

Books
The PLC+ Activator’s Guide
By: Dave Nagel, John Taylor Almarode, Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, Karen Flories
The PLC+ Activator's Guide offers a practical approach and real-life examples that show activators what to expect and how to navigate a successful PLC journey.
- Grade Level: PreK-12
- ISBN: 9781544384047
- Published By: Corwin
- Year: 2020
- Page Count: 176
- Publication date: April 23, 2020
Price: $23.95
Description
Keeping professional learning communities focused on goals:
High functioning professional learning communities don’t happen by chance. They require deliberate efforts and structures to ensure efficiency and focus, and to ignite action. The first books in the PLC+ series challenged PLC teams to engage in difficult discussions about equity of access, high expectations for all students, and a commitment to building individual and team efficacy. All of this requires activation and skilled facilitation to move from discussion to action. The PLC+ Activator's Guide offers a practical approach, real-life scenarios, and examples that show activators what to expect and how to navigate their PLC+ on a successful and collective journey. Readers will find:
- Templates to help activators prepare for PLC+ meetings
- Approaches for fostering and nurturing collaboration
- Vignettes from real schools that are implementing PLC+
- Reflection questions with spaces for activators to record notes
- Solutions for addressing barriers that often arise in PLC+ teams
Activators will find this an essential guide to keeping PLC+ team discussions goal-focused and the work centered on building the collective efficacy of the team.
Author(s)

Dave Nagel
Dave Nagel, MsED, is an international educational consultant and researcher. Dave began his educational career as a middle school science and high school biology teacher. His administrative experiences involved middle school assistant principal, high school associate principal, and director of extended day and credit-recovery programs. He was honored numerous times as a ‘Senior Choice’ winner, where graduating seniors selected him as someone who dramatically affected their life in a positive way. Dave has credentials in school leadership and secondary science teaching as well as a master of science degree from Butler University. Dave is the author of Effective Grading Practices for Secondary Teachers and the co-author of The PLC+ Activator’s Guide and PLC+: A Playbook for Instructional Leaders.

John Taylor Almarode
Continuing his collaborative work with colleagues on what works best in teaching and learning, How Tutoring Works, Visible Learning in Early Childhood, and How Learning Works, all with Corwin Press, were released in 2021.

Douglas Fisher
Douglas Fisher, Ph.D., is professor and chair of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Previously, Doug was an early intervention teacher and elementary school educator. He is the recipient of an International Reading Association William S. Grey citation of merit and an Exemplary Leader award from the Conference on English Leadership of NCTE. He has published numerous articles on teaching and learning as well as books such as The Teacher Clarity Playbook, PLC+, Visible Learning for Literacy, Comprehension: The Skill, Will, and Thrill of Reading, How Tutoring Works, and How Learning Works. Doug loves being an educator and hopes to share that passion with others.

Nancy Frey

Karen Flories
Karen Flories was the Executive Director of Educational Services for 5 years and Director of Literacy and Social Studies for 2 years with Valley View School District in Illinois, after serving as the English Department Chair for Romeoville High School. Karen’s classroom experience includes high school English, special education, and alternative education. Karen holds credentials in general education, special education, and educational leadership. She earned her master’s degree in educational leadership from Concordia University. During her time at the district level, Karen led the implementation of Visible Learning+, specifically focusing on teacher clarity, classroom assessment, and feedback. Karen is the co-author of The PLC+ Activator’s Guide, PLC+: Better Decisions and Greater Impact by Design, and The PLC+ Playbook, Grades K-12. She is currently a full-time professional learning consultant for Corwin.
Table of Contents
Letter From the Authors
About the Authors
Introduction
Part 1. Activating Your PLC+: Overview
Activating Your PLC+
What Effective Activators Do
Part 2. Activation Requires Effective Collaboration
Facilitation Versus Activation
Five Qualities of a Good Activator
Part 3. Activating Your PLC+: Establishing Roles and Developing Team Cohesion
Supporting Team Cohesion
Establishing PLC+ Roles
Stepping Into Roles Matched to PLC+ Team Member Strengths
Part 4. Activating Your PLC+: Norms and Authentic Instructional Protocols in Your PLC+
Establishing Operating Norms
Social and Emotional Check-Ins
Establishing Process Norms
Operating Norms Versus Process Norms
Utilizing Authentic Instructional Protocols
Part 5. Activating the Five Essential Questions and Four Crosscutting Values of Your PLC+
Activating Guiding Question 1: Where Are We Going?
Activating Guiding Question 2: Where Are We Now?
Activating Guiding Question 3: How Do We Move Learning Forward?
Activating Guiding Question 4: What Did We Learn Today?
Activating Guiding Question 5: Who Benefited and Who Did Not Benefit?
Part 6. The Nuts and Bolts of Your PLC+
Scheduling PLC+ Meetings
Setting Aside the Time for the Work of the PLC+
Overcoming Challenges: (Not Enough) Time
Developing an Assessment Calendar
Part 7. Activating a High-Impact and High-Functioning PLC+
High Impact Versus High Functioning
Part 8. Activating Conversations Focused on Equity
Closing Remarks
References
Index
Other Titles in: Staff Development & Professional Learning | Professional Learning Communities
For Instructors
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