My colleague and friend Shirley Hord reminds me at every opportunity that the primary purpose of professional learning communities is professional learning. Right now I'm thinking of Shirley's words as I review sample school improvement plans and professional growth plans.

Over the last several months I have been working with educators from school districts that have had professional learning communities in place for some time. In many cases, there are enviable structures in place to support them. Designated time within the school day is set aside for teachers to meet. Data are readily available and clearly woven into conversations that occur within those communities. Teams have agenda to guide their meetings.

What is missing is what Shirley Hord voices so eloquently and so simply---the professional learning. As I read through agendas or schoolwide and individual professional growth plans, or listen to teachers and principals describe them, I can't find evidence of professional learning. I can find the work that will be accomplished and the tasks that are outlined for teams to complete, but I see no evidence that teachers will expand their knowledge, skills, or strategies into their collaborative planning. I wonder about what additional learning will expand teachers' own understanding of and skillfulness in teaching and learning.

I am reminded of similar challenges planning instruction. I frequently hear discussions about the tasks or activities that students will complete within the course of a lesson or unit, yet what is less evident, or even missing, is the learning students will acquire. I find similar challenges in outcomes or objectives for both student and adult learning. They often specify what learners will do, rather than what learners will learn. For example, when a PLC is writing common assessments, the task is writing and the product is assessment. However, what is the team learning? Are they learning strategies for differentiating assessments to meet the needs of various learning preferences? Are they learning how to align assessments with the curriculum? Or are they learning how to write assessments that provide data for planning subsequent instruction?

Many tell me that the learning is embedded in the doing. It might be true that educators gain a deeper understanding of their practices while working together. However, without a focus on their learning, an explicit identification of what is being learned, and a thoughtful and intentional process designed for learning, it is unlikely that learning for educators will be in the "busyness of their doing."

Joellen Killion is NSDC's Deputy Executive Director.