Characteristics of Professional Learning Communities

1. Share mission, vision, and values. 

What separates a learning community from an ordinary school is its collective commitment to guiding principles that articulate what the people in the school believe and what they seek to create. 

2. Collective inquiry.

People in such a community are relentless in questioning the status quo, seeking new methods, testing those methods and then reflecting on the results. 

3. Collaborative teams.

People who engage in collaborative team learning are able to learn from one another, thus creating momentum to fuel continued improvement. 

4. Action orientation and experimentation.

[Professional Learning Communities] recognize that learning always occurs in a context of taking action, and they believe engagement and experience are the most effective teachers.

5. Continuous improvement.

Members of a professional learning community recognize and celebrate the fact that mission and vision are ideals that will never be fully realized, but must always be worked toward. 

6. Results orientation.

Finally, a professional learning community realizes that its efforts to develop shared mission, vision, and values; engage in collective inquiry; build collaborative teams; take action; and focus on continuous improvement must be assessed on the basis of results rather than intentions.