams
Chapter 9: Reaching the Tipping Point
Appendix: Reproducibles
References and Resources
Index

Richard DuFour, EdD, was a public-school educator for 34 years, serving as a teacher, principal, and superintendent. A prolific author and consultant, he was recognized as one of the leading authorities on helping school practitioners implement the Professional Learning Communities at Work process in their schools and districts. Over the course of his career, he was the author of numerous books, including the best-selling Professional Learning Communities at Work , Learning by Doing, and In Praise of American Educators.

During his 19-year tenure as a leader at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois, Stevenson was one of only three schools in the nation to win the United States Department of Education Blue Ribbon Award on four occasions and the first comprehensive high school designated a New American High School as a model of successful school reform.

Dr. DuFour was named one of the Top 100 School Administrators in North America by Executive Educator magazine, was presented the Distinguished Scholar Practitioner Award from the University of Illinois, and was the 2004 recipient of the National Staff Development Council's Distinguished Service Award.

Casey Reason, PhD, is an award-winning author, speaker, coach, and thought leader in the areas of leadership development, digital learning, and the deep and substantive implementation of professional learning communities. The inaugural chair of leadership studies for Grand Canyon University, Casey had his first book endorsed by best-selling author Dr. Ken Blanchard and co-authored a book in 2015 with Dr. Richard DuFour. An expert in adult learning and coaching, his approach to training is fun and highly interactive, always arching toward new and exciting innovations.

Dr. Reason has authored seven books and has done one-on-one executive coaching with superintendents, principals, church leaders, and CEOs and C-suite leadership teams in well-established Fortune 100 companies and billion-dollar startups. He's worked with school districts and service agencies throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, and throughout Europe and has been a longtime partner with the NEA, bringing a professional learning community focus to their digital communities of practice. His client lists also include American Express, General Dynamics, and the Tata Group in India.

Dr. Reason co-authored a book with Dr. Rick DuFour entitled Professional Learning Communities at Work and Virtual Collaboration: On the Tipping Point of Transformation. This book firmly established him as a noted expert in the concept of implementing professional learning communities. His book Stop Leading Like It's Yesterday was a finalist selection for the INDIEFAB International Nonfiction Book of the Year. His first book, Leading a Learning Organization, which examined the role of performance science and brain research on leadership behaviors, was critically acclaimed and won the prestigious Phi Delta Kappa International Book of the Year Award. His unique skill set, blending innovative leadership training and transformative instructional design, was featured in an article on Forbes.com after winning the Blackboard International Designer of the Year Award.

Dr. Reason holds a PhD in educational leadership from Bowling Green State University and has chaired over 70 dissertations.