Design Thinking PLCs: Revolutionize Teacher Collaboration

A well written in depth book. To help any teacher.

Design thinking is a creative and innovative approach to complex-problem solving. This is because it is an iterative process, which seeks input from all stakeholders by challenging assumptions to examine all types of questions. What is significant is that the design thinking process keeps the end user at the heart of inquiry. I cannot think of an area bearing more relevance than the connection between educators and today’s student. Brett Taylor provides an outstanding blueprint for those seeking to keep the end user at the forefront where educating our youth is concerned. Far too often, educators spend endless hours working tirelessly to improve student learning measures without the benefit of effective teacher collaboration. Taylor builds on this scenario to better the outcome: his book takes effective teacher collaboration to a level on par with today’s world and hence the needs of today’s student. Design Thinking PLCs: Revolutionize Teacher Collaboration doesn’t hold back — it provides the core principle of professional learning communities with strategies and steps to solve problems using a solution-based approach. He does this by connecting PLCs with design think and the result is a symphony of information to help orchestrate teacher collaboration with the needs of the student. How does he know this works? In addition to his own extensive background in education, Taylor writes that he “used the Design Thinking PLC process to prototype and test this solution with teachers, ultimately leading to the tools and teachings in this book.” In a nutshell, Taylor delivers. Design Thinking PLCs: Revolutionize Teacher Collaboration is an infusion of oxygen into a failing to thrive concept. Candidly, I consider Taylor’s work to be a straightforward and insightful read. More than just a book to shed light on the concept of design think and PLCs, Taylor’s contributions act as guide on how to infuse the oxygen, so student voices become mainstay for effective teacher collaboration. PLCs can, and should be, a space for making this great idea the new norm.

As a product design and engineering teacher, design thinking is key. I am a fan of design thinking's creative approach and love that it is now being utilized in education. Dr. Taylor goes through the process of design thinking PLCs, from forming the team and getting teachers on board, to implementation. Traditional PLCs focus on student data while this approach focuses on student's experiences and needs. Many times teachers come away from an educational book and think it is too hard to implement. I was energized and thought of many contexts and departments that this process could apply to.PROS- Very readable conversational style, not a "dry, put you to sleep" manual- Contains a process that can be immediately implemented. This not a book of purely educational theory, but includes real examples of both correct and incorrect implementation and how to apply that to your classroom.- Encourages teachers to empathize with students. This is a no-brainer for teachers, but sometimes connections get lost or misunderstood with the long list of requirements put on us- Provides an innovative approach to PLC meetings and is not specific to any one discipline.CONS- There is a risk it can be implemented and fall flat. Teachers must agree on a problem, do the interviews, and participate in brainstorming.After reading this book you will come away with many good, implementable ideas. It is short and readable, which is important with all that teachers have to do. Dr. Taylor hosted a Design Thinking PLC at my school. I enjoyed it and found the process energizing. This process is especially appealing to my department of Career Technical Education teachers since we are all teaching different subject matter. Empathy and teaching strategies cross all disciplines.

As a previous high school teacher and vice principal, I regret not having this book sooner. Taylor shows how Design Thinking PLCs can bring teachers and administrators together to solve real problems within their schools in a way that centers student voice and needs. This book is intelligent, actionable and change-oriented and I whole heartedly recommend it to anyone working within a professional learning community (PLC) or who would like to build a PLC that empowers its participants to be change agents that meet the needs of their constituents.Taylor’s vision of PLCs is intuitive and powerful. I often found myself say, “of course,” during every chapter. Design Thinking PLCs place the student at the center of education and empowers teachers to do the work they find so meaningful—I wish my administrators had read this book. Design Thinking PLCs presents a clear, concise and clever way of leveraging the voice and assets of teacher, students and administrators alike.Some of the highlights that makes Taylor’s approach stand out:- Avoids deficit frameworks of students and teachers- Centers data in the decision-making process- Is action-oriented- Can be implemented immediately within any PLC- Is an honest way to value diversity and the voice of everyone involved- Is NOT context or resource dependent: It can work in all sectors of education, regardless of funding- Can build consensus while valuing diversity of opinionIn summary, I found this book clarifying and empowering. I think teachers or administrators looking to make real change happen should take a look at it.

I really enjoyed this read. One of the quotes from Taylor's book is , "Ultimately, students can only learn when we get past the what they need to learn to the how we can effectively teach it to them, but many PLCs never get there." I have been part of PLC before and this is the outcome of many. In Taylor's book he talks about how to get others on-board and how to be part of a PLC that would get to the How.As an educator and being on a team we need to work together to understand student's learning needs. This book goes into depth on how to do that. This book is easy to follow along with and a quick read. I was able to relate to many parts in his book and feel myself thinking back to what went wrong when I was part of a PLC and how things could have been different.

As an educator, I'm familiar with the experience of sitting through unproductive and uninteresting professional development days. The author provides an excellent guide on how education leaders can prompt a change in this area by empathizing with their teachers and students. And is supported by his experience and professional expertise in the education industry.The author shows how professional development can totally transform for teachers by collaborating with different departments and taking input directly from students. Design Thinking PLC's places the focus on the "students" and their experience as the starting point to create something innovative. I feel far more confident and creative in my own classroom having read this book.