Journals as Frameworks for Professional Learning Communities

Structured journals serve as a valuable framework for supporting professional collaboration and learning within a school and ultimately for improving student achievement. In Journals as Frameworks for Professional Learning Communities, the author demonstrates how school teams can use the structured journal process to consider research, reflect on opportunities, and implement new practices that will also address accountability mandates and enhance teachers' instructional repertoire. The book presents five types of structured journals, each with a specific purpose, that can be used by professional learning communities (PLCs). PLC Journal: Facilitating School Reform; Action Research Journal; Teacher as Researcher; School Portfolios; Our School and Its Benefits; Professional Performance Portfolio; Highly Qualified Teacher PLC; Instructional Planning and Aligning Professional Development With Instructional Priorities. Each chapter includes a case study and sample journal illustrating the four-step journaling process: purpose, focus, process, and outcome. Readers will also find strategies for implementing the process, a set of blank journal templates, a glossary of key terms, and a bibliography. The accompanying CD-ROM contains additional templates, strategies, and implementation tools to assist educators in using the structured journal method.