Publication Date: May 23, 2025
Pages: 224
This guide provides K–12 educators with a structured, evidence-driven approach to Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), offering powerful tools and facilitation techniques to enhance both teaching and professional growth. Unlike typical approaches to data teams, the VITAL (Visibly Improving Teaching and Learning) Collaboration model uses concrete evidence from teacher practice and student learning to establish clear goals and pathways for equitable instructional improvement. It facilitates visible growth in both teachers and students by examining artifacts such as lessons, classroom observations, student work, and assessment data. The comprehensive framework integrates insights from research on teacher efficacy, improvement science, professional learning communities, and lesson study to optimize collaborative efforts. Teachers and school leaders will find practical strategies, protocols, and facilitation guidance to foster a culture of continuous improvement within their PLCs. Whether you are enhancing your instructional practices or working with colleagues toward better outcomes, this guide will help you maximize the impact of every PLC session. This book is an excellent companion to Kevin Perks’s A School Leader’s Guide to VITAL Collaboration.
Book Features:
Kevin Perks is the senior managing director for WestEd’s Quality Schools and Districts program, providing coaching, training, and technical assistance support to schools, districts, and state departments of education. He is editor of Transformational Leadership for Rapid School Improvement.
“This practical, accessibly written guidebook provides faculty with a process for working together to create a culture in which inquiry and growth are promoted among both teachers and students. In a profession where many feel isolated, this book’s road-tested procedures can help teachers develop ways of working together to address the issues they face in their classrooms and schools.”
—Peter Smagorinsky, emeritus professor, The University of Georgia
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