Professional Learning Networks (PLN)
What is a Professional Learning Network?
Professional or Personal Learning Networks (PLN) are becoming widely utilized online as a way of connecting people with similar interests and careers, some examples are online groups on social media, discussion forums, or even listservs. Educator, Sarah Thomas, states when being interviewed for Common Sense Education that “PLNs are personal, or professional, learning networks. They're a community that you build that’s customized to what you want or need to learn. These allow for maximum choice and truly personalize the way that we learn." (Thomas, 2017). Many organizations provide professional development but it may not meet the specific needs of everyone within that organization. By working on idea generation and brainstorming sessions online with a PLN the scope of what one can learn broadens and grows. Idea generation does not need to solely come from resources in your direct interactions and daily activities, but can be sourced from across nations or even world wide.
According to Dr. Torrey Trust, there are four growth areas for PLNs. They are social growth, affective growth, cognitive growth, and identity growth. Social growth helps people feel connected and can build social connections with educators across the country and world. Affective growth happens when people feel supported. It can build confidence. People within this growth area tend to use a process of trial and error which leads to learning. Cognitive growth identifies new resources and intellectual benefits by giving the learner a peak into other's plans, programs, or classrooms. Identity growth helps connect the learner with their audience. It helps them learn and create their own identity and style. More to come about my personal identity and leadership style in my exploration of personality tests below!
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| Photo from: Library Think Tank Facebook Page |
By sharing with people in your PLN you can find support and gain new ideas on how to expand on what you are sharing with them. This is something I am thankful that the library community embraces. My personal growth categories I look for in a PLN are affective growth and cognitive growth. An example of this is a group I am in on Facebook called the ALA Think Tank. ALA stands for the American Library Association. This online group discusses a wide range of topics from what books are being questioned at certain libraries, responses and reflections on library programs, what book ends are the best to buy, or even just fun library memes or silly things we find in books. If you are stuck on any sort of library related problem, this is the PLN to post in for genuine feedback and support. It reminds me of why Leslie Knope doesn't like librarians, "The Library is the worst group of people ever assembled in history. They're mean, conniving, rude and extremely well read, which makes them very dangerous." People within the PLN of the ALA Think Tank have a particular set of skills and are always willing to help lend a hand to a fellow library worker.
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| Photo Credit: Reddit Post, Parks and Rec Season 4 |
My Leadership and Personality Style
In order to determine what additions and skills I could bring to a PLN I took 3 personality tests from MindTools about my leaderships style, My Personality Test to determine my personality type, and 16 Personalities Free Personality Test to see if my results vary from my first personality test.
MindTools
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| Photo Credit: Jenny Marose, Screenshot of MindTools Leadership Style Survey Results |
Self Reflection on MindTools
I was split on some of question categories on this site meaning I scored myself on both ends of the Likert scale. This happened with almost every style of question except the two questions derived from managing performance effectively. With that being said, I scored a leadership score of 79 points. The questions that are provided within each category vary greatly on leadership style and justify being on different ends of the Likert scale. I would recommend taking additional leadership style tests to breakdown what your leadership style is.
Book Recommendation for New Leaders
by Julie Zhuo
Photo from: Naperville Public Library's Catalog
My Personality Test
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It is a great idea when stepping into leadership to learn about your personality and leadership style to better grow yourself and for your team. Think of the saying, "Put on your oxygen mask before helping others." First you must find out where you stand and what your values are, then learn how that may impact those around you and how these traits can effect your decision making.
Self-Reflection on My Personality Test
According to My Personality Test, my personality style is "The Enthusiasts". This personality style makes up about 7% of the population that has completed this online assessment. Here are some pro's and con's for the enthusiast personality style.
Pro Enthusiast Traits:
- Charismatic, imaginative, warm, charming, and compassionate.
- Has the ability to make others see things your way, and you can often talk your way into and out of things.
- Primarily focus externally, and base judgments off of your intuitive feelings. When you do focus internally, you base your decisions off of your feelings and values.
Con Enthusiast Traits:
- You may get wrapped up in your focus on the big picture, and forget about the details along the way.
- Others may come to view you as overly sensitive.
- Because you are such a people-pleaser, you often seek out the opinions of others, but may have a hard time accepting criticism.
While this test is not as in-depth as say a DISC assessment it is a nice starting spot for people to learn about the pro's and con's of one's personality style at that moment in time. These tests can change over time and so can your leadership style as you continue your professional development journey. It is important to observe the con's but not to dwell on them. Focus on your strengths and use them to your advantage. If you do end up doing a full DISC assessment, please promise me you will not jump right to the lowest scores you get.
Book Recommendation for Personality Styles
by Gretchen Rubin
Photo from: Naperville Public Library's Catalog
16 Personalities
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| Photo Credit: Jenny Marose, Screenshot of 16 Personalities Results |
Self-Reflection on 16 Personalities
My personality type ranks as "Protagonist". I rated as a 95% extrovert. Which is not surprising to me by any means. I am very outgoing and enjoy talking to people, even if I do not know them. Both My Personality Test and 16 Personalities state that being optimistic is tied to this personality style. Which allows me to take a nod to the name of my blog. My last name is Marose. The take on my title Marose Not Morose is a nod to thinking of the positive outcome instead of the negative.
Book Recommendation for Mindset
by Catherine A. Sanderson, PhD
Photo credit: Naperville Public Library's Catalog
by Ingrid Fetell Lee
Photo credit: Naperville Public Library's Catalog
PLNs IRL
Professional Learning Networks can be a wonderful tool and should be used to enhance and inspire those within the network. While I specifically mentioned online PLNs you can also have in-person or IRL PLNs too. An example of this is at my job we run a quarterly training session called "Peer-Led Training". I know not the catchiest name, but it is a quality training! Many of our staff specialize in certain age groups, specialty programs, or collection management that they present at conferences and on webinars on a regular basis. I get to highlight their skillset by coordinating training sessions for them to teach their peers what is usually only shared at conferences.Conferences, forums, and think tanks are also great ways to get started with PLNs. Here you can connect with like minded individuals to share ideas. They can be casual such as a passive conversation at a training or even a Twitter/X thread. It is best to start small with finding a group to follow that posts regularly. You can also sign up to receive emails from organizations with their newsletters or general updates. These are sometimes referred to as Listservs. I personally subscribe to a few organizations listserv emails. They provide me with training opportunities to continue to customize my professional development journey.
All in all, you can be as active as you like in a PLN. It is encouraged to respond in a professional and helpful manner when applicable. But, if you just want to lurk, that's okay too!
Keep creating!
Jenny
Jenny, this is an outstanding look at professional learning networks and how you can gain a sense of what you bring to the table. I wholeheartedly agree that in-person networks are just as powerful as online networks. The key, for me, is that the online networks tend to bring me out of my "bubble" and offer new context for me. I LOVE your book recommendations, thank you for those!
ReplyDeleteHi Nicole, you make a fabulous point stating that online networks can bring people out of their bubble. I find this is true when in more casual setting such as a social media group, blog or think tank. When participating in Zoom or webinar sessions, sometimes I find it difficult to contribute effectively. I like to hear others ideas and perspectives and feel like I always start talking right when someone else does. Online networks are great for visual and resource sharing instantly where sometimes an in-person network you need to jump a few extra hurdles to get the same resources. Thank you for your reflection!
DeleteHey Jenny,
ReplyDeleteYou post this week reminds of the last graduate class I took where we read about the two types of leaders--the ones that lead emotionally or logically. I agree with you when you said, "First you must find out where you stand and what your values are, then learn how that may impact those around you and how these traits can effect your decision making." If you don't know who you are as a leader, you may flounder trying to lead in a way that is not authentic to yourself and thus potentially disappoint your stakeholders. It is invaluable to know your leadership style so that you know what you bring to any table.
Thanks for sharing the book recs too Jenny! I will be looking into those.
-MH
Hi MH, I agree with you, while the web of personality styles does effect leadership, most leaders tend to fall within emotional or logical leadership. I think a leader can benefit from first learning themselves, then learning how other personalities work. This helps them communicate more efficiently with people in their organization or on their team who have a different way of communicating then they do.
DeleteLast year, I took a DISC assessment that informed me of my authentic leadership style and then my secondary leadership style. The secondary is where I can still thrive but it would likely be more stressful to operate in that capacity for a long period of time. When you lead with your authentic self, there's no telling what you can accomplish! Thank you for your reflection!
Hi Jenny,
ReplyDeleteI loved your analogy of the air mask on airplanes. It really shows how you truly have to look within yourself before you start helping others. I also took the three personality tests, and some of the things we have in common is that we have both have a positive attitude and are optimistic. I think these are both traits that all teachers have, since we must be there for our students. Also, I've been meaning to brush up on some non-fiction reads, so like Nicole and Moonlit have mentioned, thanks for the recommendations (adding them to my tbr list after I post this)!
Hi Janet, thank you for your kind words. I like the airplane analogy as well. I agree with you that many teachers and educators are usually positive and optimistic. They almost have to be because they are encouraging people to grow and learn! I feel these traits aren't necessarily tied to a personality style but a mindset. For example, I am outgoing but you don't need to be outgoing to be positive and optimistic.
DeleteI'm usually not a huge non-fiction reader but these books have really helped me over my career and leadership journey. I hope you enjoy them!
Thanks for your reflection!
Hi Jenny,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great, well organized post here! I really enjoyed reading your results from the personality tests. I, too, have extraverted as high percentage from my results! I'm curious, how much do you agree with that rating for you? I received some ratings that opened new wonderings for me and it is interesting to compare tests with one another.
Also, I appreciate the book recommendations! I have been trying to get into reading more, and am very intrigued by "The Positive Shift." Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Jane, I take personality and trait tests like this with a grain of salt. While they usually get some of it right, it never seems to end up being a true reflection of the person. How could a short quiz summarize an entire person only after completing it once? Though, it is a nice starting point for self-reflection and growth. Something I like to do is retake quizzes after a brief period to see what has changed in that timeframe. This takes the reflection to another level as you learn and come into new stages of your life and career.
Delete"The Positive Shift" is a lovely read! The author breaks down the sections into reasonable chunks which is nice to someone who isn't a non-fiction reader every day. They use many personal experiences and authentic stories to emphasize their points which I feel makes it relatable. It also helps to put theory into practice.
Thanks for your reflection!
Hi Ashley,
ReplyDeleteI am really loved your blog this week. I think being reflective in life is a much needed thing for me as a teacher and peer leader. In my previous leadership class I read a book called "Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard". It was a really good read, thank you for sharing your book, I think I might have to add it to my reading list as I grow and develop my leadership abilities.
Hi Kenecia, thank you for the book recommendation! One of my favorite quotes is that the only thing that is constant in this world is change. I am always looking for new ideas on how to tackle difficult transitions and support those on my team while in a period of transition or change.
DeleteBest,
Jenny