Ideal for school leaders, teacher leaders, and superintendents leading district-level change, this book describes how separate professional learning communities can be purposefully linked across schools to create effective Networked Learning Communities (NLCs). Steven Katz, Lorna M. Earl, and Sonia Ben Jaafar demonstrate how NLCs can effectively engage schools in creating and sharing professional knowledge and develop the kind of deep and sustained changes that enhance student learning, engagement, and success.Based on the authorsÆ research and work with districts and schools in North America and England, the book defines NLCs, explains how they work, and leads readers in examining:The importance of having a clear, evidence-based focusCollaborative inquiry as a process that challenges thinking and practice and generates new learning for teachersThe role of formal and informal leaders in both professional learning communities and networked learning communitiesBuilding and Connecting Learning Communities demonstrates how to work together to create the conditions for focused professional learning for teachers and tackles the challenge of how to sustain the work of NLCs.

Steven Katz is a director with the research and evaluation firm Aporia Consulting Ltd. and a permanent faculty member in Human Development and Applied Psychology at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) of the University of Toronto. He is an associate member of the School of Graduate Studies and is the coordinator of the Psychology of Learning and Development initial teacher education program component.

Katz has a doctorate in human development and applied psychology, with a specialization in applied cognitive science. His areas of expertise include cognition and learning, teacher education, networked learning communities, and the design of data-driven systems for organizational accountability, planning, and improvement. He has received the Governor General's medal for excellence in his field, and has been involved in research and evaluation, professional development, and consulting with a host of educational organizations around the world.

Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
1. Why Networks? Why Now?
It's About Learning
Networks: A Powerful Organizational Tool
Time for Reflection
2. How Networked Learning Communities Work
What Are Networked Learning Communities?
How NLCs Work: The Theory of Action
Using NLCs to Focus Local PLCs
The Anatomy of a NLC: A Refined Theory of Action
Time for Reflection
3. Establishing a Clear and Defensible Focus
Focus Foremost
Evidence-Based Focus
From a School Focus to a Network Focus
Time for Reflection
4. Collaborative Inquiry to Challenge Thinking and Practice
The Importance of Relationships
From Inquiry to an Inquiry Habit of Mind
From Relationships to Deep Collaboration
Getting to Powerful Collaborative Inquiry
Time for Reflection
5. Leadership in Networked Professional Learning Communities
Roles of Formal Leaders
Roles of Informal Leaders
Time for Reflection
6. From Student Learning to Teacher Learning
Towards Focused Collaborative Inquiry
Collaborative Inquiry for Teacher Leaders
Within-School Focused Professional Learning: Collaborative Inquiry for Teachers
Time for Reflection
7. Using the Network to Support Professional Learning for Leaders
Collaborative Inquiry and Focused Learning for Leaders
Using Critical Friends to Promote Inquiry and Focus Efforts
From Collaborative Inquiry to Instructional Leadership Actions
Time for Reflection
8. Sustaining Networked Learning Communities
Sustaining Collective Understanding
Sustaining Professional Learning
Sustaining and Broadening Leadership
Sustaining Powerful Networked Learning Communities
Time for Reflection
References
Index