Professional Learning Communities

Great learning starts when students believe in their academic abilities. In You Can Learn!, authors Tim Brown and William M. Ferriter introduce intentional and purposeful steps collaborative teams can take to increase the self-efficacy of every learner. By incorporating the book's research-backed practices, professional learning communities will cultivate a culture where students at every grade level see themselves as competent learners fully capable of succeeding in school and beyond.

Achieve high engagement by building competence, autonomy, and content relevance in students, resulting in positive academic self-concept and self-efficacy. Readers will gain research-based instructional strategies for connecting with disengaged students and building positive student-teacher relationships

Theodore Goergen, EdD, is the director of student activities at the award-winning Adlai E. Stevenson High School. A practitioner for nearly 20 years, he has served as a middle school and high school science teacher as well as a curriculum team leader.

Charity Williams, EdD, is a middle school principal in southwest Missouri. She has more than 20 years of education experience and is focused on achieving continuous school improvement through professional learning communities.