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PLC+
Designed as a companion playbook to PLC+: Better Decisions and Greater Impact by Design, this guide equips instructional leaders with everything they need to know to fuel successful teacher collaboration.
- Grade Level: PreK-12
- ISBN: 9781071921487
- Published By: Corwin
- Year: 2023
- Page Count: 200
- Publication date: July 05, 2023
Price: $33.95
Description
Build cohesive PLC+ teams to improve learning outcomes
Effective teacher collaboration can amplify student learning and well-being outcomes, increase teacher satisfaction rates, and improve the onboarding of new teachers. Yet developing a cohesive PLC+ team isn’t always so simple. Designed as a companion to PLC+: Better Decisions and Greater Impact by Design and The PLC+ Playbook, this easy-to-use playbook for school leaders provides strategies, techniques, and evidence-based approaches to help leaders foster successful collaboration among teachers and positively impact student learning.
Four cross-cutting values are infused within each guiding question: high expectations, activation, individual and collective teacher efficacy, and equity. Building on this framework and drawing from Visible Learning research, the guide offers specific instructional leadership actions and behaviors to promote cohesion in PLC+ teams. Leaders will learn:
- Contextual information to boost knowledge about effectively engaging with adults
- Essential information on how to lead PLC+ teams to become strong, interdependent, and productive
- Leadership tools to support and inspire others to work at optimal levels
- Examples and insights into time management, decision-making, successes, failures, and learning opportunities
Discover how to build social, human, and decisional capital within your organization, equipping teachers with the skills they need to drive school improvement.
Author(s)

Nancy Frey

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.
Expertise
- PLCs
- Implementing the ELA standards
- Prioritizing standards
- Common formative assessments
- Building authentic performance tasks
- Effective use of scoring guides
- Professional learning teams
- Effective grading practices
Workshops
- Develop and Understanding and Plan for Implementing the ELA Common Core Standards!: This interactive seminar for both administrators and teachers describes how to create classroom tools and devise/augment plans for successful implementation of CCSS. Participants will leave with an action plan as well as some draft assessment items and tasks that will be targeted to the Common Core Standards and the assessment system their state has adopted (Smarter Balanced or PARCC).
The Common Formative Assessments 2.0 series of services provide educators with the skills to collaboratively create, with a grade-level or course-level team, unit-based assessments for learning to assess student understanding of the particular learning intentions (standards or outcomes) and success criteria currently in focus within a curricular unit of study.
Certified In
- Distance Learning
- PLC+
- Rebound
- Success Criteria
- Teacher Clarity
- Visible Learning+ Foundation Series
- Visible Learning+ Impact Series
- Visible Learning+ Impact Coaching
- Visible Learning+ School Capability Assessment

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.

Toni Faddis
Toni Faddis, EdD, is a Corwin author and full-time professional learning consultant. Toni was previously a bilingual teacher and Reading Recovery specialist in elementary and middle schools, as well as a principal in San Diego. In addition, Toni served as a district central office leader responsible for equity, access, and leadership development throughout the largest elementary school district in California. She holds teaching and administrative services credentials in California and earned her doctoral degree in educational leadership from San Diego State University. Toni also mentors and coaches current and aspiring school leaders in the Educational Leadership Department at San Diego State University. Toni is the co-author of PLC+: A Playbook for Instructional Leaders, Collaborating Through Collective Efficacy Cycles, and The Ethical Line.
Expertise
- Coaching principals - everything from setting a vision to when they've been reprimanded
- Supporting others with corrective action, working productively with unions, management, operations, etc.
- Leadership development (all levels)
- Large scale district and school improvement efforts
- Coaching cycles
- Language development (students-all levels)
- Teaching struggling adolescent readers
- Opportunities to Learn
- Customizing for the situation at hand
Certified In
- Close and Critical Reading
- Collective Equity
- How Leadership Works
- Leader Credibility
- Pathway to Student Engagement
- PLC+
- Rebound
- Success Criteria
- Teacher Clarity
- Teaching Reading
- Visible Learning+ Foundation Series
- Visible Learning+ Impact Series
- Visible Learning in Early Childhood
- Visible Learning for Literacy

Aida Allen-Rotell
Aida Allen-Rotell, MA, is currently a full-time professional learning consultant for Corwin and a teaching clinician. She was previously a bilingual teacher in an elementary school, where she taught grades K-6 for 15 years, as well as a high school special educator, academic coach, coordinator of services for multilingual learners, and administrator. She holds teaching and administrative services credentials in California and earned her master’s degree in education from San Diego State University. She led efforts to improve student learning, which resulted in her school earning academic distinction for impacting the lives of students living in poverty, becoming a Visible Learning+ Gold Certified school, and improving academic language for multilingual learners. She also served as an advisor to many high school clubs, was the student government advisor, and led students to championships for 10 years in Health Occupations Students Association (HOSA) competitions. She is dedicated to developing teacher and leadership mindsets for diverse learning populations. Aida is the co-author of PLC+: A Playbook for Instructional Leaders.
Reviews
This companion guide masterfully and succinctly offers leaders a crash course in the why, the what, and the how for effective implementation of PLC+ teams. With authentic examples, ready-to-use templates, and thought-provoking reflection exercises, this guide thoroughly equips leaders with planning and monitoring pieces that are often so elusive when attempting to launch (& sustain) an impactful PLC culture. I just wish it had been on the market a decade ago!Tara Howard
Dean of Instruction, Owensboro High School
As schools recover from pandemic achievement losses, educators need new teaching strategies specific to these fragile learners. Professional Learning Communities provide a supportive approach to instructional development as we strive to bring students back to grade level and beyond. 'PLC+: A Companion Guide for Leaders' is a succinct guide for leaders to successfully implement pedagogy growth strategies with their teachers.Stephanie A. Blake
Science Department Head, OTC Middle College Alternative High School
PLC+: A Companion Guide For Leaders is the right book at the right time. Where many of our original PLC leaders are reaching retirement age, we’re finding it necessary to revisit the core principles of PLCs, inspiring one another as we navigate turbulent times and leaning into the power of the PLC/Team. PLCs that use their time wisely advance student learning. Working together at optimal levels shows advanced positive impact in overall school improvement. The 14 major ideas provide resources in the form of self-assessments and tools to incorporate throughout a school year. I’d recommend PLC+: A Companion Guide for Leaders as an exceptional Team Book Study as you approach your next school year.Jill Gildea
Ph.D, Superintendent of Schools, Park City School District
A successful school provides opportunities for teachers to collaborate about teaching and learning. PLC+: A Companion Guide for Schools provides the know-how in not only acknowledging teacher voice but also the steps to a thriving school culture.Elizabeth Alvarez, Ph.D.
Superintendent, Forest Park D91
For Instructors
Related Professional Learning
Related InstitutesRelated Webinars
Related Resources
- Access to companion resources is available with the purchase of this book.
- Not Everything Works, How We Learn from That [Lessons and strategies]
- The Barriers that have Confronted Current PLC Efforts [Lessons and strategies]
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