If you’ve been reading my PLC series, you know one of my priorities this school year is to improve our PLCs so we can strengthen Tier I instruction—the everyday teaching every student receives.
I’ve always asked my team to look at data and use it to plan their lessons. But this year, we’re changing how we use our PLC time. We’re making room to practice what we’ll actually say, ask, and do during instruction.
Prepare Before the PLC
Teachers internalize their upcoming lessons before arriving. That means studying the lesson, working through the student tasks, anticipating where students might struggle, and choosing a lesson moment to rehearse.
Our instructional leadership team studies those same lessons so they’re prepared to coach.
Rehearse Together
During the PLC, teachers take turns teaching their chosen lesson moment while colleagues act as students. They receive focused coaching, make an adjustment, and try again.
The goal is to leave more prepared to teach—not just with a plan, but with practice using it.
Teach, Collect Evidence, and Reflect
After the PLC, teachers use the rehearsed move in their classrooms and collect evidence of student learning. That might include student work, exit tickets, or notes about what students said and did.
At the next PLC, we review that evidence together. What seemed to help? What do students still need? What should we keep, change, or rehearse next?
Read the PLC Series
My blog series shares the thinking behind this process, how we’re putting it into practice, and what we’re learning along the way. 👇
Bring the Process to Your Team
I also created Elevate Your PLCs: Lesson Internalization & Rehearsal Toolkit to bring the steps together in one place.
It includes agendas, seven coaching look-fors, a coaching playbook, and planning and reflection forms for teachers, coaches, and school leaders. I wanted it to be clear, practical, and pretty—something you can pick up and use without having to read the blog series first.
Let’s Keep Learning Together
It’s not a perfect system. We’re still tweaking it, learning, and making adjustments. But this is one way we’re working to make our collaboration more useful for the teaching and learning that happens afterward.
I’d love to hear how you’re elevating your PLCs, too.
Stay Connected
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Keep Becoming.
Julie | The Wildflower Within 🖤
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