We Have The Answers and They Have The Answers: The Ambidextrous Professional Learning Community

Part 6 in a series of posts on Ambidextrous Professional Learning Communities

In a previous post “The Ambidextrous Professional Learning Community” I shared it is the ability to embrace a duality in their thinking that builds an Ambidextrous Professional Learning Community. To hold two opposing ideas in their minds and reach a creative solution creates an ambidextrous PLC, making them more flexible, innovative, and effective. It is ability and, more importantly, it is an attitude.

Ambidextrous Professional Learning Community's thinking can have...

Systematic and Magical
Internal and External Focus
Bias Towards Thinking and Bias Toward Action
Put Teachers First and Put Students First
Focus on Teaching and Focus on Learning
Focus on All Students and Focus on Individual Students
Kaizen and Tenakaizen
High Levels of Teamwork and High Levels of Personal Accountability
We Have the Answers and They Have the Answers
Data Driven and Skeptical of Data
Predictable and Change is Normal

Today I will focus on We Have The Answers and They Have The Answers

The Ambidextrous Professional Learning Community thinks that the answers they seek are within themselves. The Ambidextrous Professional Learning Community is aware of the individual abilities of each of its members and seeks to leverage these abilities to maximum effect to improve and increase student learning. They use the data available to them and the data they generate themselves to them to make instructional decisions.

They use proven strategies, methods, and models to respond appropriately and effectively to meet the needs of students. The Ambidextrous Professional Learning Community has the knowledge and the ability to respond. As a team they are constantly learning so they can better respond to the needs of their students. Members believe in the need to always be aware of learning from their work and from each other. Seeking out education opportunities to increase the group’s knowledge and cognitive diversity is something all Ambidextrous Professional Learning Community members are constantly aware of.

The Ambidextrous Professional Learning Community knows they have the knowledge and information they need to make decisions instructional decisions and respond to student needs.

But the Ambidextrous Professional Learning Community also knows that the answers they need lie outside of the team as well.

The Ambidextrous Professional Networked Learning Community believes that the answers to questions, necessary data, important information, or key knowledge may lie outside of the team members sitting at the table. The team understands that boundaries of grade level, school site, subject matter, job function, etc. that have previously isolated PLCs should not be allowed to prevent the necessary knowledge reaching PLC members. Team members, therefore understand, that anyone anywhere can be a valuable and or necessary resource to them.

Technology allows teams to connect to islands of expertise located in any geographic location. Technology allows teams to archive their learning and share with others. The sum result is that technology allows the Professional Networked Learning Collaborative to “Know What Others Know” (K.W.O.K.).  Knowing what others know and sharing what you have learned is what I refer to as Wisdom Stewardship. Technology makes it easy for educators and schools to be good stewards of available wisdom and to know what others know.

Microsoft research sociologist Marc A. Smith put it this way. “Whenever a communication medium lowers the cost of solving collective action dilemmas, it becomes possible for more people to pool resources. And ‘more people pooling resources in new ways’ is the history of civilization in seven words.”

This model, known as a Professional Networked Learning Collaborative, allows educators to solve education problems, increase student achievement, share strategies, and analyze data, etc., with members who are physically present “at the table” and with educators who are virtually present from anywhere on the globe. The PNLC allows teams to leverage not only their knowledge, but also the knowledge of other educators, specialists, consultants, etc., from anywhere else, virtually.

The Ambidextrous Professional Learning Community knows they have the knowledge and information they need to make decisions instructional decisions and respond to student needs, but they also know that the answers they need lie outside of the team as well and expands the boundaries of the team to include useful outsiders in person or virtually.