Learning by Doing:
The Arts Middle Way By Bo Ryan & Sarah Henry “One of the most common traps that prevent organizations from closing the knowing-doing gap is reliance upon learning by training rather than learning by doing. As Pfeffer and Sutton (2000) conclude, ‘The answer to the knowing-doing problem is deceptively simple: embed more of the process of acquiring new knowledge in the actual doing of the task and less in the formal training programs that are frequently ineffective. If you do it, then you will know it.’ . . . Those who hope to lead PLCs should stop waiting for more training, more knowledge, and more skills, and instead create the conditions that enable staff members to learn by doing” (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, & Many, 2006, pp. 198, 199).
The educators and administrators of Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts Middle School in Connecticut took these words to heart and commenced a PLC journey that relied on their passion, their dedication, and a number of resources to aid their learning by doing. They did not attend institutes or bring in outside professional development consultants. They learned on their own and became a National PLC at Work Model School in 2016. This is their story. The Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts Middle School opened the doors of an old factory called the Colt Building in 2012 and welcomed grades 6 and 7. Grade 8 would be added the next year. Before that happened, though, there was much buzzing behind the scenes. That summer we faced many challenges: this was a brand-new magnet school; the school was being made as we created the plan; we had to hire all of the staff; we had to order resources; and we needed to 30
AllThingsPLC Magazine/Summer 2017
recruit students to the school. Plus, we were going to do all this as a PLC. Bo Ryan, the principal, had had some experience with PLCs in the past. He had been the principal of Woodside Intermediate School in Cromwell and, during his first staff meeting there, used resources from Learning by Doing (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, & Many, 2006) to introduce the staff to PLC concepts, the big ideas, and the importance of creating a shared mission. The staff easily accepted the three big ideas of a PLC. They worked hard, and in 2011, Woodside Intermediate was named a National PLC at Work Model School. He used his expertise and knowledge gained to become the principal of the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts Middle School. With this background, we were able to ensure the school was operating as a PLC from the very beginning. Hiring was our first big challenge. Once we started the hiring process, we made sure that we hired
teachers who were not only great teachers but also superior teammates. Sarah Henry was one such person. She was hired as the instructional coach and shared a passion for learning and PLC concepts. She quickly became instrumental in championing the PLC process. After teachers were hired, we emailed them Rick DuFour’s article What Is a Professional Learning Community? (DuFour, 2004) for summer reading to set the stage. In addition, because we knew the collaborative team was going to be the focus of our school, we started to build relationships among the staff immediately. We invited all staff in for various events in the community and called the tour “The Taste of Hartford.” The staff was able to bond, develop respectful relationships, and also get accustomed to the city they would be working in starting in August. We hired an incredible group of educators!