Professional Learning Community (PLC) on Improving Reading Instruction in Meaning Skills
6 weeks | 27 hours
*Note: This PLC has the same information as Foundations of Reading: Meaning Skills; it is just presented in a slightly different manner.
How can you help your learners build vocabulary, without rote memorization, and improve reading comprehension through contextualized lessons? No matter what level learner you work with, this PLC will help you learn how to weave vocabulary and comprehension skills into any lesson. This PLC complements Print Skills; however, Print Skills is not a prerequisite for this course. This PLC will be a blend of online learning and virtual meetings. Throughout the PLC, participants will:
- collaborate with others to improve lessons
- gather useful resources
- gain a deeper understanding of the importance of vocabulary and comprehension
- learn how to contextualize these skills in their lessons
The requirements for this PLC are slightly different than other online courses offered through the VALRC. Because this is a PLC, participants will be required to attend a virtual meeting each week where the group will discuss the weekly content and assignments. It is expected that participants will complete the weekly coursework prior to the PLC meeting in order to maximize the time together and have rich discussions about the content.
The virtual meetings will be held on Wednesdays from 2:00-3:30 p.m.
Opening a Google Account
In this PLC, we will be using Google Docs, which is now part of the cloud-based file storage system Google Drive. There are several reasons to use Google Docs in our PLC:
- the ability to collaborate on documents
- the ability to access these documents readily once the PLC is complete
- the opportunity to become familiar with and practice using Google tools that can be used with learners in your classroom
In order to participate, you need a Google account. It will be helpful to set up your Google account before the PLC on Improving Reading Instruction in Print Skills begins.
GCFLearnFree provides excellent instructions on opening a free Google account. (Note: if you use Gmail, you already have a Google account.) Whether your account is new or old, be sure to check that you remember your username and password!
Completion of the PLC is designed to require approximately four and a half hours a week (for a total of 27 hours over 6 weeks). However, you may find that you want to spend longer with some topics.
In order to receive the certificate for participating in the PLC on Improving Reading Instruction in Print Skills, you must complete all assignments and attend the virtual PLC meeting each week.
Remember that, although you will gain from doing the activities, you will learn most from discussions with your colleagues and facilitator. To keep our discussions as productive as possible, you must stay within the timeframe outlined for this PLC.