Fisher and Frey have a lot to say about professional learning communities. And trust us, you want to hear their thoughts. Their innovative new system for designing communities focused on professional learning (and not just calling your department meeting a “PLC”), will completely change the way you think about student-centered instruction.

In this conversation with Fisher and Frey, learn how to:

• Explain the role of microteaching in professional learning communities and improving teaching and learning.
• Identify strengths and needs in current PLC efforts
• Identify the questions that PLC+ teams can use to deepen student learning
• Describe cross-cuttting themes that PLC teams should consider in their work

Drawing on five essential questions, Fisher and Frey describe how the plus framework insists that we seek to answer these questions:

1. Where are we going?
2. Where are we now?
3. How do we move learning forward?
4. What did we learn today?
5. Who has benefited and who has not?

Douglas Fisher, Ph.D., is Professor and Chair of Educational Leadership at San Diego State University and a leader at Health Sciences High & Middle College having been an early intervention teacher and elementary school educator. He is the recipient of an International Reading Association William S. Grey citation of merit, an Exemplary Leader award from the Conference on English Leadership of NCTE, as well as a Christa McAuliffe award for excellence in teacher education. He has published numerous articles on reading and literacy, differentiated instruction, and curriculum design as well as books, such as All Learning is Social and Emotional, Building Equity, and Assessment-capable Learners. He can be reached at dfisher@mail.sdsu.edu.

Nancy Frey, Ph.D., is a Professor in Educational Leadership at San Diego State University and the recipient of the 2008 Early Career Achievement Award from the Literacy Research Association. Nancy has published in numerous research journals on subjects related to literacy, equity, and schooling. She is a member of the Literacy Research Panel of the International Literacy Association. Nancy is a credentialed special educator, reading specialist, and administrator in California, and is a co-founder and administrator at Health Sciences High and Middle College.  She can be reached at nfrey@sdsu.edu