Shared Vision, Team Learning and Professional Learning Communities

Many middle schools do not use one of the most important strategies to improve student achievement and create socially equitable, developmentally responsive middle schools: becoming a professional learning community. This article summarizes the five disciplines which are vital for learning organizations -- systems thinking, personal mastery, mental models, building shared vision, and team learning. These disciplines are essential to creating an environment that promotes collaborative learning. An effective professional learning community can only emerge in a school culture of trust, risk taking, and support. The confident principal understands the power of developing teacher and student leaders so that this empowerment translates to a successful school for everyone.