Sample records for professional learning communities

  1. Professional Learning Communities: Assessment--Development--Effects.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hipp, Kristine Kiefer; Huffman, Jane Bumpers

    This presentation addresses three topics: (1) the assessment of professional learning communities in schools; (2) the design and development of professional learning communities in schools; and (3) the effects of professional learning communities in schools. The purpose of this brief document is to share descriptions, processes, and materials…

  2. Investigating Professional Learning Communities in Turkish Schools: The Effects of Contextual Factors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bellibas, Mehmet Sukru; Bulut, Okan; Gedik, Serafettin

    2017-01-01

    A great number of studies have focused on professional learning communities in schools, but only a limited number of studies have treated the construct of professional learning communities as a dependent variable. The purpose of this research is to investigate Turkish schools' capacity for supporting professional learning communities and to…

  3. The Development of Professional Learning Community in Primary Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sompong, Samoot; Erawan, Prawit; Dharm-tad-sa-na-non, Sudharm

    2015-01-01

    The objectives of this research are: (1) To study the current situation and need for developing professional learning community in primary schools; (2) To develop the model for developing professional learning community, and (3) To study the findings of development for professional learning community based on developed model related to knowledge,…

  4. Holding the Reins of the Professional Learning Community: Eight Themes from Research on Principals' Perceptions of Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cranston, Jerome

    2009-01-01

    Using a naturalistic inquiry approach and thematic analysis, this paper outlines the findings of a research study that examined 12 Manitoba principals' conceptions of professional learning communities. The study found that these principals consider the development of professional learning communities to be a normative imperative within the…

  5. Perceptions of School Principals on Participation in Professional Learning Communities as Job-Embedded Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gaudioso, Jennifer A.

    2017-01-01

    Perceptions of School Principals on Participation in Professional Learning Communities as Job-Embedded Learning Jennifer Gaudioso Principal Professional Learning Communities (PPLCs) have emerged as a vehicle for professional development of principals, but there is little research on how principals experience PPLCs or how districts can support…

  6. Professional Learning Communities Impact on Student Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hamilton, Jan L.

    2013-01-01

    This study examined the impact of the Professional Learning Community model on student achievement in the state of California. Specifically, the study compared student achievement between two school types: Professional Learning Community schools and Non Professional Learning schools. The research utilized existing API scores for California schools…

  7. Teacher Agency and Professional Learning Communities; What Can Learning Rounds in Scotland Teach Us?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Philpott, Carey; Oates, Catriona

    2017-01-01

    Recently there has been growth in researching teacher agency. Some research has considered the relationship between teacher agency and professional learning. Similarly, there has been growing interest in professional learning communities as resources for professional learning. Connections have been made between professional learning communities…

  8. The Development of Professional Learning Communities and Their Teacher Leaders: An Activity Systems Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Turner, Julianne C.; Christensen, Andrea; Kackar-Cam, Hayal Z.; Fulmer, Sara M.; Trucano, Meg

    2018-01-01

    Professional learning communities can be effective vehicles for teacher learning and instructional improvement, partly because they help change professional culture. However, little is known about "how" these changes occur. We used activity systems analysis to investigate the development of professional learning communities and their…

  9. A Mixed-Methods Study Examining the Role of the Instructional Coach within a Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jorgensen, Christie L.

    2016-01-01

    Although instructional coaching and professional learning communities provide ongoing, job-embedded support and professional learning, little is known about what role the instructional coach serves within the setting of the professional learning community or what coaching skills teachers find most helpful within this setting. Research examining…

  10. Professional Learning Communities Focusing on Results and Data-Use to Improve Student Learning: The Right Implementation Matters

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Muñoz, Marco A.; Branham, Karen E.

    2016-01-01

    Professional Learning Communities are an important means toward the goal of improving schools so that students can learn at high levels. Professional Learning Communities, when well-implemented, have a laser-focus on learning, work collaboratively, and hold themselves accountable for results. In this article, the central concept of…

  11. Planning for Technology Integration in a Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thoma, Jennifer; Hutchison, Amy; Johnson, Debra; Johnson, Kurt; Stromer, Elizabeth

    2017-01-01

    Barriers to technology integration in instruction include a lack of time, resources, and professional development. One potential approach to overcoming these barriers is through collaborative work, or professional learning communities. This article focuses on one group of teachers who leveraged their professional learning community to focus on…

  12. A professional learning community model: a case study of primary teachers community in west Bandung

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sari, A.; Suryadi, D.; Syaodih, E.

    2018-05-01

    The purpose of this study is to provide an alternative model of professional learning community for primary school teachers in improving the knowledge and professional skills. This study is a qualitative research with case study method with data collection is an interview, observation and document and triangulation technique for validation data that focuses on thirteen people 5th grade elementary school teacher. The results showed that by joining a professional learning community, teachers can share both experience and knowledge to other colleagues so that they can be able to continue to improve and enhance the quality of their learning. This happens because of the reflection done together before, during and after the learning activities. It was also revealed that by learning in a professional learning community, teachers can learn in their own way, according to need, and can collaborate with their colleagues in improving the effectiveness of learning. Based on the implementation of professional learning community primary school teachers can be concluded that teachers can develop the curriculum, the students understand the development, overcome learning difficulties faced by students and can make learning design more effective and efficient.

  13. Development and Determination of Reliability and Validity of Professional Learning Community Collaborative Team Survey (CTS)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Colvin, Joshua A.

    2013-01-01

    The study of transformative learning within collaborative teams was conducted to gain new applicable knowledge used to influence overall school improvement and implementation of professional learning communities. To obtain this new knowledge, the Professional Learning Community Collaborative Team Survey (CTS) was developed and psychometrically…

  14. Sustaining Professional Learning Communities: Case Studies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hipp, Kristine; Huffman, Jane; Pankake, Anita; Olivier, Dianne

    2008-01-01

    The purpose is to document the ongoing development of two schools in becoming professional learning communities and the effects of meaningful collaboration on teacher learning. The question that guides this research is: How does a school become a sustainable professional learning community? The theoretical framework is based on the work of Senge,…

  15. The Relationship between Elements of Professional Learning Communities and Collective Efficacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dockery, Kim P.

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the nature of the relationship between levels of implementation of professional learning communities and Collective Efficacy. More specifically, the study sought to determine the relationship between the levels of implementation of dimensions of professional learning communities (Learning, Collaboration…

  16. Effects of Leadership Practices on Professional Learning Communities: The Mediating Role of Trust in Colleagues

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zheng, Xin; Yin, Hongbiao; Liu, Yuan; Ke, Zheng

    2016-01-01

    The building of professional learning communities has been widely recognized as an effective strategy for schools wanting to improve student performance and enhance teachers' professional capacity. This study explored the relationship between leadership practices and professional learning communities, with a particular focus on the mediating role…

  17. Professional Learning Communities: Creating a Foundation for Collaboration Skills in Pre-Service Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hoaglund, Amy E.; Birkenfeld, Karen; Box, Jean Ann

    2014-01-01

    According to Richard DuFour (2004), "To create a professional learning community, focus on learning rather than teaching, work collaboratively and hold yourself accountable for results." Professional learning communities provide the structure that must exist within a school in order to become effective. However, to truly prepare…

  18. The Relationship between Teacher Value Orientations and Engagement in Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ning, Hoi Kwan; Lee, Daphnee; Lee, Wing On

    2016-01-01

    The development of teacher professional learning communities (PLC) has attracted growing attention among practitioners, policy-makers and researchers. The aims of this study were to identify typologies of professional learning teams based on measures of professional learning engagement, and assess their linkages with teachers' value orientations.…

  19. Teachers' Professional Agency and Learning--From Adaption to Active Modification in the Teacher Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pyhältö, Kirsi; Pietarinen, Janne; Soini, Tiina

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study was to examine teacher learning in terms of teachers' professional agency in the professional community of the school. Altogether 2310 Finnish comprehensive school teachers completed a survey. Results showed that teachers' active efforts to learn in the professional community and to promote school development cannot be…

  20. An Examination of Effective Professional Development Characteristics in Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Strickland, Crystal Y.

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the extent to which professional development practices in professional learning communities are consistent with research-based principles of effective professional development. Additionally, the study investigated potential differences in the content focus, active learning, coherence, and…

  1. 78 FR 65302 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Evaluation of a District Wide...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-10-31

    ...; Comment Request; Evaluation of a District Wide Implementation of a Professional Learning Community... Professional Learning Community Initiative. OMB Control Number: 1850--NEW. Type of Review: A new information... need for systematic information about district-wide implementation of professional learning communities...

  2. Evaluating the Implementation of Professional Learning Communities over Time

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Monceaux, Matthew C.

    2017-01-01

    Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) have become a popular reform initiative for schools looking to increase student achievement. School district officials can find it difficult to implement and sustain Professional Learning Communities as some teachers are not accustomed to the levels of collaboration with peers involved. If implemented and…

  3. A Qualitative Study on Sustainable Professional Learning Communities in Catholic Elementary Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fernandez, Alexandra

    2017-01-01

    This qualitative study examined the elements of professional learning communities within Catholic elementary schools. The purpose of this study was to investigate best practices of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) as reported by elementary principals in a random sample of Catholic elementary schools. The researcher interviewed 14…

  4. Open Online Spaces of Professional Learning: Context, Personalisation and Facilitation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Evans, Peter

    2015-01-01

    This article explores professional learning through online discussion events as sites of communities of learning. The rise of distributed work places and networked labour coincides with a privileging of individualised professional learning. Alongside this focus on the individual has been a growth in informal online learning communities and…

  5. Critical and Transformative Practices in Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Servage, Laura

    2008-01-01

    Professional learning communities (PLCs) have been held up as powerful structures for teachers' continuing professional development. In this work, the author has applied transformative learning theory to highlight the psychic risks of collaborative teacher learning, as well as the need for practical efforts to improve student learning--the means…

  6. Learning Nursing in the Workplace Community: The Generation of Professional Capital

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gobbi, Mary

    This chapter explores the connections between learning, working and professional communities in nursing. It draws on experiences and research in nursing practice and education, where not only do isolated professionals learn as a result of their actions for patients and others, but those professionals are part of a community whose associated networks enable learning to occur. Several characteristics of this professional community are shared with those found in Communities of Practice (CoPs) (Lave and Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998), but the balance and importance of many elements can differ. For instance, whilst Lave and Wenger (1991) describe many aspects of situated learning in CoPs that apply to nurses, their model is of little help in understanding the ways in which other professions as well as patients/clients and carers influence the development of nursing practice. Therefore, I shall argue that it is not just the Community of Practice that we need to consider

  7. The Dynamics of Team Characteristics within Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morr, Shelly D.

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if Professional Learning Communities in elementary schools that have strong evidence of the five dimensions of a Professional Learning Community have a higher degree of teamness than those schools that do not have strong evidence. Methodology: Using a descriptive and ex post facto study, the…

  8. The Nature of Professional Learning Communities in New Zealand Early Childhood Education: An Exploratory Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cherrington, Sue; Thornton, Kate

    2015-01-01

    Professional learning communities are receiving increasing attention within the schooling sector but empirical research into their development and use within early childhood education contexts is rare. This paper reports initial findings of an exploratory study into the development of professional learning communities in New Zealand's early…

  9. Case Study of Professional Learning Community Characteristics in an Egyptian Private School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kenoyer, Faith E.

    2012-01-01

    This case study of an Egyptian school sought to explore staff perceptions of which characteristics of a professional learning community, as posited by Hord (1997), were found in ABC School's culture. Educational staff (52 (100%)) completed the School Professional Staff as Learning Community Questionnaire (SPSLCQ) and 18 (35%) educational staff…

  10. Beginning High School Teachers' Perceptions of Involvement in Professional Learning Communities and Its Impact on Teacher Retention

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lovett, Helen Tomlinson

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine beginning high school teachers' perceptions of involvement in Professional Learning Communities in southeastern North Carolina and to determine whether beginning teachers' perceptions of involvement in Professional Learning Communities influenced their decisions to move to another location, stay in…

  11. A Situative Perspective on Developing Writing Pedagogy in a Teacher Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pella, Shannon

    2011-01-01

    The bulk of current research on teacher professional development is focused on teacher learning in the context of teacher professional learning communities (PLCs). In teacher PLCs, groups of teachers meet regularly to increase their own learning and the learning of their students. Teacher PLCs offer a learning model in which, "new ideas and…

  12. It takes a village: supporting inquiry- and equity-oriented computer science pedagogy through a professional learning community

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ryoo, Jean; Goode, Joanna; Margolis, Jane

    2015-10-01

    This article describes the importance that high school computer science teachers place on a teachers' professional learning community designed around an inquiry- and equity-oriented approach for broadening participation in computing. Using grounded theory to analyze four years of teacher surveys and interviews from the Exploring Computer Science (ECS) program in the Los Angeles Unified School District, this article describes how participating in professional development activities purposefully aimed at fostering a teachers' professional learning community helps ECS teachers make the transition to an inquiry-based classroom culture and break professional isolation. This professional learning community also provides experiences that challenge prevalent deficit notions and stereotypes about which students can or cannot excel in computer science.

  13. The Impact of Professional Learning Communities on Student Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    DiNardo, Lynne M.

    2010-01-01

    Professional learning communities (PLC) are one strategy aimed at facilitating teacher professional development, with a focus on increasing student achievement. This mixed methods study investigated the impact of professional learning on student achievement. A total of 6 teachers and 121 students recruited from the third and fifth grades of a…

  14. Creating Professional Learning Communities: The Work of Professional Development Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Doolittle, Gini; Sudeck, Maria; Rattigan, Peter

    2008-01-01

    If professional learning communities offer opportunities for improving the teaching and learning process, then developing strong professional development school (PDS) partnerships establish an appropriate framework for that purpose. PDS partnerships, however, can be less than effective without proper planning and discussion about the aims of those…

  15. Elementary School Teacher and Principal Perceptions of the Principal's Leadership Role in Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hillery, Patricia L.

    2013-01-01

    As school districts' professional development trends shift to meet annual budget requirements, it is worthy to explore the benefits of professional learning communities as they are a potential means for job-embedded professional development. As an advocate for professional learning, Hirsh (2009) stated that every teacher should engage in…

  16. Problem Finding in Professional Learning Communities: A Learning Study Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tan, Yuen Sze Michelle; Caleon, Imelda Santos

    2016-01-01

    This study marries collaborative problem solving and learning study in understanding the onset of a cycle of teacher professional development process within school-based professional learning communities (PLCs). It aimed to explore how a PLC carried out collaborative problem finding--a key process involved in collaborative problem solving--that…

  17. Educational Reforms and the Practices of Professional Learning Community in Hong Kong Primary Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pang, Nicholas Sun-Keung; Wang, Ting; Leung, Zoe Lai-Mei

    2016-01-01

    This study explored the characteristics of professional learning communities (PLCs) in Hong Kong primary schools. It investigated the profiles of the strengths of professional learning community in schools under study and particularly examined the practices in schools which were identified as strong PLCs. It extends research on PLCs in the Hong…

  18. Can Online Learning Communities Achieve the Goals of Traditional Professional Learning Communities? What the Literature Says. Summary. REL 2013-003

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blitz, Cynthia L.

    2013-01-01

    Professional learning communities (PLCs)--teams of educators who get together regularly to exchange ideas--have sprung up to meet school districts' growing interest in promoting professional development that engages teachers and administrators. PLCs meet to develop lesson plans, monitor student progress, assess instructional effectiveness, and…

  19. Can Online Learning Communities Achieve the Goals of Traditional Professional Learning Communities? What the Literature Says. REL 2013-003

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blitz, Cynthia L.

    2013-01-01

    For more than a decade practitioners have promoted professional learning communities (PLCs) as an effective structure for providing teachers with professional development (Chappuis, Chappuis, & Stiggins, 2009; DuFour, Eaker, & DuFour, 2005). These collaborative networks are believed to be effective because they expose teachers to new ideas…

  20. School Leadership and Professional Learning Community: Case Study of Two Senior High Schools in Northeast China

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wang, Ting

    2016-01-01

    This article presents findings of a qualitative study on school leadership and professional learning community in two high achieving senior high schools in Northeast China. The findings show that teachers participated in school-based communities of professional learning, such as Teaching and Research Groups, Lesson Preparation Groups, and Grade…

  1. Professional Learning Communities' Impact on Science Teacher Classroom Practice in a Midwestern Urban School District

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carpenter, Dan

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this reputation-based, multiple-site case study was to explore professional learning communities' impact on teacher classroom practice. The goal of this research was to describe the administrator and teachers' perceptions with respect to professional learning communities as it related to teacher practice in their school. Educators…

  2. Leading Professional Learning to Develop Professional Capital: The Saskatchewan Professional Development Unit's Facilitator Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Osmond-Johnson, Pamela

    2017-01-01

    Drawing on data from a mixed methods study of the Saskatchewan Professional Development Unit's (SPDU) Facilitator Community, this paper highlights the potential of teacher-led professional learning in developing professional capital through engagement in teacher leadership. Analysis of survey, interview, and observational data revealed the…

  3. Teacher Professional Learning Communities in Innovative Contexts: "Ah Hah Moments," "Passion" and "Making a Difference" for Student Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Owen, Susanne Mary

    2015-01-01

    Innovative educational approaches for schooling require changes to the traditional teacher role towards operating as co-facilitators and co-learners, and working in teacher teams, with considerable professional learning supporting this. Professional learning communities (PLCs) have been acknowledged as highly effective, with their characteristics…

  4. Professional Learning Community Process in the United States: Conceptualization of the Process and District Support for Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Olivier, Dianne F.; Huffman, Jane B.

    2016-01-01

    As the Professional Learning Community (PLC) process becomes embedded within schools, the level of district support has a direct impact on whether schools have the ability to re-culture and sustain highly effective collaborative practices. The purpose of this article is to share a professional learning community conceptual framework from the US,…

  5. Continuous Inquiry Meets Continued Critique: The Professional Learning Community in Practice and the Resistance of (Un)Willing Participants

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Elbousty, Youness; Bratt, Kirstin

    2010-01-01

    The term Professional Learning Community is commonplace, and it holds many meanings and suggestions. For the purpose of this essay, however, we discuss a specific Professional Learning Community (PLC) that was established in a high school, fifteen months prior to the application of a survey instrument to evaluate participants' perceptions on the…

  6. A Study of Primary Teachers Participating in Professional Learning Communities with a Focus on Brain Compatible Classrooms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bachman, Karen S.

    2012-01-01

    This dissertation is the result of research which examined the implementation of professional learning communities in a primary school. Professional learning communities or PLCs are groups of educators coming together collaboratively in a process of inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve. While there were…

  7. Leading for Change: Creating a Professional Learning Community for Collaborative Relationships and Shared Leadership

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martin, Linda

    2013-01-01

    This action research study examines school reform through the development of a professional learning community for teacher-leaders. Through action research, this study organized a select group of teacher-leaders into a professional learning community to engage in a series of readings through a book club. The purpose of the book club was to develop…

  8. Professional Learning Communities: Divergence, Depth and Dilemmas. Professional Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stoll, Louise; Louis, Karen Seashore

    2007-01-01

    There is great interest internationally in the potential of professional learning communities for enhancing educational reform efforts and sustaining improvement. This international collection, with contributions from researchers and those leading initiatives in five countries, aims to broaden and deepen conceptions and understanding of…

  9. Closer to Learning: Social Networks, Trust, and Professional Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liou, Yi-Hwa; Daly, Alan J.

    2014-01-01

    Researchers, educators, and policymakers suggest the use of professional learning communities as one important approach to the improvement of teaching and learning. However, relatively little research examines the interplay of professional interactions (structural social capital) around instructional practices and key elements of professional…

  10. Exploring Middle School Math Teachers' Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Collaborative Learning Teams within Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rawding, Molly Rothermel

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of what makes a collaborative learning team (CLT) effective for novice and experienced teachers. Professional learning communities have emerged as one approach for job-embedded professional learning so that teachers have the opportunity to collaborate with the end goal of…

  11. Distance learning: the future of continuing professional development.

    PubMed

    Southernwood, Julie

    2008-10-01

    The recent development of a market economy in higher education has resulted in the need to tailor the product to the customers, namely students, employers and commissioning bodies. Distance learning is an opportunity for nurse educators and institutions to address marketing initiatives and develop a learning environment in order to enhance continuing professional development. It provides options for lifelong learning for healthcare professionals--including those working in community settings--that is effective and cost efficient. Development of continuing professional development programmes can contribute to widening the participation of community practitioners in lifelong learning, practice and role development. This paper considers the opportunities that web-based and online education programmes can provide community practitioners to promote professional skills while maintaining a work-life balance, and the role of the lecturer in successfully supporting professionals on web-based learning programmes.

  12. Teachers' Perception of a Professional Learning Community Model and Its Impact on Teaching and Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stollar, Lori J.

    2014-01-01

    This study of a suburban school district in south central Pennsylvania employed a mixed method design to explore teachers' perceptions of their professional learning community (PLC) and the impact of such on teaching effectiveness and student learning. Perceptual data was collected through the Learning Community Culture Indicator (LCCI) teacher…

  13. Relations among Resources in Professional Learning Communities and Learning Outcomes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Christ, Tanya; Arya, Poonam; Chiu, Ming Ming

    2017-01-01

    This study focused on two professional learning communities (PLCs) situated in literacy education practica courses. How four PLC resources (colleagues, facilitators, readings, and videos) were related to outcomes, including teachers' learning, teachers' application of this learning, and subsequent students' learning, was examined. Participants…

  14. The 5 Habits of Effective PLCs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Easton, Lois Brown

    2015-01-01

    This article describes the knowledge and skills that professional learning community members need to create a habit out of their desire. Habits serve educators as signposts of progress toward achieving their desires. They are interim indicators of a professional learning community's success. Ultimately, of course, professional learning communities…

  15. Teacher Professional Learning Communities: Going beyond Contrived Collegiality toward Challenging Debate and Collegial Learning and Professional Growth

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Owen, Susanne

    2014-01-01

    Professional learning community (PLC) is a current "buzz" term in business and educational contexts, seemingly referring to anything from decision making committees to regular meeting groups or collegial learning teams. This paper explores the concept of a PLC within three significantly innovative schools, based on an examination of the…

  16. Learning from Success as Leverage for a Professional Learning Community: Exploring an Alternative Perspective of School Improvement Process

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schechter, Chen

    2010-01-01

    Background: Although the professional learning community as a means of improving student achievement has received growing support from researchers and practitioners alike, professionals are still exploring ways to develop interaction networks regarding teaching and learning issues. Purpose: This study explores the evolving stages of a collective…

  17. Identifying the Correlation between Professional Learning Communities and Collective Teacher Efficacy for Math Data Teams in Kaua'i Complex Area Secondary Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ellwood, Cheryl Kathryn

    2013-01-01

    Professional learning communities and teacher efficacy are at the core of many of the current educational reform models. The intention of this dissertation was to identify the correlation between professional learning communities and collective teacher efficacy for math data teams in the six Kaua'i Complex Area secondary schools, as measured by…

  18. Sustaining Excellence in Experienced Principals? Critique of a Professional Learning Community Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Piggot-Irvine, Eileen

    2006-01-01

    Independent reviewer evaluations of the Ministry of Education (MoE) funded Principal Professional Learning Community (PPLC) programme for experienced principals in New Zealand (NZ) suggest a highly valued and strongly supportive programme. My own critique of the programme, against criteria for "strong" professional learning communities…

  19. Early Childhood Educators Teaching and Learning in Professional Learning Communities: A New Approach to Professional Development for Preschool Teachers in a Southern California School District

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fairfield, Robin

    2011-01-01

    Early childhood education teachers have been challenged with the demands for accountability in literacy and English language development, as well as kindergarten readiness skills of preschool children. Researchers have studied professional learning communities (PLCs) as a framework for professional development and student achievement. However, few…

  20. Influence of Professional Learning Community (PLC) on Secondary Science Teachers' Culture of Professional Practice: The Case of Bangladesh

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rahman, S. M. Hafizur

    2011-01-01

    While the current reform efforts in Bangladesh require a substantive change in how science is taught, an equally substantive change is needed in the culture of professional practice. This study will, therefore, investigate how science teachers' learning in a professional learning community (PLC) influences the ways in which participant teachers…

  1. Implementing Action Research and Professional Learning Communities in a Professional Development School Setting to Support Teacher Candidate Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shanks, Joyce

    2016-01-01

    The paper reviews teacher candidates' use of action research and the Professional Learning Community (PLC) concept to support their work in their pre-student teaching field experience. In this research study, teacher candidates are involved in a professional development school relationship that uses action research and PLCs to support candidate…

  2. Teachers Talking Together: The Power of Professional Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nathan, Linda

    2008-01-01

    Schools that encourage teachers to do excellent work, as Boston Arts Academy (BAA) does, are "professional learning communities." A professional learning community exists when the entire faculty and staff, including the administration, work together towards a shared set of standards and assessments that are known to everyone, including…

  3. Launching Professional Learning Communities: Beginning Actions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leo, Tara; Cowan, D'Ette

    2000-01-01

    A Professional Learning Community (PLC) is a school where administrators and teachers continuously seek and share learning to increase their effectiveness for students and act on what they learn. PLCs are characterized by five dimensions: shared and supportive leadership, shared values and vision, collective learning and application of learning,…

  4. Analyzing Learning in Professional Learning Communities: A Conceptual Framework

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Van Lare, Michelle D.; Brazer, S. David

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to build a conceptual framework that informs current understanding of how professional learning communities (PLCs) function in conjunction with organizational learning. The combination of sociocultural learning theories and organizational learning theories presents a more complete picture of PLC processes that has…

  5. Designing Professional Learning Communities through Understanding the Beliefs of Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ke, Jie; Kang, Rui; Liu, Di

    2016-01-01

    This study was designed to initiate the process of building professional development learning communities for pre-service math teachers through revealing those teachers' conceptions/beliefs of students' learning and their own learning in China. It examines Chinese pre-service math teachers' conceptions of student learning and their related…

  6. Evaluation of a Professional Learning Community at One Elementary School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kochenour, Ruth Braddick

    2010-01-01

    Today's educational reform literature abounds with convincing testimonials of schools operating as professional learning communities. The model is highly sought but often misunderstood and shallowly applied. Although much evidence exists regarding the characteristics of effective learning communities, the literature review reveals a gap in the…

  7. Effective Strategies for Sustaining Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bennett, Patricia R.

    2010-01-01

    Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), in which educators work collaboratively to improve learning for students, need effective strategies to sustain them. PLCs promote continuous improvement in student learning and build academic success with increased teacher expertise. Grounded in organizational systems theory, participative leadership…

  8. The Influence of Leadership Practices and Guiding Values on Professional Relationships within Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ricken, Jeremy S.

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to determine how the leadership practices and guiding values of a professional learning community affect the nature of the professional relationships among teachers. For purposes of this study, professional relationships are defined as the purposeful interactions, communications, and connections between teachers…

  9. Professional Learning Communities: An Analysis of Fifth Grade Special Education Student Achievement and Teacher Longevity in Two Texas School Districts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thacker, Teresa D.

    2013-01-01

    Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are an emerging form of professional learning used nationwide as a means for educators to focus on job-embedded learning. Extensive qualitative data have been compiled regarding the perception of educators and PLCs. However, little quantitative research has been conducted regarding the academic achievement…

  10. The Community of Learning Is in the Baobab Tree--How the Branches Stay Together in the Context of Professional Preparation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wolfensberger-Le Fevre, Celeste; Fritz, Elzette; van der Westhuizen, Gert

    2011-01-01

    This article explores how participation in a community of learning supported transformation on a personal and professional level in a Master's programme at a South African university. It draws on the concept of transformational learning in the professional preparation of educational psychologists, and how such learning plays out in the development…

  11. The Role of Professional Learning Communities in Developing and Using Common Formative Assessments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Betts, Diane Gmitro

    2012-01-01

    The goal of professional learning communities (PLC) is for teachers to come together to discuss and examine student learning and ultimately to make instructional changes that can lead to improved student learning. The formative use of assessments that are commonly agreed upon by this community of teachers is believed to enhance their improvement…

  12. Understanding Mathematics Teachers' Beliefs about Professional Learning Communities and Professional Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Garner, Arthur L., Jr.

    2011-01-01

    This ethnographic study utilized the theoretical frameworks of constructivism, cognitivism, and socio-cultural theories to examine how professional learning communities influenced the professional development of mathematics teacher knowledge and student achievement. This study sought to comprehend and interpret the behaviors, beliefs and values of…

  13. Professional Learning Communities: Communities of Continuous Inquiry and Improvement.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hord, Shirley M.

    Effective school restructuring requires teacher motivation and action to transform knowledge about change into reality. This paper defines and describes what is meant by "professional learning community"; describes what happens when a school staff studies, works, plans, and takes action collectively on behalf of increased learning for…

  14. Transformational Learning and Community Development: Early Reflections on Professional and Community Engagement at Macquarie University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rawlings-Sanaei, Felicity; Sachs, Judyth

    2014-01-01

    Professional and Community Engagement (PACE) at Macquarie University offers undergraduate students experiential learning opportunities with local, regional, and international partners. In PACE projects, students work toward meeting the partner's organizational goals while they develop their capabilities, learn through the process of engagement,…

  15. Principals' Perspectives on Designing, Implementing, and Sustaining a Professional Learning Community: A Qualitative Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bozzini, Michelle D.

    2017-01-01

    This qualitative study explored how elementary school principals design, implement, and sustain high quality professional development through the use of professional learning communities (PLCs) in order to enhance teaching and learning. The researcher revealed the principal's important role in the design, implementation, and sustainability of a…

  16. Literacy Training in an Urban High School Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ross-Norris, Vicki

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore the essence of professional learning experiences shared by teachers who participated in a professional learning community (PLC) at a New York City high school in the South Bronx. Guided by Hord's PLC characteristics and Bruner's constructivism theories, this phenomenological study addressed the research…

  17. Developing a Professional Learning Community among Preservice Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bond, Nathan

    2013-01-01

    This action research study examined the development of a professional learning community (PLC) among 20 preservice secondary teachers as they met regularly during a semester-long, field-based education course to share artifacts of learning from their professional portfolios. The PLC model described by Hord and Tobia (2012) served as a framework…

  18. Facilitating Professional Learning Communities among Higher Education Faculty: The Walden Junto Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bedford, Laurie A.; Rossow, Katie A.

    2017-01-01

    Virtual Professional Learning Communities (PLC) have become an innovative way to meet the professional development needs of faculty in the online learning environment. Walden University's model for PLCs, the Walden Junto, uses a combination of synchronous and asynchronous online strategies and is based on a philosophy that embraces the faculty…

  19. A Professional Learning Community Activity for Science Teachers: How to Incorporate Discourse-Rich Instructional Strategies into Science Lessons

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lewis, Elizabeth; Baker, Dale; Watts, Nievita Bueno; Lang, Michael

    2014-01-01

    In this article we describe current educational research underlying a comprehensive model for building a scientific classroom discourse community. We offer a professional development activity for a school-based professional learning community, providing specific science instructional strategies within this interactive teaching model. This design…

  20. Professional Development in the Digital Age: Case Studies of Blended Communities of Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wagner, Jennifer Michelle

    2010-01-01

    The need for sustainable, meaningful teacher professional development to support the rising professional demands remains an on-going challenge for education. The use of current technologies, such as online learning systems, to leverage the development of learning communities, including communities of practice (CoPs), where teachers with a common…

  1. The Development and Perpetuation of Professional Learning Communities in Two Elementary Schools: The Role of the Principal and Impact on Teaching and Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maynor, Chad Edward

    2010-01-01

    Professional learning communities (PLCs) provide schools with a tool to meet the professional development needs of their teachers through ongoing, job-embedded staff development designed to improve instruction and student learning. While research exists on the development of PLCs, there is a gap in the literature concerning the principal's role in…

  2. Nurses on a mission: a professional service learning experience with the inner-city homeless.

    PubMed

    Lashley, Mary

    2007-01-01

    Nursing students can play a vital role in addressing the health care needs of the homeless. Through professional service learning experiences in community-based settings, students learn how to partner with key community leaders and agencies to meet the needs of underserved populations and provide culturally competent care to diverse populations. This article describes the development of a professional service learning experience with the homeless in which a community-academic partnership was created to meet community needs. In an era of declining health care resources, such innovative partnerships serve to reduce health disparities and improve access to care while preparing students for community-based practice with at-risk and vulnerable populations.

  3. How Do Professional Learning Communities Aid and Hamper Professional Learning of Beginning Teachers Related to Differentiated Instruction?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    De Neve, Debbie; Devos, Geert

    2017-01-01

    Research has shown that adequate support from the school environment is necessary to help beginning teachers in applying differentiated instruction (DI), but how schools can aid in this process remains unclear. This qualitative study explores how professional learning communities (PLCs), an indicator of a supportive school environment, can enhance…

  4. A Multilevel Analysis of the Impact of a Professional Learning Community, Faculty Trust in Colleagues and Collective Efficacy on Teacher Commitment to Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, John Chi-kin; Zhang, Zhonghua; Yin, Hongbiao

    2011-01-01

    This study investigated the relationships between a professional learning community (PLC), faculty trust in colleagues, teachers' collective efficacy, and their commitment to students. The findings from exploratory factor analysis indicated that three clear components could be extracted from the scale of Professional Learning Communities…

  5. Impact of Professional Learning Community Participation on Teachers' Thinking about Classroom Problems

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Padwad, Amol; Dixit, Krishna K.

    2008-01-01

    Teacher education seems to exhibit a shift from product-oriented mode to social constructivist, process-oriented mode of working. The emergence of professional learning communities (PLCs) of teachers may be seen as one manifestation of this shift. PLCs are increasingly seen as an effective channel for teacher learning and professional development.…

  6. Taking a Step to Identify How to Create Professional Learning Communities--Report of a Case Study of a Korean Public High School on How to Create and Sustain a School-Based Teacher Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ahn, Joonkil

    2017-01-01

    This study intends to identify some key factors in creating and sustaining school-based teacher professional learning communities (PLCs) through a case study of a South Korean public high school. To achieve this, the study identified some essential infrastructure, preparation, and necessary social organization for creating PLCs. The ideal unit and…

  7. From Learning Organization to Learning Community: Sustainability through Lifelong Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kearney, Judith; Zuber-Skerritt, Ortrun

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: This paper aims to: extend the concept of "The learning organization" to "The learning community," especially disadvantaged communities; demonstrate how leaders in a migrant community can achieve positive change at the personal, professional, team and community learning levels through participatory action learning and…

  8. Research and Policy: Can Online Learning Communities Foster Professional Development?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beach, Richard

    2012-01-01

    This column posits enhancing professional development through uses of digital tools to create professional learning communities (PLCs) designed to support collective inquiry and action research leading to schoolwide improvement. These digital tools include a social networking/discussion forum for teacher collaboration; teachers' individual…

  9. Professional Learning of Observers, Collaborators, and Contributors in a Teacher-Created Online Community in Korea

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Seo, Kyounghye

    2014-01-01

    This study investigated professional learning taking place in a teacher-created online community. In particular, this aimed to explore how teachers at different levels of participation learn in an online community. The results showed that teachers usually began as observers, reading others' postings and using contributors' teaching resources, and…

  10. Establishing a Culture of Learning: A Mixed Methodology Exploration regarding the Phases of Change for Professional Learning Communities and Literacy Strategies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gray, James E.

    2010-01-01

    This research serves as a mixed methodological study that presents a conceptual framework which focuses on the relationship between professional learning communities, high yield literacy strategies, and their phases of change. As a result, the purpose of this study is threefold. First, a conceptual framework integrating professional learning…

  11. A Study on the Principal's Role in the Development of Professional Learning Communities in Elementary Schools that "Beat the Odds" in Reading

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reimer, Tracy Lynn

    2010-01-01

    Current federal legislation, such as No Child Left Behind and The Race to the Top, have elicited high levels of accountability for increasing student reading achievement. Professional organizations and researchers encourage educators to organize schools into professional learning communities (PLCs) to improve student learning. Despite the…

  12. Supporting Professional Development in Special Education with Web-Based Professional Learning Communities: New Possibilities with Web 2.0

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hardman, Elizabeth L.

    2012-01-01

    This article describes the challenges in organizing professional learning communities (PLCs) in special education, identifies the teacher and student benefits of using a PLC approach to professional development, and discusses the promise and pitfalls of organizing web-based PLCs to engage distributed stakeholders in the practice of special…

  13. Using a Wiki in a Scientist-Teacher Professional Learning Community: Impact on Teacher Perception Changes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kim, Hye Jeong; Miller, Heather R.; Herbert, Bruce; Pedersen, Susan; Loving, Cathy

    2012-01-01

    In this study, a wiki was integrated into a professional development model that systemically addresses early-career teachers' needs. This study was conducted to examine the impact of wiki-based professional development activities in a scientist-teacher professional learning community and focused on early-career teachers' perceptions of the role of…

  14. Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eley, Alison

    2017-01-01

    There are many professional development programmes on offer for primary science. The best of these involve teachers in developing practice over time, alongside engaging with theory. In this article, the author considers how working as part of a professional learning community can support a collaborative and evidence informed approach to improving…

  15. Discussing Science in Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harris, Emily; Rosenman, Amelia

    2017-01-01

    Teachers who participate in the Teacher Institute on Science and Sustainability (TISS) at the California Academy of Sciences commit to intensive professional development--that is, two two-week summer sessions, four evening workshops, and four Professional Learning Community (PLC) meetings throughout each school year--focused on creating more…

  16. Unpacking the Roles of the Facilitator in Higher Education Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Margalef, Leonor; Pareja Roblin, Natalie

    2016-01-01

    Facilitators are central for the success of professional learning communities (PLCs). Yet, their specific roles in supporting teacher learning remain still largely underexplored. To address this gap, the current multiple case study examines the roles of 4 university PLC facilitators, the strategies they used to support teacher learning, and the…

  17. Teacher Leadership Enactment in Professional Learning Community Contexts: Towards a Better Understanding of the Phenomenon

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hairon, Salleh; Goh, Jonathan Wee Pin; Chua, Catherine Siew Kheng

    2015-01-01

    Professional learning communities (PLCs) have gained considerable attention in education. However, PLCs are dependent on how group members collectively work and learn towards shared goals on improving teaching and learning. This would require leadership to support meaningful and productive interactions within PLC contexts, and hence, the…

  18. Facilitation for Professional Learning Community Conversations in Singapore

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Salleh, Hairon

    2016-01-01

    Professional Learning Community (PLC) has steadily grown in importance over the last decade. The growing importance of PLCs lies in its potential to act as a lever for school-based curriculum development and innovation so as to provide diverse learning experiences to satisfy broader learning outcomes beyond academic achievements (e.g., the…

  19. Teacher Collaboration and Student Learning in a Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vaughan, Mary Elaine

    2013-01-01

    Researchers have endorsed teacher collaboration within a professional learning community (PLC) that is focused on student learning. Despite these research-based endorsements, several Algebra 1 teachers in a southeastern high school implemented components of a PLC with little or no results in student achievement. The purpose of this study was to…

  20. Implementing Professional Learning Communities in Small High Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eichelkraut, Jeff P.

    2017-01-01

    Professional learning communities (PLCs) are collaborative teacher groups that focus on learning and continual improvement. Establishing PLCs can be a challenging endeavor, especially in smaller schools. Smaller schools employ fewer staff members, limiting opportunities for collaboration. This dissertation examined the implementation of PLCs in…

  1. Understanding the Link between Professional Learning Communities and Teacher Collective Efficacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Voelkel, Robert H., Jr.; Chrispeels, Janet H.

    2017-01-01

    Research suggests effective professional learning communities (PLCs) enhance teacher collaboration and student achievement. Some studies indicate that these communities also predict greater collective efficacy, while others suggest teacher efficacy is predictive of teachers working together. Although studies have identified effective,…

  2. Creating and Sustaining Online Professional Learning Communities. Technology, Education--Connections

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Falk, Joni K., Ed.; Drayton, Brian, Ed.

    2009-01-01

    This volume presents the work of trailblazing researchers and developers of electronic communities for professional learning. It illuminates the essential work behind the scenes in building successful online communities and scaffolding site interactions, including content selection, creation and management, administrative structures, tools and…

  3. Teacher Networks Companion Piece

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hopkins, Ami Patel; Rulli, Carolyn; Schiff, Daniel; Fradera, Marina

    2015-01-01

    Network building vitally impacts career development, but in few professions does it impact daily practice more than in teaching. Teacher networks, known as professional learning communities, communities of practice, peer learning circles, virtual professional communities, as well as other names, play a unique and powerful role in education. In…

  4. Science-for-Teaching Discourse in Science Teachers' Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lohwasser, Karin

    2013-01-01

    Professional learning communities (PLCs) provide an increasingly common structure for teachers' professional development. The effectiveness of PLCs depends on the content and quality of the participants' discourse. This dissertation was conducted to add to an understanding of the science content needed to prepare to teach science, and the…

  5. Professional Learning Communities: Keeping the Focus on Instructional Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Spencer, Elizabeth J.

    2016-01-01

    The inclusion of professional learning community (PLC) groups is now a common initiative in many districts across the country. While this step supports the professional development of teachers, an effective PLC program must go beyond just bringing colleagues together during a common time. The author recommends organizational structures for schools…

  6. The Impact of Teacher Perception of Professional Learning Communities on Student Algebraic Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    John, Tyrone Ahson

    2017-01-01

    In this study, I investigate the impact of teachers' perceptions of professional learning communities on student algebraic achievement. Furthermore, I also investigate whether these relationships manifest differently for males compared to females. Research indicates that teacher quality and professionalism are considered the most critical factors…

  7. Measurement Instruments for Assessing the Performance of Professional Learning Communities. REL 2016-144

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blitz, Cynthia L.; Schulman, Rebecca

    2016-01-01

    For more than a decade education practitioners have promoted the professional learning community (PLC) as an effective way to provide professional development to teachers. As more PLCs are established in schools and districts nationwide, education stakeholders--researchers, practitioners, administrators, and policymakers--are interested in…

  8. Dialogical Habitus Engagement: The Twists and Turns of Teachers' Pedagogical Learning within a Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fataar, Aslam; Feldman, Jennifer

    2016-01-01

    The focus of this article is on the pedagogical learning of five teachers in a professional learning community (PLC). The PLC was conceptualised as a means of generating pedagogical learning and change among the participating teachers in consonance with a socially just educational orientation. The two authors of this article participated in the…

  9. Examining the Relationships between the Level of Schools for Being Professional Learning Communities and Teacher Professionalism

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cansoy, Ramazan; Parlar, Hanifi

    2017-01-01

    The objective of this study is to examine the relationships between the levels of schools for being professional learning communities and teacher professionalism based on teachers' perceptions. The participants were a total of 543 teachers working at elementary, middle and high schools in the Eyüp District of Istanbul. The data were gathered…

  10. Professional Learning Communities: The Emergence of Vulnerability

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kelly, Jennifer

    2013-01-01

    This case study focuses on 11 individual teachers who participate in three distinct professional learning communities (PLCs) within one school. A PLC is "a group of people who take an active, reflective, collaborative, learning-orientated, and growth promoting approach toward the mysteries, problems, and perplexities of teaching and…

  11. Critically Reflective Dialogues in Learning Communities of Professionals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    de Groot, Esther; Endedijk, Maaike D.; Jaarsma, A. Debbie C.; Simons, P. Robert-Jan; van Beukelen, Peter

    2014-01-01

    Communities in which professionals share and create knowledge potentially support their continued learning. To realise this potential more fully, members are required to reflect critically. For learning at work such behaviour has been described as critically reflective work behaviour, consisting of six aspects: challenging groupthink, critical…

  12. Kaleidoscope Feature. Experiencing a Learning Community: Lessons from Interns Learning to Teach in a Yearlong Professional Development School Internship

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mule, Lucy

    2005-01-01

    University-school partnerships are increasingly being viewed as optimal contexts for preparing future teachers. Professional Development School partnerships have especially been extolled or creating learning communities in which preservice teachers learn to teach. The reform literature, however, does not adequately address how interns understand,…

  13. The Professional Learning Community in Special Education Schools: The Principal's Role

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schechter, Chen; Feldman, Niv

    2013-01-01

    The concept of a professional learning community is characterized by the networks of learning processes which exist among its members, where teachers continuously deliberate with one another on how to solve problems that relate to teaching and learning. Interestingly, whereas a growing number of studies have focused on how to promote collective…

  14. The Founding of the Learning Communities Association

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huerta, Juan Carlos

    2017-01-01

    Learning communities have reached the point in their growth that we now need a professional association to allow for more opportunities for participation in advancing learning communities. This is the story of the founding of the new Learning Communities Association.

  15. Professional Learning Communities in Singapore and Shanghai: Implications for Teacher Collaboration

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hairon, Salleh; Tan, Charlene

    2017-01-01

    Professional learning communities (PLCs) have been recognised as having the potential to raise the quality of teachers, teaching and student learning through structured teacher collaboration, and have been featured prominently in Singapore and Shanghai--both considered top-performing Asian societies in the Program for International Student…

  16. Evaluation of the Implementation of Professional Learning Communities and the Impact on Student Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bostic, Cristi M.

    2013-01-01

    This dissertation evaluated the implementation of professional learning communities in a large suburban school district in North Carolina. The presence of shared and supportive leadership, shared values and vision, collective learning and application, shared personal practice, supportive conditions for relationships, and supportive conditions for…

  17. Critically Reflective Work Behaviour within Autonomous Professionals' Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    de Groot, Esther; van den Berg, B. A. M.; Endedijk, M. D.; van Beukelen, P.; Simons, P. R. J.

    2011-01-01

    Informal learning communities in which participants show critically reflective work behaviour (CRWB) have the potential to support lifelong learning. In practice this behaviour does not always occur in groups of autonomous professionals. This study explores design principles (DPs) that could act as social affordances for CRWB, within the context…

  18. Investigating the Effectiveness of Professional Learning Communities in South Florida Public Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Novak, Renata Pessoa

    2017-01-01

    This applied dissertation was designed to verify the effectiveness of professional learning communities (PLC), as it relates to the participation of administrators and teachers. Prior studies have emphasized the importance of continuing learning experiences for school administrators while working. Chiptin (2013) pointed out the importance of a…

  19. Identifying Elements Critical for Functional and Sustainable Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Richmond, Gail; Manokore, Viola

    2011-01-01

    In this paper, we examined data collected as part of a 5-year project designed to foster reform-based urban science teaching through teachers' communities of inquiry. Drawing upon a distributed leadership framework, we analyzed teacher "talk" during professional learning community (PLC) meetings. This analysis yielded five elements:…

  20. Building up STEM education professional learning community in school setting: Case of Khon Kaen Wittayayon School

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thana, Aduldej; Siripun, Kulpatsorn; Yuenyong, Chokchai

    2018-01-01

    The STEM education is new issue of teaching and learning in school setting. Building up STEM education professional learning community may provide some suggestions for further collaborative work of STEM Education from grounded up. This paper aimed to clarify the building up STEM education learning community in Khon Kaen Wittayayon (KKW) School setting. Participants included Khon Kaen University researchers, Khon Kaen Wittayayon School administrators and teachers. Methodology regarded interpretative paradigm. The tools of interpretation included participant observation, interview and document analysis. Data was analyzed to categories of condition for building up STEM education professional learning community. The findings revealed that the actions of developing STEM learning activities and research showed some issues of KKW STEM community of inquiry and improvement. The paper will discuss what and how the community learns about sharing vision of STEM Education, supportive physical and social conditions of KKW, sharing activities of STEM, and good things from some key STEM teachers' ambition. The paper may has implication of supporting STEM education in Thailand school setting.

  1. From Professional Practice to Practical Leader: Teacher Leadership in Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilson, Adrianne

    2016-01-01

    The primary purpose of this research is to illuminate perceptions and lived experiences of secondary teachers through their involvement in a Professional Learning Community (PLC). Teachers' experiences within a PLC were examined for patterns of cultivated leadership. The second purpose of the study was to identify variables that either promote or…

  2. Program Evaluation of a High School Science Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McLelland-Crawley, Rebecca

    2014-01-01

    Teachers may benefit more from a professional learning community (PLC) than from professional development initiatives presented in single day workshops. The purpose of this program evaluation study was to identify characteristics of an effective PLC and to determine how the members of the PLC have benefitted from the program. Fullan's educational…

  3. Using Professional Learning Communities to Bolster Comprehension Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dougherty Stahl, Katherine A.

    2015-01-01

    High-level comprehension instruction is the focus of the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts. However, it has been a challenge for states to provide the professional development (PD) needed to support teachers' implementation of the CCSS. Professional learning communities (PLC) are a means of providing school-embedded PD to…

  4. Professional Learning Communities: Teachers' Perceptions and Student Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peters, Erica

    2013-01-01

    Professional Learning Communities (PLC's) are designed to help schools improve student achievement; all decisions are based on the needs of students. PLC's are an effective way to receive professional development (PD), allow for collaboration with fellow teachers, and offer timely intervention to all students. In a district known for PLC…

  5. Teacher Perceptions Regarding the Implementation of Professional Learning Communities at the Elementary School Level

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Finley, Lauren L.

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to describe elementary school teachers' perceptions of Professional Learning Communities and how they believed participation in a PLC impacts their professional development and classroom instruction. This study utilized organizational theory as a framework in order to better understand how changes in an…

  6. Opening the Classroom Door: Professional Learning Communities in the Math and Science Partnership Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hamos, James E.; Bergin, Kathleen B.; Maki, Daniel P.; Perez, Lance C.; Prival, Joan T.; Rainey, Daphne Y.; Rowell, Ginger H.; VanderPutten, Elizabeth

    2009-01-01

    This article looks at how professional learning communities (PLCs) have become an operational approach for professional development with potential to de-isolate the teaching experience in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The authors offer a short synopsis of the intellectual origins of PLCs, provide multiple…

  7. An Examination of the Factors That Influence the Transfer of Learning among K-12 Educators Participating in Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McCullum, Charcelor Channing

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate and identify the factors that either support or inhibit learning transfer among educators within K-12 professional learning communities (PLCs) as well as to obtain a better understanding of how adult education principles relate to teacher learning and job satisfaction within this environment. Although…

  8. Reflective Practices in Professional Learning Communities: A Case Study of the Missouri Professional Learning Communities Project

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burns, Mary Ann

    2012-01-01

    Dewey (1933) provided the foundation for reflective practice in education with the notion that learning is not in the doing, but rather it is in the thinking about the doing that creates learning. Evidence is growing about the importance of reflection for improving teaching and learning practices to increase student achievement (York-Barr, et al.,…

  9. Exploring Teachers' Beliefs about Teacher Learning in Professional Learning Communities and Their Influence on Collegial Activities in Two Departments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tam, Angela Choi Fung

    2015-01-01

    Factors leading to successful professional learning communities (PLCs) have been widely discussed in the West, but little is known about how/whether teachers' beliefs contribute to PLCs in the Chinese context. This qualitative case study aimed to investigate teachers' beliefs about teacher learning in PLCs and their influence on collegial learning…

  10. Team Up for 21st Century Teaching and Learning: What Research and Practice Reveal about Professional Learning. Condensed Excerpts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carroll, Thomas G., Ed.; Fulton, Kathleen, Ed.; Doerr, Hanna, Ed.

    2010-01-01

    This document contains excerpts from Team Up for 21st Century Teaching & Learning. This document includes the excerpts of five articles that provide a substantial evidence-based argument for the power of collaborative communities to improve teaching and learning. These articles are: (1) Professional Communities and the Artisan Model of…

  11. Stages of Collaboration and the Realities of Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dooner, Anne-Marie; Mandzuk, David; Clifton, Rodney A.

    2008-01-01

    Although professional learning communities are often promoted as unique learning opportunities, little is known about how they get started and how they are sustained. For this reason, group members are often unprepared, and then frustrated, by inevitable group tensions. With this in mind, Karl Weick's [(1979). "The social psychology of…

  12. The Study of the Impact of Professional Learning Communities and Student Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Phillips, Jori K.

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine if a difference existed between student learning, using the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP), and Professional Learning Community (PLC) implementation within fifth-grade populations in the state of Missouri. The following research questions were utilized to drive the research: What is the difference in…

  13. Intellectual and Physical Shared Workspace: Professional Learning Communities and the Collaborative Culture

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carpenter, Daniel

    2018-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore shared workspace and professional learning community (PLC) interactions in schools. The collaborative culture and PLCs were parts of the school culture. The collaborative culture of each school was designed to ensure teachers share intellectual and physical contributions in learning to investigate…

  14. A Research Agenda for Professional Learning Communities: Moving Forward

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hairon, Salleh; Goh, Jonathan Wee Pin; Chua, Catherine Siew Kheng; Wang, Li-yi

    2017-01-01

    Professional learning communities (PLCs) as a means of raising the teaching profession are becoming more attractive in education systems seeking to improve school improvement processes and outcomes. The main intention is to increase the individual and collective capacity of teachers so as to support school-wide capacity for teaching and learning.…

  15. Collaborative Inquiry and the Shared Workspace of Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carpenter, Daniel

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore educator collaborative inquiry in the shared workspace in professional learning communities (PLCs). Specifically, this investigation was part of an ongoing investigation of well-established PLC collaborative interactions and self-directed learning of educators as part of the shared workspace as a…

  16. Assessing the Change Process in Comprehensive High Schools Implementing Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shaner, Robert G.

    2009-01-01

    Professional learning communities (PLC) have been identified as scaffolds that can facilitate, support, and sustain systemic change focused on improving student achievement. PLCs represent the application of the theoretical constructs of the learning organization within the framework of schools and school systems. Little is known about the change…

  17. Professional Learning Communities: Teachers Working Collaboratively for Continuous Improvement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Griffith, Louise Ann

    2009-01-01

    Current research indicates that a professional learning community (PLC) is an effective means for helping teachers to bridge the gap between research and practice. A PLC is a team of educators systematically working together to improve teaching practice and student learning. This study evaluated the PLC formed by teachers at a public elementary…

  18. Enhancing Self-Efficacy in Elementary Science Teaching with Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mintzes, Joel J.; Marcum, Bev; Messerschmidt-Yates, Christl; Mark, Andrew

    2013-01-01

    Emerging from Bandura's Social Learning Theory, this study of in-service elementary school teachers examined the effects of sustained Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) on self-efficacy in science teaching. Based on mixed research methods, and a non-equivalent control group experimental design, the investigation explored changes in…

  19. Evaluating PK-12 Professional Learning Communities: An Improvement Science Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Woodland, Rebecca H.

    2016-01-01

    Professional learning communities (PLCs) have emerged as one of the nation's most widely implemented strategies for improving instruction and PK-12 student learning outcomes. PLCs are predicated on the principles of improvement science, a type of evidenced-based collective inquiry that aims to bridge the research-practice divide and increase…

  20. The Relationship between Elementary Teachers' Perceived Self-Efficacy and Principals' Facilitation of Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mathews, Tracy A.

    2017-01-01

    This quantitative correlation survey study investigated the relationship between teachers' perceptions of the effectiveness of school principals as instructional leaders in professional learning communities (PLCs) and self-efficacy beliefs of teachers. Social Cognitive Theory, self-efficacy concept, and Adult Learning Theory were at the core of…

  1. Relationships between Teacher Value Orientations, Collegiality, and Collaboration in School Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ning, Hoi Kwan; Lee, Daphnee; Lee, Wing On

    2015-01-01

    Unlike past research which has mainly examined whole school or whole department professional learning communities, this study focused on factors related to effective collaborative practices within teacher learning teams. Our main objective was to ascertain the roles of team value orientations (collectivism and power distance) and team collegiality…

  2. Elements Affecting the Development of Professional Learning Communities in Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schaap, Harmen; de Bruijn, Elly

    2018-01-01

    This article focuses on the development of professional learning communities (PLCs), which are communities within schools, composed of voluntary participating teachers facilitated by school principals with a specific task to accomplish as part of a larger innovation project. Four PLCs were observed during 3 years by using questionnaires and…

  3. Teachers and Students Together in a Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wennergren, Ann-Christine; Blossing, Ulf

    2017-01-01

    Students represent the majority of the people in a school organisation, but are rarely considered as participants in literature on professional learning communities (PLC). This article explored a PLC with the legitimate participation of students in the classroom. Data was based on interviews with 11 teachers. Community of practice theory provides…

  4. Influence of Professional Learning Community (PLC) on Learning a Constructivist Teaching Approach (POE): A Case of Secondary Science Teachers in Bangladesh

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rahman, S. M. Hafizur

    2012-01-01

    No major change has occurred up until now with regard to the teaching-learning methods of science used in Bangladesh. Teachers, in most cases, tend to teach the same things in the same ways they were taught when they were students. This study will, therefore, investigate how science teachers' learning in a professional learning community (PLC)…

  5. Singapore Schools and Professional Learning Communities: Teacher Professional Development and School Leadership in an Asian Hierarchical System

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hairon, Salleh; Dimmock, Clive

    2012-01-01

    While the literature on professional learning communities (PLCs) has proliferated, much of it derived from and contextualised in Anglo-American settings, the concept and practice of PLCs in Asian contexts of strong hierarchies have largely been ignored. Based on literature and documentary analysis, this paper investigates the systemic…

  6. Beyond Hammers versus Hugs: Leveraging Educator Evaluation and Professional Learning Communities into Job-Embedded Professional Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Woodland, Rebecca H.; Mazur, Rebecca

    2015-01-01

    Educational evaluation (Ed Eval) and professional learning communities (PLCs) are two of the nation's most predominant approaches to widespread instructional improvement. Yet key attributes of these reform initiatives are too often experienced by teachers as burdensome, or even detrimental, rather than helpful. The authors of this article contend…

  7. A Case Study of Certified Support Staff Members' Perceptions of Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Byrd, Tresseler S.

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the perceptions of certified support staff at a Georgia middle school, focusing on their opinions of Professional Learning Communities (PLC), the roles they played in PLCs and the effect PLCs had on their professional practices. This descriptive case study utilized open-ended interviews,…

  8. Professional Learning as a Predictor for Instructional Quality: A Secondary Analysis of TALIS

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dogan, Selçuk; Yurtseven, Nihal

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of teachers' professional learning opportunities on instructional quality, which represents a combined approach of behaviorist, cognitivist, and constructivist principles in teaching. We incorporated professional learning communities (PLCs), professional development (PD) days, as well as 3 PD…

  9. The Use of Twitter in the Creation of Educational Professional Learning Opportunities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ross, Carrie R.; Maninger, Robert M.; LaPrairie, Kimberly N.; Sullivan, Sam

    2015-01-01

    This study sought to examine how educators are using Twitter to increase their professional learning opportunities beyond the boundaries of traditional professional development offers, and whether educators feel a greater sense of fulfillment receiving professional development through networking and community learning than they do through…

  10. Taking a Measure of Impact: 2 Colorado Districts Calibrate the Effects of High Quality Professional Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jacobson, Linda

    2016-01-01

    Snapshots of two Colorado districts in the Redesign PD Community of Practice: Denver Public Schools' professional learning partners help subject-matter experts and others provide educators with a high-quality learning experience. In Jefferson County, Learning Forward's Standards for Professional Learning guide educators to make teacher…

  11. Learning by Doing: A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work™ (Second Edition)-- Action Guide

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Solution Tree, 2010

    2010-01-01

    This action guide is intended to assist in the reading of and reflection upon "Learning by Doing: A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work, Second Edition" by Richard DuFour, Rebecca DuFour, Richard Eaker, and Thomas Many. The guide can be used by an individual, a small group, or an entire faculty to identify key points,…

  12. In the Round: Supporting Teachers' Authentic Professional Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Strand, Matt

    2013-01-01

    This is a study of teachers' authentic professional learning at a public school in Poudre School District in northern Colorado. At Polaris Expeditionary Learning School, teachers and administrators have developed a form of school-based instructional rounds referred to herein as PLC rounds (professional learning community rounds). In PLC rounds,…

  13. Using Professional Learning Communities to Advance Preservice Teachers' Understanding of Differentiation within Writing Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kuehl, Rachelle

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore the use of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) in preservice teacher education as a tool for learning about differentiation within writing instruction. Using online dialogue journals, preservice teachers communicated with elementary students about a shared text and met in ongoing PLC groups to examine…

  14. A View of Professional Learning Communities through Three Frames: Leadership, Organization, and Culture

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mullen, Carol A.; Schunk, Dale H.

    2010-01-01

    In this discussion of professional learning communities (PLCs) in North American public schools, we examine three theoretical frames--leadership, organization, and culture. Issues related to learning are infused throughout our presentation of the frames. Based on our analysis of the current literature on this topic, PLCs offer a promising tool for…

  15. Implementation and Perceived Effectiveness of Professional Learning Communities in the Kanawha County School District in West Virginia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brucker, Elizabeth L.

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' perceptions of levels of implementation and levels of effectiveness in improving student learning of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) in Kanawha County Schools. This study also sought to determine differences in levels of implementation and effectiveness for five selected independent…

  16. Experiences of Elementary Music Teachers in a Subject-Specific Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anderson, Amy K.

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify ways in which teachers' participation in a subject-specific music professional learning community (PLC) impacts instruction and assessment of musical skills. Previous studies have provided evidence of PLCs' impact on teaching and student learning in many subject areas, but little has been…

  17. How Do Professional Learning Communities Foster Strong Career and Technical Education Programs of Study in Illinois Public High Schools?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Custable, Wendy

    2013-01-01

    This research study examines how Illinois public high school Career and Technical Education educational leaders employ best practices in providing all students rigorous, relevant, and equitable learning experiences within a professional learning community structure. This study utilized a mixed method two-tier case study methodology. Tier one…

  18. The Impacts of Professional Learning Communities on Science Teachers' Knowledge, Practice and Student Learning: A Review

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dogan, Selcuk; Pringle, Rose; Mesa, Jennifer

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to provide a review of empirical studies investigating the impact of professional learning communities (PLCs) on science teachers' practices and knowledge. Across 14 articles that satisfied the definition we embraced, most were devoted to the change in science teaching practices, disciplinary content knowledge (DCK)…

  19. Building Professional Learning Communities in Special Education through Social Networking: Directions for Future Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hardman, Elizabeth L.

    2011-01-01

    This paper examines the challenges inherent in building professional learning communities (PLCs) in special education and describes how two Web 2.0 tools were used to build a community that engages general and special education teachers, school administrators, and teacher educators in implementing research based inclusive practices that are known…

  20. Cultivating a Community of Learners in a Distance Learning Postgraduate Course for Language Professionals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Konstantinidis, Angelos; Goria, Cecilia

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this contribution is to share reflections and practices in cultivating a community of learners in the context of a professional development programme at Master's level for language teachers. The programme implements a highly participatory pedagogical model of online learning which combines the Community of Inquiry (CoI) model…

  1. The Impact of School Leadership on the Effectiveness of Professional Learning Communities and Employee Engagement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Allen, Claudette M.

    2017-01-01

    Empirical research has suggested that professional learning communities (PLCs) and employee engagement have a positive impact on the school community, school culture, and academic achievement. Further research has postulated that school leadership is one of the most important ingredients in the success of schools. But do school leaders have any…

  2. Teacher Education in Schools as Learning Communities: Transforming High-Poverty Schools through Dialogic Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Garcia-Carrion, Rocio; Gomez, Aitor; Molina, Silvia; Ionescu, Vladia

    2017-01-01

    Teachers' professional development in Schools as Learning Communities may become a key process for the sustainability and transferability of this model worldwide. Learning Communities (LC) is a community-based project that aims to transform schools through dialogic learning and involves research-grounded schools that implement Successful…

  3. Professional Learning Communities and the Degree of Teamness in Riverside County High Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roberts, Benjamin A.

    2013-01-01

    Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine if a significant difference in the degree of teamness in high school teams whose schools have strong evidence of the five dimensions of a Professional Learning Community, compared to high school teams in schools that do not have strong evidence of the five dimensions of a Professional Learning…

  4. Conceptualization and Support of the Role of Teachers Serving as Team Leaders in a Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gordin, Lanelle

    2010-01-01

    This study presents the results of a phenomenological qualitative investigation into the new role of teachers serving as team leaders in a professional learning community, as well as the support team leaders need from members and principals to be effective. Collaborative teacher teams in 6 schools that have been developing as professional learning…

  5. Beginning to Understand Why New Hampshire's Rural Educators Chose Not to Join New Hampshire's Newly Developed On-Line Professional Learning Communities: A Quantitative and Qualitative Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baker, Cheryl B.

    2011-01-01

    Rural educators face many barriers when trying to participate in high quality professional development, including isolation, funding issues, distance, and lack of temporary replacements. Technological solutions can assist rural educators in overcoming these barriers. Participating in on-line professional learning communities can provide New…

  6. Learning Communities Faculty Scholars: An Online, Targeted Faculty Development Course to Promote Scholarly Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Steiner, Hillary H.

    2016-01-01

    Many learning communities instructors seek professional development opportunities that foster their growth as teacher-scholars. Learning communities programs, therefore, have an opportunity to provide targeted, "just in time" training that allows for the immediate application of knowledge to a learning community setting, maximizing…

  7. Learning Communities for Curriculum Change: Key Factors in an Educational Change Process in New Zealand

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Edwards, Frances

    2012-01-01

    Increasingly school change processes are being facilitated through the formation and operation of groups of teachers working together for improved student outcomes. These groupings are variously referred to as networks, networked learning communities, communities of practice, professional learning communities, learning circles or clusters. The…

  8. Professional Learning Communities That Initiate Improvement in Student Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Royer, Suzanne M.

    2012-01-01

    Quality teaching requires a strong practice of collaboration, an essential building block for educators to improve student achievement. Researchers have theorized that the implementation of a professional learning community (PLC) with resultant collaborative practices among teachers sustains academic improvement. The problem addressed specifically…

  9. Social learning within a community of practice: Investigating interactions about evaluation among zoo education professionals.

    PubMed

    Khalil, Kathayoon; Ardoin, Nicole M; Wojcik, Deborah

    2017-04-01

    The accessibility and ubiquity of zoos and aquariums-which reach over 700 million people worldwide annually-make them critical sites for science and environmental learning. Through educational offerings, these sites can generate excitement and curiosity about nature and motivate stewardship behavior, but only if their programs are high quality and meet the needs of their audiences. Evaluation is, therefore, critical: knowing what works, for whom, and under what conditions must be central to these organizations. Yet, many zoo and aquarium educators find evaluation to be daunting, and they are challenged to implement evaluations and/or use the findings iteratively in program development and improvement. This article examines how zoo education professionals engage with one another in a learning community related to evaluation. We use a communities of practice lens and social network analysis to understand the structure of this networked learning community, considering changes over time. Our findings suggest that individuals' roles in a networked learning community are influenced by factors such as communicative convenience and one's perceptions of others' evaluation expertise, which also contribute to forming and sustaining professional relationships. This study illuminates how project-based professional networks can become communities of practice. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Productive Pedagogies and Teachers' Professional Learning in Physical Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bowes, Margot; Tinning, Richard

    2015-01-01

    This paper examines a professional development and learning intervention that sought to improve teachers' understandings of, and capacities to teach, "critical evaluation" in senior school physical education (SSPE). Physical education (PE) teachers and researchers formed a professional learning community (PLC) to deliver critical…

  11. Online Professional and Academic Learning Communities: Faculty Perspectives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Glazer, Hilda R.; Breslin, Mary; Wanstreet, Constance E.

    2013-01-01

    This study examines faculty perceptions of creating learning communities at a virtual university. Through online focus groups with 18 participants, 3 themes emerged: institutional-level community building as creating a learning culture; instructor-level community building as creating respectful interaction; and learner-level community building as…

  12. The Art and Science of Leadership in Learning Environments: Facilitating a Professional Learning Community across Districts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hands, Catherine; Guzar, Katlyn; Rodrigue, Anne

    2015-01-01

    A professional learning community (PLC) is one of the most promising strategies for effecting change in educational practices to improve academic achievement and wellbeing for all students. The PLC facilitator's role in developing and leading blended (online and face-to-face) PLCs with members from Ontario's school districts was examined through a…

  13. Professional/Peer-Learning Community: Impacts on Workplace Training at Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Phusavat, Kongkiti Peter; Delahunty, David; Kess, Pekka; Kropsu-Vehkapera, Hanna

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: The study aims to examine the issues relating to workplace learning at the upper secondary school level. This study is based on the two questions. How should the professional/peer-learning community or PLC be developed and deployed to help strengthen in-service teacher training? The second question is what are the success factors which…

  14. Using Student Group Work in Higher Education to Emulate Professional Communities of Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fearon, Colm; McLaughlin, Heather; Eng, Tan Yoke

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the value of social learning from group work that emulates a professional community of practice. Design/methodology/approach: A thought piece that first, examines the role of group-work projects as part of social learning, then outlines key arguments for social learning based upon applying a…

  15. Professional Learning Communities: An Effective Mechanism for the Successful Implementation and Sustainability of Response to Intervention

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mundschenk, Nancy A.; Fuchs, Wendy W.

    2016-01-01

    Models of response to intervention (RtI) are being widely implemented in schools across the country in order to increase effective teaching and remove barriers to student learning. The implementation of RtI is greatly facilitated when teachers and staff see themselves as a professional learning community (PLC). This article begins with an…

  16. Barriers to Implementation of Effective Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kincaid, Eric R

    2014-01-01

    The implementation of professional learning communities (PLCs) in schools has been shown to increase the academic performance of students and develop a beneficial and productive culture of true teacher collaboration. Despite these demonstrated benefits, resistance to PLC implementation has been documented in various forms throughout the…

  17. Professional Development through Faculty Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Glowacki-Dudka, Michelle; Brown, Michael P.

    2007-01-01

    Faculty learning communities (FLC) provide opportunities for professional development and personal growth within university settings. Some FLC are structured; others are unstructured. Faculty at a mid-sized Midwestern state university were asked a series of close- and open-ended questions that examined the reasons for and benefits from their…

  18. Factors That Develop Effective Professional Learning Communities in Taiwan

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Peiying; Lee, Che-Di; Lin, Hongda; Zhang, Chun-Xi

    2016-01-01

    This research aimed to investigate the key factors of developing effective professional learning communities (PLCs) within the Taiwanese context. Four constructs--supportive and shared leadership, shared visions, collegial trust, and shared practices--were adopted and developed into an instrument for measuring PLC function. A stratified random…

  19. Professional Connections through the Technology Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ancar, LeQuetia N.; Freeman, Steven A.; Field, Dennis W.

    2007-01-01

    A learning community is a relatively old phenomenon that has resurfaced; it is making educators at institutions of higher education stand up and take notice. Grounded in collaborative and cooperative learning theories, learning communities have created environments in which student learning is the center of attention. The social construction of…

  20. MirandaNet: A Learning Community--A Community of Learners.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cuthell, John

    2002-01-01

    Explains MirandaNet, a learning community of teachers and academics as agents of change who use information and communications technology to change their teaching and learning practice and to develop innovative models for continuing professional development. Discusses distributed cognition in an online community. (LRW)

  1. Teacher Metacognition within the Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Prytula, Michelle P.

    2012-01-01

    A study of teacher metacognition within the context of the professional learning community (PLC) was conducted to understand how teachers describe their metacognition, what they describe as the catalysts to their metacognition, and how metacognition influences their work. Although the PLC was used as a context for the study, the findings include…

  2. The Role of Departmental Leadership for Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vanblaere, Bénédicte; Devos, Geert

    2018-01-01

    Purpose: Department heads play a pivotal role in the functioning of departments in secondary schools. However, quantitative research about the role of departmental leadership for the development of professional learning communities (PLCs) in subject departments in secondary schools remains scarce. As PLCs are seen as promising contexts for…

  3. Stay Connected: Using Technology to Enhance Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bates, Celeste C.; Huber, Rachael; McClure, Erin

    2016-01-01

    Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) offer opportunities for educators to collaboratively inquire and study innovative literacy practices. However, scheduling conflicts and other challenges often interrupt or create barriers for PLCs. This article provides suggestions for integrating technology into a face-to-face PLC as a means of supporting…

  4. Forging Professional Learning Communities: The Role of External Agency

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sperandio, Jill; Kong, Peggy A.

    2018-01-01

    This article explored the effects of external agency on the establishment of professional learning communities (PLCs). The research was undertaken in the context of schools that have chosen to adopt the Primary Years Programme (PYP) of the International Baccalaureate (IB) worldwide. The study employed a two-stage qualitative sequential design…

  5. Examination of a Failed Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sims, Rachel L.; Penny, G. Richard

    2015-01-01

    Schools are using various forms of professional learning communities (PLCs) in order to increase student achievement and improve educational practices through enhanced communication and collaboration among teachers. This study examined a PLC that had too narrow a focus and failed therefore to affect student achievement. A critical shortcoming of…

  6. Professional Learning Communities: A Middle School Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gentile, David N.

    2010-01-01

    This research project explored the transition from a traditional model to a Professional Learning Community model in a NJ Middle School. The administration overcame obstacles during the transition such as scheduling conflicts, teacher apathy, and resistance. This action research study gathered data to determine how to best structure the…

  7. The Role of Principals in Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Buttram, Joan L.; Farley-Ripple, Elizabeth N.

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to identify how principals shape the adoption and implementation of professional learning communities. The study employed a sequential mixed-methods approach in which interviews, observations, and document analysis informed survey design. Teachers were surveyed in four elementary schools about the practices and…

  8. Applying the Design Framework to Technology Professional Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Curwood, Jen Scott

    2013-01-01

    Building on contemporary research on teacher professional development, this study examined the practices of a technology-focused learning community at a high school in the United States. Over the course of a school year, classroom teachers and a university-based researcher participated in the learning community to investigate how technology can…

  9. The Relationship between Transformational Leadership Practices and Developing a Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wiestling, Troy L.

    2010-01-01

    This quantitative study investigated self-perception of elementary school principals' leadership practices and the impact of these practices on developing and fostering a professional learning community within their schools. Fifty-nine elementary school principals, from school districts located in south central Pennsylvania, participated in this…

  10. Teachers' Perceptions of the Principal Role and Actions in Successful Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dilmar, Amy D.

    2017-01-01

    Despite millions of dollars spent on reform efforts, effective and sustainable improvement still eludes schools. The appropriate development of the professional learning community model, including five key dimensions, provides a structure for educational institutions to bring about sustainable improvements in student achievement. If principals do…

  11. Creating Professional Learning Communities in a Traditional Educational Leadership Preparation Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Doolittle, Gini; Stanwood, H. Mark; Simmerman, Herb

    2006-01-01

    In this article, the authors examine the prerequisites for leadership preparation programs with regard to implementing and institutionalizing professional learning communities as an instructional strategy. First, the authors posit that as faculty they must examine and reflect on their own teaching practices and how they influence their reciprocal…

  12. Sustaining Professional Learning Communities through Teacher Leadership

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jennings, Karen

    2013-01-01

    Professional learning communities (PLCs), with their attributes of shared values, high expectations, and collaboration, have the potential to change school culture. The 4 elementary schools in this study have been unable to sustain ongoing, effective teamwork, resulting in a failure to attain adequate progress, and in 2 schools, in the placement…

  13. Sustaining Professional Learning Communities. The Soul of Educational Leadership Series

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blankstein, Alan M., Ed.; Houston, Paul D., Ed.; Cole, Robert W., Ed.

    2007-01-01

    The third volume of "The Soul of Educational Leadership" series offers key concepts and strategies for sustaining the critically important work of professional learning communities. With contributions from Shirley Hord, Maurice Elias, Karen Seashore Louis, Andy Hargreaves, and other nationally known educators, this essential reading for all school…

  14. Elementary Teachers' Perceptions of Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gamez, Octavio

    2012-01-01

    This study presents the results of a social constructivist mixed methods investigation into the perceptions and experiences of elementary teachers participating in professional learning communities (PLCs). In order to better understand the dynamics involved in PLCs, this research used a team development model from human resources literature. Of…

  15. Framing Innovation: Do Professional Learning Communities Influence Acceptance of Large-Scale Technology Initiatives?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nolin, Anna P.

    2014-01-01

    This study explored the role of professional learning communities for district leadership implementing large-scale technology initiatives such as 1:1 implementations (one computing device for every student). The existing literature regarding technology leadership is limited, as is literature on how districts use existing collaborative structures…

  16. Communities of Coaches: The Missing Link

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barnson, Steven C.

    2010-01-01

    Interscholastic coaches have unique needs relative to how they learn their practice and progress toward higher levels of professional comfort and competence. The purpose of this article is to review the professional development needs of interscholastic coaches and suggest the use of social-learning techniques, specifically communities of practice,…

  17. Organizational and Relational Factors in Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gray, Julie; Mitchell, Roxanne; Tarter, C. John

    2014-01-01

    The roles of organizational and relational factors in regard to professional learning communities (PLCs) have been investigated by many, yet none have considered enabling school structures, trust, and collective efficacy as variables. We take a deeper look at the formal or organizational aspects of the school represented by enabling school…

  18. Enhancing Professional Learning Communities through Knowledge Artefacts in Mainland China

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Qiao, Xuefeng; Yu, Shulin

    2016-01-01

    This qualitative case study examines the perspectives and experiences of seven Chinese primary teachers on the integration of shared knowledge artefacts into teaching in professional learning communities. The analysis of the semi-structured interviews and observation data revealed that using knowledge artefacts, such as preview sheets, flowing…

  19. Interconnecting Networks of Practice for Professional Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mackey, Julie; Evans, Terry

    2011-01-01

    The article explores the complementary connections between communities of practice and the ways in which individuals orchestrate their engagement with others to further their professional learning. It does so by reporting on part of a research project conducted in New Zealand on teachers' online professional learning in a university graduate…

  20. The Effectiveness of Professional Learning Communities in Promoting Educational Learning as Perceived by Texas High School Principals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Guajardo-Cantú, Amelia

    2017-01-01

    Teaching in the 21st century requires the search for new and ongoing innovative practices. Such emerging practices in the field of teaching are reshaping the everyday normalities of how educators used to teach in the past. The Professional Learning Community (PLC) model is an emerging educational innovation and is considered as a powerful strategy…

  1. A Journal of Critical Inquiry and Professional Learning: Telling Tales of Community Art, Aesthetics, and Cultures

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Krug, Don H.; Parker, Ann

    2009-01-01

    In this article, the authors share some of their learning about art, aesthetics, and people's ways of living. They discuss why the renewal of professional learning is important and demonstrate how K-12 teachers can engage in this process by creating a journal of critical inquiry about their own local communities' art, aesthetics, and cultures.…

  2. Factors in Sustaining Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kilbane, James F., Jr.

    2009-01-01

    School change efforts to develop schools as learning communities result in schools that are constantly learning and thus changing. This collective case study of four schools involved in a 4-year reform effort begins to examine the ongoing sustainability of a learning community. The study draws insights about the sustainability of learning…

  3. Moving from "Students Can't" to "How Students Can": A Learning Design Anchored in the Standards for Professional Learning Puts the Focus on Equity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bradley, Janice; Rorrer, Andrea; McKinney, Ashley; Groth, Cori

    2017-01-01

    What happens when a university-based education policy center uses the Standards for Professional Learning to design purposeful professional learning experiences for teachers, community members, principals, central office administrators, superintendents, and university faculty to re-engage in the meaning and creation of equitable and excellent…

  4. Teachers' Inquiry Stance: Collaboration through Data Analysis in a Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haack, Darin Marcus

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand how teachers experience a stance toward inquiry through participation in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). In order to meet this objective, the following questions framed this research: (1) How do individual teachers make meaning of the epistemological and dialogic aspects of…

  5. Toward Conceptual Clarity: A Multidimensional, Multilevel Model of Professional Learning Communities in Dutch Elementary Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sleegers, Peter; den Brok, Perry; Verbiest, Eric; Moolenaar, Nienke M.; Daly, Alan J.

    2013-01-01

    Despite the popularity of professional learning communities (PLCs) among researchers, practitioners, and educational policy makers, studies on PLCs differ significantly on the dimensions and capacities used to conceptualize them. Further, the interrelatedness of different dimensions and capacities within PLCs is not often well conceived nor…

  6. Development of High School Professional Learning Community Leaders: Effectiveness of One District's Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Middendorf, Beth N.

    2013-01-01

    Research indicated leadership played a key role in successfully implementing professional learning communities (PLCs). There has been little research on pragmatic approaches to developing PLC leaders. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the Gene School District's two-part PLC leader development: PLC Institute and ongoing…

  7. Understanding How Professional Learning Communities Impact Teaching Practice and What Influences the Process

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dalal, Shilpa D.

    2013-01-01

    Problem: Professional learning communities (PLCs) are not a new trend in education but are getting more attention in schools today as a vehicle for establishing collegial relationships among teachers and for building capacity for change within schools (Dufour & Eaker, 1998; Fullan, 2004; Hord, 2004; Senge, 2000). Schools are working diligently…

  8. Exploring the Characteristics of Professional Learning Communities in China: A Mixed-Method Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhang, Jia; Pang, Nicholas Sun-Keung

    2016-01-01

    This mixed-method study explored the characteristics of professional learning communities (PLCs) in Chinese schools. Informed by the existing literature on PLCs, the authors conducted a questionnaire survey of teachers in seven schools in Shanghai to explore the characteristics of Chinese PLCs. Follow-up qualitative interviews were also conducted…

  9. Structural Analysis of Factors That Influence Professional Learning Communities in Korean Elementary Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Song, Kyoung-Oh; Choi, Jinyoung

    2017-01-01

    Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are an important strategy for innovation in schools, and they are receiving considerable attention from scholars and educators alike. The present study aimed to examine the effect of PLCs on schools' effectiveness and to investigate the social, organizational, and structural factors that can promote these…

  10. Global Conceptualization of the Professional Learning Community Process: Transitioning from Country Perspectives to International Commonalities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huffman, Jane B.; Olivier, Dianne F.; Wang, Ting; Chen, Peiying; Hairon, Salleh; Pang, Nicholas

    2016-01-01

    The authors seek to find common PLC structures and actions among global educational systems to enhance understanding and practice. Six international researchers formed the Global Professional Learning Community Network (GloPLCNet), conducted literature reviews of each country's involvement with PLC actions, and noted similarities and common…

  11. Communities of Practice in the Conservatory: Learning with a Professional Musician

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Virkkula, Esa

    2016-01-01

    This article examines the sociocultural learning of popular and jazz music in communities of practice as part of secondary vocational music education in a Finnish conservatory. The research is based on performance workshops which were implemented as a joint effort between professional musicians and music students. These workshops are suggested as…

  12. A Qualitative Exploration of the Perceptions of a Special Education Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Katz, Marc

    2013-01-01

    Professional learning communities (PLCs) have been used as a format for encouraging formal collaboration among teachers. The topic of the completed study is the perceptions of special education teachers regarding how special education PLCs meet formal collaboration needs, particularly in terms of isolation. The problem is that special education…

  13. A Case Study Examination of Best Practices of Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Akopoff, Tanya M.

    2010-01-01

    A current trend in education is that small teacher groups, called professional learning communities (PLC), are being advocated as a tool to help teachers reach struggling students. Educators planning to use PLC as an intervention strategy can benefit from research-based information about PLC best practices. This multiple case study addressed the…

  14. A Qualitative Study of Teachers' Work in Professional Learning Communities in a Small Urban District

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thessin, Rebecca Ann

    2010-01-01

    Numerous districts are implementing Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) as a part of reform efforts to improve student achievement to meet external accountability mandates. Few districts, however, have considered the essential supports and components that teachers working in PLCs require for these teams to result in instructional improvement.…

  15. Queer(y)ing Culture through Professional Learning Communities: A Reimagining of Culturally Relevant and Responsive Pedagogy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Guerrero, Cristina; Shahnazarian, Armen; Brown, Michelle F.

    2017-01-01

    In this article we document our experiences as facilitators for the "Engaging All Students" professional learning community (PLC), which was implemented to help Toronto public school teachers re-engage underachieving students. These students, who are known as "marker students," are members of the school system's most…

  16. Professional Learning Community in Relation to School Effectiveness

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sigurdardottir, Anna Kristin

    2010-01-01

    This is a study of schools as professional learning communities, defined by nine characteristics and their relationship with the schools' level of effectiveness. The study was conducted within three schools in Iceland. It was designed as a mixed methods study, conducted in two phases: a correlational study of survey data on schools as professional…

  17. Professional Learning Communities and Their Impact on Student Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Story, Zenobia N.

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to assess the impact that professional learning communities (PLCs) have on student achievement. Through this study, the statewide performance results of a school district that implemented PLCs were examined. This study of an Illinois school district's statewide assessment results served as a foundation for further…

  18. The Relationship between School Leadership and Professional Learning Communities in Thai Basic Education Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Somprach, Kanokorn; Tang, Keow Ngang; Popoonsak, Pongtorn

    2017-01-01

    This study aimed to explore the role of essential leadership styles of school principals in encouraging teachers' participation in professional learning communities (PLCs) in basic education schools in northeastern Thailand. It aimed to identify the nine leadership styles practiced by school principals and teachers' participation in PLCs, and to…

  19. Professional Development of Secondary Science Teachers of English Learners in Immigrant Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Manzo, Rosa D.; Cruz, Lisceth; Faltis, Christian; de la Torre, Adela

    2011-01-01

    This is a research study of secondary science teacher professional development, in which 30 teachers learned about and implemented a series of teaching strategies aimed at increasing the participation and learning of English Learners in schools serving largely Latino immigrant communities within California's Central Valley. This study focuses on…

  20. Adult Learners and Professional Development: Peer-to-Peer Learning in a Networked Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Guldberg, Karen

    2008-01-01

    This paper analyses how adult learners on a professional development course learn and develop through online dialogue. The research uses Wenger's community of practice framework, and assesses whether the concept of "legitimate peripheral participation" is useful in relation to this specific case study in which the students are practitioners and…

  1. Redistributed Leadership for Sustainable Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hargreaves, Andy; Fink, Dean

    2006-01-01

    Distributed leadership in schools is not exclusive to professional learning communities; it is distributed in all schools, for good purposes and for bad, by design and by emergence. In this article, we describe a normative view of distributed leadership that tends to be a leadership of advocacy, and we offer a descriptive perspective that argues…

  2. Relationship between Professional Learning Community, Bureaucratic Structure and Organisational Trust in Primary Education Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kalkan, Fatma

    2016-01-01

    This research uses relational survey method to determine the relationship between professional learning community, bureaucratic structure and organisational trust according to the perceptions of teachers who work in primary education schools. Data were collected from 805 teachers who work in primary education schools in the districts (Altindag,…

  3. Whatever It Takes: A Mixed Methods Study Evaluating the Implementation of Professional Learning Communities across a District

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    French, N. Shalene

    2013-01-01

    Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) provide the basis for meeting the challenges and expectations in today's educational environment. Effective PLCs provide the framework for school improvement and ultimately impact student academic success. School leadership is fundamental in this process (Bennis, 2009; Buffum, Mattos, & Weber, 2009;…

  4. The Relationship between Professional Learning Community Implementation and Academic Achievement and Graduation Rates in Georgia High Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hardinger, Regina Gail

    2013-01-01

    Many educational administrators in Georgia continue to struggle with low student academic achievement and low high school graduation rates. DuFour's professional learning community (PLC) theory suggests a positive relationship between levels of PLC implementation and academic achievement and between levels of PLC implementation and graduation…

  5. Learning through Life Books: Teaching Human Growth and Development in an Emotionally Rich Community Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Korsmo, John; Baker-Sennett, Jacquelyn; Nicholas, Trula

    2009-01-01

    One challenge experienced by many educators working in pre-professional programs involves designing courses to support students as they learn how to apply subject area knowledge to professional practice. This article describes a successful collaborative community-based project that contextualizes the often abstract and predominately linear…

  6. The Internet Learning Forum: Developing a Community Prototype for Teachers of the 21st Century.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reynolds, Eric; Treahy, Diana; Chao, Chin-chi; Barab, Sasha

    2001-01-01

    Reports on the creation of a community of practice for teachers' professional development via the World Wide Web. Highlights include theoretical foundations; current online models of professional development; and the Internet Learning Forum, a Web site developed to support mathematics and science teachers. (Author/LRW)

  7. A Time for Change: Advocating for STSE Education through Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pedretti, Erminia; Bellomo, Katherine

    2013-01-01

    New science curricula in Ontario position science, technology, society, and environment (STSE) objectives at the fore of all science courses. A professional learning community (PLC) consisting of 24 elementary teachers and a facilitation team was established to assist teachers in meeting the challenges of STSE education. Specifically, we examine…

  8. Contrived Collegiality versus Genuine Collegiality: Demystifying Professional Learning Communities in Chinese Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wang, Ting

    2015-01-01

    Drawing on data from a larger study on Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) and School Leadership in China, this article investigates the practices of teacher collaboration and PLCs in two urban, high-performing secondary schools in Northeast China. Qualitative data were collected from observations, documents and in-depth semi-structured…

  9. Central Office Leadership in Principal Professional Learning Communities: The Practice beneath the Policy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Honig, Meredith I.; Rainey, Lydia R.

    2014-01-01

    Background/Context: Some school districts across the country have begun to convene principals in professional learning communities (PPLC) as a strategy to help principals develop as instructional leaders, and they have designated executive-level central office staff to lead the PPLCs. Extant research suggests the promise of PPLCs for supporting…

  10. Teachers' Perceptions of Professional Learning Communities and Their Impact on School Culture

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kociuruba, Jerry P., Jr.

    2017-01-01

    Professional learning communities (PLCs) are a group of educators working collaboratively to improve student achievement and expand the pedagogy of the individual as well as the group. Studies on PLCs, grounded by the social constructivism theory of Vygotsky, Bandura, and Wenger, have found that collaboration and collegiality foster a positive…

  11. Promoting a Culture of Collaboration and Reflection through a Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Murdaugh, Erica Charlanda Russell

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this qualitative Action Research Study was to describe eight elementary English Language Arts (ELA) teachers' perceptions of a Professional Learning Community (PLC). The teacher-participants' opinions about the PLC were used to improve the existing PLC to promote a more reflective and collaborative environment where ELA teachers…

  12. A Program Evaluation of a Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lloyd, Tracy

    2012-01-01

    The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation of 2001 increased the stakes for all schools to increase student achievement by mandating all students meet or exceed state standards by 2014. A small rural school responded 5 years ago to their failure to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) by implementing professional learning communities (PLC) as a…

  13. The Effects of Systemically Implemented Professional Learning Communities on the Educational Culture of a Public School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bradshaw, Elizabeth A.

    2017-01-01

    The paper explores if systemic implementation of collaborative practices impacts the educational culture of a school. Using the fundamental principles of Professional Learning Communities, the research analyzed what collaborative practices were implemented and if they were successful as cultural change agents. Section one discusses the different…

  14. Factors that Promote Progression in Schools Functioning as Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leclerc, Martine; Moreau, Andre C.; Dumouchel, Catherine; Sallafranque-St-Louis, Francois

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this research is to identify factors that influence the functioning of a school working as a Professional Learning Community (PLC) and to analyze the links between these factors and the school's progression. This research was developed within the context of an interpretative research paradigm. The primary data collection tool…

  15. Investigating the Development of Professional Learning Communities: Compare Schools in Shanghai and Southwest China

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhang, Jia; Pang, Nicholas Sun-Keung

    2016-01-01

    This quantitative study investigated and compared the development of professional learning communities in schools located in two Chinese cities, namely, Shanghai and Mianyang. The two cities have significant differences in terms of educational, economic, social, and cultural development. While Shanghai is a directly controlled municipality in East…

  16. A Professional Experience Learning Community for Pre-Service Secondary Mathematics Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cavanagh, Michael S.; Garvey, Thomas

    2012-01-01

    This paper reports the development and implementation of a collaborative professional experience learning community for a group of nine pre-service secondary mathematics teachers. The pre-service teachers and their methods lecturer made 12 school visits over one academic year to a local secondary school. The pre-service teachers observed and…

  17. Online Learning Community: A Case Study of Teacher Professional Development in Indonesia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sari, Eunice Ratna

    2012-01-01

    This paper investigates the concept of online learning community (OLC) to address the issues of teacher professional development practice in twenty-first-century Indonesia. Teachers in Indonesia are trained in a "conventional way", hence, not ready to prepare the younger generations for entrance into the twenty-first-century complex life…

  18. Preparing School Administrators to Lead Technology Rich Professional Learning Communities in the Digital Age

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Branch, Mary Grace

    2011-01-01

    This study explores the coaching experiences of educational administrators in an attempt to gain greater understanding of how they develop the necessary skills to implement, lead, and support technology rich professional learning communities (PLCs). Participants came from a mix of urban, rural, and suburban school districts. Using semi-structured…

  19. Challenges of Teacher Collaboration within a Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Seisay, Benson M.

    2013-01-01

    The professional learning community (PLC) is a powerful tool in education, one that is intended to reform failing schools and improve student achievement. This research gathered data to determine teacher perceptions about challenges of teacher collaboration within a PLC school. The key conceptual framework for this case study originated from work…

  20. Exploring Possible Links between Professional Learning Communities and Complex Adaptive Systems

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Eric

    2013-01-01

    Implementation of Professional Learning Communities (PLC), as described by DuFour (2006), has depended upon a balance between teacher buy-in and administrative fiat. The tension between the "bottom-up" character of the former and the "top-down" character of the latter presents a leadership challenge: meeting students' learning…

  1. Rethinking Reflection: Using Online Reflective Learning in Professional Practice for Indigenous Health Workers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rose, Miranda; Devonshire, Elizabeth

    2004-01-01

    This paper reports on an innovative use of online learning, within a distributed learning environment (DLE), to support students in an undergraduate programme in Indigenous health and community development to reflect on their experiences in professional placements. The professional practice curriculum at Yooroang Garang School of Indigenous Health…

  2. Making Practice Public: Teacher Learning in the 21st Century

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lieberman, Ann; Pointer Mace, Desiree

    2010-01-01

    We propose that the advent and ubiquity of new media tools and social networking resources provide a means for professional, networked learning to "scale up." We preface our discussion with a review of research that has led us to argue for professional learning communities, document the policies and practices of professional development…

  3. Principal Professional Learning Community Behavior in Low Wealth High Schools with Higher and Lower Student Achievement as Measured by Mastery Scores on the New York State Eleventh Grade ELA Regents Exam

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Adams, Adrian

    2016-01-01

    This study was designed to analyze non-principal staff supervisors' perceptions of PLC efforts, encouragements, and activities in the six dimensions of a professional learning community (PLC) characterized as shared and supportive leadership, shared values and vision, collaborative culture, a focus on learning, supportive relationships, and…

  4. Professional Learning Communities Facilitator's Guide for the What Works Clearinghouse™ Practice Guide: Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to English Learners in Elementary and Middle School. REL 2015-105

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dimino, Joseph A.; Taylor, Mary Jo; Morris, Joan

    2015-01-01

    This facilitator's guide is designed to assist professional learning communities (PLCs) in applying evidence-based strategies to help K-8 English learners acquire the language and literacy skills needed to succeed academically. Through this collaborative learning experience, educators will expand their knowledge base as they read, discuss, share,…

  5. "Shakespeare Reloaded": Teacher Professional Development within a Collaborative Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brady, Linzy

    2009-01-01

    This paper describes an instance of continuing professional development and explores the contribution it might make to the ongoing international dialogue of professional development. It reviews the way features of the current debate on effective teaching, teacher learning and continuing professional development overlap and feed into each other and…

  6. The Effects of the New Hampshire Department of Education ED 512 Professional Development Master Plan and Recertification on Growth of Professional Learning Communities in Local Districts and Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Forsman, Malcolm

    2010-01-01

    This quantitative study examined the effects of a New Hampshire Department of Education policy, Ed 512. This mandated state policy was designed to influence local district leadership to facilitate the development of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) at the school level with the goal of improving instruction in the classroom. For this study…

  7. Material Matters for Learning in Virtual Networks: A Case Study of a Professional Learning Programme Hosted in a Google+ Online Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ackland, Aileen; Swinney, Ann

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, we draw on Actor-Network Theories (ANT) to explore how material components functioned to create gateways and barriers to a virtual learning network in the context of a professional development module in higher education. Students were practitioners engaged in family learning in different professional roles and contexts. The data…

  8. Examining a One-Hour Synchronous Chat in a Microblogging-Based Professional Development Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gao, Fei; Li, Lan

    2017-01-01

    Research on microblogging in education has suggested its potential to promote community building and collaborative learning, but little is known about the nature of interaction in such microblogging communities. More research is needed to understand how online learning communities can be designed in a way that supports effective learning. The…

  9. The Professional Learning Needs and Perceptions of Secondary School Teachers: Implications for Professional Learning Community.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moore, Shawn; Shaw, Paul

    This study interviewed 45 ninth-grade teachers in 4 secondary schools in Ontario, Canada, in the spring of 1997 regarding their perceptions of their professional learning needs. Respondents were part of a 3-year research and development study, "Change Frames." Analysis is based on the view that the most meaningful teacher professional…

  10. Is It Personal? Teacher's Personality and the Principal's Role in Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Benoliel, Pascale; Schechter, Chen

    2017-01-01

    Research results have provided evidence of the potential contribution that professional learning communities (PLCs) can make to enhance school outcomes. While numerous organizational and cultural aspects of schools have been recognized as key requirements for PLC success, researchers have noted that a teacher's ability to share knowledge in the…

  11. Getting the Right Fit: Designing a Professional Learning Community for Out-of-School Time

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vance, Femi; Salvaterra, Emily; Michelsen, Jocelyn Atkins; Newhouse, Corey

    2016-01-01

    A skilled workforce is critical in high-quality out-of-school time (OST) programs. However, the workshops commonly used to train OST staff are not adequately preparing practitioners to deliver quality programs that can benefit youth. Professional learning communities (PLCs) are a practice-focused alternative that has a track record of improving…

  12. University-Urban High School Partnership: Math and Science Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    ndunda, mutindi; Van Sickle, Meta; Perry, Lindsay; Capelloni, Alison

    2017-01-01

    This study focused on science and math professional learning communities (PLCs) that were implemented through a university-urban high school partnership. These PLCs were part of mandated school-wide, content-based PLCs implemented as part of the reform efforts initiated in an urban school to address the school's failure to meet Adequate Yearly…

  13. Using Electronic Portfolio to Promote Professional Learning Community for Pre-Service Early Childhood Teachers at Alquds University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Khales, Buad

    2016-01-01

    The present study aims to explore whether the electronic portfolio can influence pre-service teachers' education and to examine how professional learning communities develop through electronic portfolios. To achieve this, twenty-four student-teachers taking a course in early childhood education at Al-Quds University participated in a study to…

  14. Relationships among Professional Learning Communities, Trust, and Their Perceived Effects on Student Achievement in Georgia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Betts, Herbert Alexander, III

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between professional learning community (PLC) characteristics and levels of trust, and their impact on student academic achievement in fifth and eighth grade mathematics, based on Georgia's state academic test. This research was designed to answer the following questions: is student…

  15. Documenting the Emergence of "Speaking with Meaning" as a Sociomathematical Norm in Professional Learning Community Discourse

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clark, Phillip G.; Moore, Kevin C.; Carlson, Marilyn P.

    2008-01-01

    We introduce the sociomathematical norm of "speaking with meaning" and describe its emergence in a professional learning community (PLC) of secondary mathematics and science teachers. We use "speaking with meaning" to reference specific attributes of individual communication that have been revealed to improve the quality of discourse among…

  16. The Effects of Professional Learning Communities on Student Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burdett, John M.

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study: Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K) report, identify questions and statements that correlate to the dimensions of professional learning communities (PLCs), and determine the effect PLCs have on student achievement based on the ECLS-K data. In addition,…

  17. An Investigation of Leadership in a Professional Learning Community: A Case Study of a Large, Suburban, Public Middle School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liebman, Howard; Maldonado, Nancy; Lacey, Candace H.; Thompson, Steve

    2005-01-01

    This qualitative case study investigated a large, suburban, public middle school focusing on educators' perceptions of leadership within their professional learning community. Participants included the principal, administrative team, and key faculty members. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and were analyzed by hand coding and…

  18. Program Improvement Middle School Scripted and Nonscripted Program Teachers' Perception of Their School as a Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bias, Timothy A.

    2009-01-01

    Purpose. The purpose of this study was to reveal differences between Program Improvement (PI) middle school scripted program and nonscripted program teachers' perceptions of their schools as professional learning communities (PLCs). The concept of PLCs is framed by Hord's (1997) 5 attributes of successful PLCs: supportive shared leadership, shared…

  19. Understanding the Complexity of Teacher Interaction in a Teacher Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sjoer, Ellen; Meirink, Jacobiene

    2016-01-01

    In this study, we examine a professional learning community of primary school teachers developing a joint school-based curriculum for science and technology (S&T) education. Team meetings were observed over the course of one school year and the participating teachers and school head were interviewed. An essential factor in the team's…

  20. Principal and Teacher Collaboration: An Exploration of Distributed Leadership in Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    DeMatthews, David

    2014-01-01

    Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) can be powerful tools for school improvement but require principals and teachers to collaborate and work together. This article reports on a qualitative multi-case study focused on six elementary schools in West Texas that had been identified for having effective PLCs. Principals and teachers were observed…

  1. The Professional Learning Community as Subversive Activity: Countering the Culture of Conventional Schooling

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nehring, James; Fitzsimons, Gray

    2011-01-01

    As the professional learning community (PLC) as a desired cultural norm gains popularity within K-12 state schools, greater knowledge of the PLC implementation process is warranted. This study reports findings from semi-structured focus group interviews with teachers in an urban/suburban high school after one year of schoolwide professional…

  2. It Takes a Village: Supporting Inquiry- and Equity-Oriented Computer Science Pedagogy through a Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ryoo, Jean; Goode, Joanna; Margolis, Jane

    2015-01-01

    This article describes the importance that high school computer science teachers place on a teachers' professional learning community designed around an inquiry- and equity-oriented approach for broadening participation in computing. Using grounded theory to analyze four years of teacher surveys and interviews from the Exploring Computer Science…

  3. Impact of Professional Learning Community Practices on Morale of Urban High School Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Almanzar, Angel

    2014-01-01

    This applied dissertation was designed to determine the impact a planned intervention, or participants' engagement in lesson study practices, had on teacher morale and professional learning communities within a public high school located in the Southeastern part of the United States. A review of a yearly teacher survey conducted by the district's…

  4. Collaborativeness as the Core of Professional Learning Communities beyond Culture and Context: Evidence from Canada, Finland, and Israel

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jäppinen, Aini-Kristiina; Leclerc, Martine; Tubin, Dorit

    2016-01-01

    Professional learning communities (PLC) have been widely accepted as effective with respect to good atmosphere, adequate leadership practices, and functional working practices. However, the outcomes for school improvement depend on case-specific issues. To identify less culturally and contextually bound issues in 3 PLC settings in Canada, Finland,…

  5. An Analysis of Variance in Teacher Self-Efficacy Levels Dependent on Participation Time in Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marx, Megan D.

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine variance in mean levels of teacher self-efficacy (TSE) and its three factors--efficacy in student engagement (EIS), efficacy in instructional strategies (EIS), and efficacy in classroom management (ECM)--based on participation and time spent in professional learning communities (PLCs). In this…

  6. Practices and Value of a Professional Learning Community in Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hilliard, Ann T.

    2012-01-01

    It is important for leadership teams and faculty members in higher education to create an atmosphere of trust as new and improved ideas are addressed in a professional learning community setting. Prior to the past ten years, many faculty members at the university have been accustomed to working somewhat independently in their own discipline.…

  7. Implementation of Professional Learning Communities in Title I Elementary Schools and Student Performance in Reading: A Correlational Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Stephanie A.

    2016-01-01

    Increasing standardized test scores and identifying factors that impact student performance are always on the minds of educators. Educators are continually challenged by experts to consider professional learning communities (PLCs) as a viable pathway to school reform. This treatise will report on the results of a quantitative research study…

  8. Team Check-Up: Use 4 Goals to Assess a Professional Learning Community's Effectiveness

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moirao, Daniel R.; Morris, Susan C.; Klein, Victor; Jackson, Joyce W.

    2012-01-01

    The experiences in the school districts highlighted in this article clarify a set of broad goals that all professional learning communities can use to assess their effectiveness: (1) Culture; (2) Knowledge; (3) Practice; and (4) Achievement. These schools and districts have an ongoing commitment to all four goals. All of them have instituted…

  9. Community of Practice or Affinity Space: A Case Study of a Professional Development MOOC

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jones, Kyle M. L.; Stephens, Michael; Branch-Mueller, Jennifer; de Groot, Joanne

    2016-01-01

    Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have brought about new questions regarding the construction of virtual learning environments and course delivery systems. One such question that researchers and instructors alike are considering is the role of community in learning spaces. This paper uses a professional development (PD) MOOC as a case study to…

  10. Professional Learning Communities as a Reform: Implementation, Complications and Implications for Secondary Site Leaders

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Padilla, Jennifer Lynn

    2013-01-01

    Professional learning communities (PLCs) have gained attention as an effective practice for supporting teachers and developing students since their inception in the early 1990s yet there is still work to be done in developing a blueprint for effective implementation in a pervasive culture of isolation and resistance, especially in secondary…

  11. Cycles of Inquiry: Formative Assessment in Service of Learning in Classrooms and in School-Based Professional Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Birenbaum, Menucha; Kimron, Helena; Shilton, Hany; Shahaf-Barzilay, Rinat

    2009-01-01

    The paper reports results of three studies that used a formative assessment (FA) framework to compare schools that vary in their level of functioning as professional learning communities with respect to three processes: classroom assessment (study 1), development and implementation of school-based curriculum (study 2), and pedagogical…

  12. Supporting Public High School Teachers in a Context of Multiple Mandates: A Social Justice Approach to Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harak, Philip J.

    2012-01-01

    Although public school teaching by its inherent nature presents numerous classroom challenges, the public high school teacher today is faced in addition with multiple external mandates from several outside stakeholders. Given the established track record of professional learning communities (PLCs) to provide teacher support and development, I…

  13. Building Sustainable Futures: Emerging Understandings of the Significant Contribution of the Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Andrews, Dorothy; Lewis, Marian

    2004-01-01

    This article draws on the experiences of a range of Australian schools engaging with a teacher-centred process of whole-school renewal known as IDEAS (Innovative Designs for Enhancing Achievement in Schools). IDEAS enhances the professional capacity of teachers to improve school outcomes such as student learning, relationships with the community,…

  14. Enabling School Structures, Collegial Trust and Academic Emphasis: Antecedents of professional learning communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gray, Julie; Kruse, Sharon; Tarter, C. John

    2016-01-01

    This study tested the role of enabling school structures, collegial trust and academic emphasis in the development of professional learning communities (PLCs) in a low-income school district. The empirical study was based upon the perceptions of teachers and principals as provided by survey responses (N = 67 schools). While enabling school…

  15. A Study of District Leadership Practices in the Principal Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, Danielle G.

    2012-01-01

    This qualitative study was implemented in an urban, Title I school district in the southern portion of the United States. The problem the study addressed was that the various phenomena pertaining to the implementation of the principal professional learning community (PPLC), as perceived by the 14 participating elementary school principals, had not…

  16. Opportunities and Challenges for Teacher Professional Development: A Case of Collaborative Learning Community in South Korea

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Park, Minjeong; So, Kyunghee

    2014-01-01

    This study investigates how characteristics of a collaborative professional learning activity support and hinder teacher learning and growth by examining the experiences of three Korean secondary teachers who participated in a school-initiated collaborative teacher learning project. The findings demonstrated that this learning opportunity…

  17. Professional Learning Communities: Building Skills, Reinvigorating the Passion, and Nurturing Teacher Wellbeing and "Flourishing" within Significantly Innovative Schooling Contexts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Owen, Susanne

    2016-01-01

    Student-driven "deep learning", teachers as "coaches" and "activators of learning" and positive student-teacher relationships are all part of the changing and significantly innovative educational landscape which requires considerable pedagogical change in teaching and learning processes. Teacher professional learning…

  18. Learning to Be a Community: Schools Need Adaptable Models to Create Successful Programs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ermeling, Bradley A.; Gallimore, Ronald

    2013-01-01

    Making schools learning places for teachers as well as students is a timeless and appealing vision. The growing number of professional learning communities is a hopeful sign that profound change is on the way. This is the challenge learning communities face: Schools and districts need implementation models flexible enough to adapt to local…

  19. The Emerging Landscape of School-Based Professional Learning Communities in South Korean Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Moosung; Kim, Jihyun

    2016-01-01

    Over the last decade, school-based professional learning communities (PLCs) have emerged as a key feature of the education system in South Korea. To understand this relatively new phenomenon in the context of South Korea, we provide a review of research on school-based PLCs in South Korea and an empirical analysis of the Teaching and Learning…

  20. What Impedes the Development of Professional Learning Communities in China? Perceptions from Leaders and Frontline Teachers in Three Schools in Shanghai

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhang, Jia; Yuan, Rui; Yu, Shulin

    2017-01-01

    Using qualitative data collected from three high schools in Shanghai, this study explored the barriers to the development of professional learning communities (PLCs) in Chinese schools from the perspectives of school leaders and teachers. Results indicate that the barriers identified by teachers in the development of PLCs include insufficient…

  1. The Role of a Professional Learning Community in Teacher Change: A Perspective from Beliefs and Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tam, Angela Choi Fung

    2015-01-01

    This longitudinal study aimed to examine the role of a professional learning community (PLC) in changing teachers' beliefs and practices. Teachers of a Chinese department in a Hong Kong secondary school were interviewed and observed. The findings indicate that the features of a PLC-facilitating teacher change are development of a coherent…

  2. An Investigation of the Perceptions of Teachers and Principals on PLC Implementation in the High Schools of a Large Suburban School District

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Askew, Cheryl Cessna

    2012-01-01

    This research explored the perceptions of high school principals and teachers on the implementation of professional learning communities (PLCs) in their schools. These perceptions were surveyed using the Professional Learning Communities Assessment-Revised (PLCA-R). Data results were examined for areas of agreement and disagreement between the…

  3. A Meta-Analysis of Dissertation Research on the Relationship between Professional Learning Community Implementation and Student Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Patrick, Susan McClendon

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis of dissertation research that examined the implementation of professional learning communities (PLCs) and student achievement in preK-12 schools. An exhaustive search for such unpublished studies was conducted using the following criteria: 1) the studies were available on dissertation…

  4. A Case Study of Teacher Reflection: Examining Teacher Participation in a Video-Based Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Steeg, Susanna M.

    2016-01-01

    Professional learning communities (PLCs) constitute worthwhile spaces in which to study teacher participation in the reflective practices that have potential to shift their teaching. This qualitative case study details the interactions between dual-language and ELL teachers in a grade-level PLC as they met together to confer over video-clips of…

  5. An Analysis of Programs and Implementation of Professional Learning Communities in the Red Clay Consolidated School District with Recommendations for Future Implementation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goodwin, Kenneth L., Jr.

    2012-01-01

    During the 2010-2011 school year, schools throughout the Red Clay Consolidated School District were expected to implement Professional Learning Communities (PLCs); however, little to no guidance was provided to school-level administrators and teacher teams. Not surprisingly, many schools implemented team meetings that were not aligned with…

  6. Teachers' Perceptions of the Relationship between Principal's Support and Perceived Effectiveness of Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Speier, Karen Margaret

    2011-01-01

    Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, standardized test scores have revealed that the U.S. public education system has been unable to adequately address improvement of academic achievement. For 20 years, educators have been promoting professional learning communities (PLCs) as a solution to improving K-12 academic achievement.…

  7. Revisiting Professional Learning Communities to Increase College Readiness: The Importance of Pedagogical Content Knowledge

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bausmith, Jennifer Merriman; Barry, Carol

    2011-01-01

    For over a decade, professional learning communities (PLCs) have been touted as an effective way to build upon the knowledge and skills of experienced teachers, yet much of the evidence base is derived from self-reports by practitioners. Although several generations of school reform (the standards movement, No Child Left Behind, and now the Common…

  8. Professional Learning Communities Assessment: Adaptation, Internal Validity, and Multidimensional Model Testing in Turkish Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dogan, Selçuk; Tatik, R. Samil; Yurtseven, Nihal

    2017-01-01

    The main purpose of this study is to adapt and validate the Professional Learning Communities Assessment Revised (PLCA-R) by Olivier, Hipp, and Huffman within the context of Turkish schools. The instrument was translated and adapted to administer to teachers in Turkey. Internal structure of the Turkish version of PLCA-R was investigated by using…

  9. A Case Study of How Professional Learning Communities Influence Morale and Rigor in the Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McDonough, Jessica S.

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how professional learning communities influence teacher morale and rigor in the classroom. Participants of the study consisted of six to eight core subject teachers from two 4-A high school campuses in southeast Texas. Two focus group interviews were conducted, one at each school, and…

  10. Teachers' Perceptions and Implementation of Professional Learning Communities in a Large Suburban High School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peppers, Gloria J.

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore teachers' perceptions prior to the implementation of professional learning communities (PLCs) and after the implementation of PLCs in a large suburban high school. The goal was to provide information that focused on (a) retention and achievement of students, (b) retention of teachers, and (c) teachers'…

  11. The Relationship between Professional Learning Communities, Personal Teacher Efficacy, and Student Achievement at the High School Level

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brooks, Sherri L.

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this correlational study was to determine if there was a relationship between professional learning community (PLC), personal teacher efficacy (PTE), and student achievement. The study examined teacher perception of PLC implementation and PET as it related to student achievement at the high school level on the Virginia End-of Course…

  12. Effectiveness of Professional Learning Communities for Related Services Personnel: Nebraska School Psychologist Perceptions on Utilizing Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Grady, Ryan

    2013-01-01

    Schools continue to change in many ways. Technology, diversity, Response to Intervention (RtI), 21st Century Skills, and other initiatives warrant the need for continued professional development for all school staff. School psychologists play a key role in the school system and can bring significant contributions to the school team. School…

  13. The Effects of Implementing an Online Professional Learning Community for Teachers of Gifted and Talented Courses: An Action Research Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mintz, Chelsey A.

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this action research study was to examine the effects of implementing an online professional learning community (PLC) designed explicitly for teachers of gifted and talented (GT) English language arts (ELA) courses. The present action research (AR) is a limited mixed design study, including quantitative and qualitative elements, to…

  14. Elements of a Successful Professional Learning Community for Music Teachers Using Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sindberg, Laura K.

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which a professional learning community (PLC) of music teachers sustained growth as they sought to incorporate Comprehensive Musicianship Through Performance (CMP) in their teaching practices. Seven music teachers from a suburban school district in the upper Midwest participated in a PLC as they…

  15. Elements of Effective and Sustainable Professional Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wells, Muriel

    2014-01-01

    Teachers' professional learning can be enhanced by positioning teachers as practitioner researchers and professionals who are capable of generating change within their local educational communities. In this article a teacher's story is used to show how teacher knowledge was developed and how teachers designed research questions, gathered evidence…

  16. The Relative Influence of Formal Learning Opportunities versus Indicators of Professional Community on Changes in Science Teaching in Urban Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McGee, Steven

    2016-01-01

    Previous research has shown that professional communities have the potential to be a powerful lever for continuous improvement in school settings. This research seeks to extend previous research by investigating the indicators of professional community that influence science teaching practice. This study took place in a network of urban…

  17. Expanding the Reach of Continuing Educational Offerings Through a Web-Based Virtual Network: The Experience of InspireNet.

    PubMed

    Frisch, Noreen C; Atherton, Pat; Borycki, Elizabeth M; Mickelson, Grace; Black, Agnes; Novak Lauscher, Helen; Cordeiro, Jennifer

    2017-01-01

    Virtual platforms using webinars, e-posters, e-newsletters, wikis and blogs connect people who have common interests in new ways. When those individuals are healthcare providers, a professional network that operates on a virtual platform can support their needs for learning, professional development and information currency. The practice of e-learning for continuing professional development is emerging , particularly in nursing where shift work shift inhibits their ability to attend conferences and classes. This article reports the experience of the InspireNet network that provided e-learning models to: 1) provide opportunities for healthcare providers to organize themselves into learning communities through development of electronic communities of practice; 2) support learning on demand; and 3) dramatically increase the reach of educational offerings.

  18. Just the Facts: Personal Learning Networks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nussbaum-Beach, Sheryl

    2013-01-01

    One has heard about personal learning networks (PLNs), but what are they and how are they different than professional learning communities (PLCs)? Find out how PLNs can help a teacher pursue his/her own professional interests and be a better teacher. This article answers questions related to PLNs such as: (1) What are personal learning networks?;…

  19. Value Creation in Online Communities for Educators

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Booth, Sharon E.; Kellogg, Shaun B.

    2015-01-01

    The popularity and pervasiveness of online communities have led researchers and practitioners alike to closely examine the utility of online communities for supporting and facilitating professional learning. As economic constraints leave fewer resources available for professional development, educators in particular are examining the potential of…

  20. Communities of clinical practice: the social organization of clinical learning.

    PubMed

    Egan, Tony; Jaye, Chrystal

    2009-01-01

    The social organization of clinical learning is under-theorized in the sociological literature on the social organization of health care. Professional scopes of practice and jurisdictions are formally defined by professional principles and standards and reflected in legislation; however, these are mediated through the day-to-day clinical activities of social groupings of clinical teams. The activities of health service providers typically occur within communities of clinical practice. These are also major sites for clinical curriculum delivery, where clinical students learn not only clinical skills but also how to be health professionals. In this article, we apply Wenger's model of social learning within organizations to curriculum delivery within a health service setting. Here, social participation is the basis of learning. We suggest that it offers a powerful framework for recognizing and explaining paradox and incongruence in clinical teaching and learning, and also for recognizing opportunities, and devising means, to add value to students' learning experiences.

  1. Linking University and Teacher Communities: A "Think Tank" Model of Professional Development.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Henry, Sarah K.; Scott, Judith A.; Wells, Jan; Skobel, Bonnie; Jones, Alan; Cross, Susie; Butler, Cynthia; Blackstone, Teresa

    1999-01-01

    Rather than informing the teaching community about good research, five experienced teachers and three university researchers developed a discourse community around vocabulary learning to reflect on practice, engage in shared critiques, and support professional choices. In doing so, they were able to inform the research community about good…

  2. Navigating the Complex Practices of Specialized Literacy Professionals in Formalized Teacher Leadership Positions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yurkewecz, Thea A.

    2017-01-01

    This dissertation reports on how one school community engaged in a professional development grant initiative that incorporated teacher leadership. Teacher leaders may have numerous roles and responsibilities that support the professional learning and instructional practices of school communities. This study examined the experiences of three…

  3. Utilizing Online Learning Communities in Student Affairs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Calhoun, Daniel W.; Green, Lucy Santos

    2015-01-01

    In this chapter, the authors will expand upon the definition of learning communities, discussing the ways in which this concept has changed and adapted through the incorporation/infusion of web-based technologies. In addition, strategies on how to create and use online learning communities both with students and for professional practice will be…

  4. Teachers Learning in Community: Realities and Possibilities. SUNY Series, Restructuring and School Change

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Whitford, Betty Lou, Ed.; Wood, Diane R., Ed.

    2010-01-01

    This book raises provocative questions about the efficacy, viability, and sustainability of professional learning communities given the current political and structural realities of public schools. The culmination of six years of research in five states, it explores real-world efforts to establish learning communities as a strategy for…

  5. Leader & Learner

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hirsh, Stephanie; Hord, Shirley M.

    2008-01-01

    One of the most powerful ways for principals to extend their learning is to participate in professional learning communities (PLCs), forums that are explicitly designed to convene educators for learning so that students perform at higher levels. Principals can use PLCs to their professional advantage in two significant ways: (1) by participating…

  6. ICT, Professional Learning: Towards Communities of Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Webb, Ivan; Robertson, Margaret; Fluck, Andrew

    2005-01-01

    This article reports on findings from "action research" pilot projects in four Tasmanian primary schools. The projects focused on the provision of professional learning to support the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in teaching and learning. These pilot projects used an approach developed from observations of…

  7. Managing Dynamics of Power and Learning in Community Development: A Case Study of Iowan Farmers in Uganda

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stephen, Lauer; Owusu, Francis Y.

    2015-01-01

    Extension professionals facilitate community development through the strategic manipulation of learning and power in peer-to-peer learning partnerships. We discuss the relationship between empowerment and power, highlight relevant literature on the difficulties power presents to learning and the efficacy of service learning tools to facilitate…

  8. Tempering the Normative Demands of Professional Learning Communities with the Organizational Realities of Life in Schools: Exploring the Cognitive Dilemmas Faced by Educational Leaders

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kruse, Sharon D.; Johnson, Bob L.

    2017-01-01

    This work explores how mindful leadership practice can inform school and district leadership specifically as it occurs in professional learning communities (PLC). When school and district leaders create PLC cultures that encourage rich thinking and intentional practice, individual and organizational mindfulness is present. As leaders work to craft…

  9. Professional Learning Communities: An Analysis of Teacher Participation in a PLC and the Relationship with Student Academic Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aylsworth, Anthony James

    2012-01-01

    This study sought to compare teacher participation in a Professional Learning Community with the performance of their students. Student achievement data from multiple subject-alike groups were compared in a pre-and post-PLC format, using an independent, two-sample t-test. Overall, 10 PLCs from one high school in a suburban, Iowa setting were…

  10. Fire First, Aim Later: A Qualitative Meta-Analytic Study of the Assessment Methods of Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lopez Flores, Emily

    2014-01-01

    Research has been conducted to identify and analyze how schools are determining that the activities of their Professional Learning Community (PLC) are directly tied to student achievement as there is currently a gap in the existing literature with regards to this topic. For the purpose of this study, a "successful" PLC was defined as one…

  11. The Perceptions of Administrators in the Implementation of Professional Learning Communities: A Case Study in an Oklahoma School District

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jaques, Shelley

    2010-01-01

    In January of 2002, President George Bush implemented the No Child left behind act that required all students to be proficient on state standards by the year 2014. One way a school district in Oklahoma met these new requirements was through the implementation of the principles of a Professional Learning Community. This case study was designed…

  12. Examining the Five Dimensions of Professional Learning Communities in Nigerian Schools: A Study of the Perceptions of Educators in Delta State Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Egbune, Francisca

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine whether educators perceive the existence of the five dimensions of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) in Delta State Schools in Nigeria. This study used an online survey to assess 105 teachers' and administrator's perceptions from six randomly sampled Delta State Central Senatorial…

  13. The Effects of a Professional Learning Community on Teachers and Student Achievement in a High School Serving Predominately Latino Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mendez, Larry

    2013-01-01

    The research study was an evaluation of a professional learning community (PLC) and its effect on teachers and student achievement in a high school serving predominately Latino students. The study was a mixed research study that consisted of both quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data included school-wide and Latino student…

  14. Professional Learning Communities: Do Leadership Practices Impact Implementation and Sustainability and What Is the Relationship between a School's PLC and a School's Climate?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moore, Theresa

    2010-01-01

    Research indicates that a theoretical framework known as a professional learning community can make a positive difference in schools. This mixed-method study examines teacher perceptions of school leadership and climate in two rural elementary schools in South Carolina. Using interviews, focus group sessions and a survey, the researcher answers…

  15. Promoting Professional Identity: A Within Group Comparison of Wiki-Based and Traditional Assignments on School Counselling Students' Learning, Sense of Community and Computer Anxiety

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rockinson-Szapkiw, Amanda J.; Pritchard, Tracey; McComb-Beverage, Shanna; Schellenberg, Rita

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to compare traditional and non-traditional instructional practices used in a counsellor education programme to determine their effect on pre-service school counsellors' learning and sense of community, thus leading to enhanced professional identity. Traditional and non-traditional assignments were examined: (a) a…

  16. Professional Learning Communities Facilitator's Guide for the What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guide: Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten through 3rd Grade. REL 2016-277

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kosanovich, Marcia; Foorman, Barbara

    2016-01-01

    The Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Southeast developed a Professional Learning Community (PLC) Facilitators Guide to support educators in the implementation of recommendations from the What Works Clearinghouse's. The practice guide focuses on the foundational reading skills that enable students to read words, relate those words to their…

  17. An Analysis of Directors' Views on Educational Technology Professional Development in 21st Century Community Learning Center Programs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bradshaw, L. Daniele

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine directors' views on the current state and needs of 2009-2010 North Carolina 21st Century Community Learning Center (21st CCLC) afterschool educational technology professional development (ETPD). The population for this study involved the 2009-2010 North Carolina 21st CCLC directors. In a mixed methods study…

  18. Authentic Community as an Educational Strategy for Advancing Professionalism: A National Evaluation of the Healer’s Art Course

    PubMed Central

    Wrubel, Judith; Remen, Rachel Naomi

    2007-01-01

    Background Efforts to promote medical professionalism often focus on cognitive and technical competencies, rather than professional identity, commitment, and values. The Healer’s Art elective is designed to create a genuine community of inquiry into these foundational elements of professionalism. Objective Evaluations were obtained to characterize course impact and to understand students’ conceptions of professionalism. Design Qualitative analysis of narrative course evaluation responses. Participants Healer’s Art students from U.S. and Canadian medical schools. Approach Analysis of common themes identified in response to questions about course learning, insights, and utility. Results In 2003–2004, 25 schools offered the course. Evaluations were obtained from 467 of 582 students (80.2%) from 22 schools participating in the study. From a question about what students learned about the practice of medicine from the Healer’s Art, the most common themes were “definition of professionalism in medicine” and “legitimizing humanism in medicine.” The most common themes produced by a question about the most valuable insights gained in the course were “relationship between physicians and patients” and “creating authentic community.” The most common themes in response to a question about course utility were “creating authentic community” and “filling a curricular gap.” Conclusions In legitimizing humanistic elements of professionalism and creating a safe community, the Healer’s Art enabled students to uncover the underlying values and meaning of their work—an opportunity not typically present in required curricula. Attempts to teach professionalism should address issues of emotional safety and authentic community as prerequisites to learning and professional affiliation. PMID:17619932

  19. CSCL in Teacher Training: What Learning Tasks Lead to Collaboration?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lockhorst, Ditte; Admiraal, Wilfried; Pilot, Albert

    2010-01-01

    Professional teacher communities appear to be positively related to student learning, teacher learning, teacher practice and school culture. Teacher collaboration is a significant element of these communities. In initial teacher training as well as in-service training and other initiatives for teacher learning, collaborative skills should be…

  20. Professional Conduct: What can we learn from recent events?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    2003-03-01

    Recent evidence of professional misconduct in two different areas of physics has caused the community to think deeply about such issues. In November, the APS Council approved two new statements on professional ethics and a revised ``Guidelines for Professional Conduct." The panelists have all been involved in dealing with these issues; in particular, one served on the Berkeley review committee and another on the Lucent review committee. APS leadership is anxious to hear the views of the physics community and there will be considerable time for discussion. Moderator: Miriam Sarachik, CCNY-CUNY, APS President Panelists: Pierre Hohenberg, Yale University (2003 Lars Onsager Prize Recipient) ``What can we learn from other sciences?" Arthur Bienenstock, Stanford University ``APS response to recent events" George Trilling, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory ``What can we learn from the Berkeley experience?" Malcolm Beasley, Stanford University ``What can we learn from the Lucent experience?"

  1. Developing a Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Herrera, Charmaine M.

    2012-01-01

    Professional Learning Communties (PLCs) school reform movement that is grounded in decades of research. The purpose of this research was to investigate whether or not a PLC would help in cultivating a culture of learning and collaboration at a small charter school in Delaware. The research involved interviews of teachers, administrators and a data…

  2. Pacific CRYSTAL Teacher Professional Development Models: Lessons Learned

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    van der Flier-Keller, E.; Yore, L.

    2010-12-01

    From 2005 to 2010 Pacific CRYSTAL (Centre for Research in Youth Science Teaching and Learning) has been engaged in community-based research fostering teacher leadership in innovative science education through a variety of approaches to teacher professional development. Pacific CRYSTAL is a University of Victoria based, NSERC funded project founded on a collaborative research model involving scentists, science educators and community members including schools, teachers, community groups and government. Pacific CRYSTAL professional development approaches embrace both in-service teachers and pre-service teachers, and include Lighthouse schools, workshops (ongoing as well as one-time), community-based partnerships in Pacific CRYSTAL research projects, teachers as researchers, and university science courses and workshops for pre-education and education students. A number of common themes, identified through these approaches, should be considered in the development and implementation of future science professional development initiatives. They include; teacher turnover, expanding and adding schools and participating teachers, teacher apprehension, building leadership capacity, further engagement of 'tourist' teachers, continuing professional support for teachers, as well as on-going mentoring.

  3. Professional Learning Communities by Design: Putting the Learning Back into PLCs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Easton, Lois Brown

    2011-01-01

    If you are looking for an organic approach to purpose-driven professional learning, this is the book for you. Award-winning educator Lois Brown Easton's latest work provides a compelling case study in narrative form, a chronological PLC planning outline, and first-hand "lessons learned" about how PLCs develop, mature, and sustain themselves. You…

  4. Bridging the Gap from Classroom-Based Learning to Experiential Professional Learning: A Hong Kong Case

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Du-Babcock, Bertha

    2016-01-01

    This paper describes and evaluates a funded longitudinal teaching development project that aims to bridge the gap from classroom-based theory learning to experiential professional learning, and thereby prepare ideal and competent world class graduates. To align with the University's shared mission to foster links with the business community, the…

  5. Learning in third spaces: community art studio as storefront university classroom.

    PubMed

    Timm-Bottos, Janis; Reilly, Rosemary C

    2015-03-01

    Third spaces are in-between places where teacher-student scripts intersect, creating the potential for authentic interaction and a shift in what counts as knowledge. This paper describes a unique community-university initiative: a third space storefront classroom for postsecondary students in professional education programs, which also functions as a community art studio for the surrounding neighborhood. This approach to professional education requires an innovative combination of theory, methods, and materials as enacted by the professionals involved and performed by the students. This storefront classroom utilizes collaborative and inclusive instructional practices that promote human and community development. It facilitates the use of innovative instructional strategies including art making and participatory dialogue to create a liminal learning space that reconfigures professional education. In researching the effectiveness of this storefront classroom, we share the voices of students who have participated in this third space as part of their coursework to underscore these principles and practices.

  6. Establishing a Professional Learning Community among Middle School Mathematics Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Koellner-Clark, Karen; Borko, Hilda

    2004-01-01

    The paper examines how community was established in a professional development institute that focused on algebra content knowledge for middle school mathematics teachers. This qualitative study was framed within a situative perspective. We analyzed multiple data sources to identify the ways in which community was established. Results indicate…

  7. Right Time, Right Place: Building an Online Learning Community for Afterschool Practitioners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Balow, Nancy; Benard, Bonnie; Hipps, Jerry; Lauver, Sherri; McManus, John; Montgomery, Robert; Truebridge, Sara; Vitale, Alfred; Walker, Roy

    2010-01-01

    In 2008, the U.S. Department of Education awarded a contract to a team of education, youth development, and web development specialists to develop an online professional learning community for grantees in the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC). The online community, You for Youth (Y4Y, www.Y4Y.ed.gov) will support afterschool…

  8. Leading by Example: Teacher Educators' Professional Learning through Communities of Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    MacPhail, Ann; Patton, Kevin; Parker, Melissa; Tannehill, Deborah

    2014-01-01

    There has been a limited interest in examining physical education teacher educators' role and practices in embedding professional responsibility and commitment to continued professional learning for both teacher educators and pre-service teachers in a physical education teacher education (PETE) program (MacPhail, 2011) Directed by a landscape…

  9. Preparing Pre-Service Teachers for Professional Engagement through Place/Community Pedagogies and Partnerships

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Green, Monica M.

    2016-01-01

    There is an expectation that Australian teachers engage professionally in all aspects of teaching and learning, including engagement with teaching networks and broader communities. This paper reports on a partnership between a teacher educator and an environmental educator who set out to expand pre-service teachers' professional knowledge,…

  10. Targeted Food Marketing to Youth: Engaging Professionals in an Online Environment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Katras, Mary Jo; Kunkel, Kelly; Croymans, Sara R.; Routh, Brianna; Schroeder, Mary; Olson, Carrie Ann

    2014-01-01

    The use of technology provides unique ways to create an engaged online community of learning for professionals that can be integrated into existing and future Extension programming. The Targeted Food Marketing to Youth online professional development course uses strategies and tools to create and support an engaged online community.

  11. Emergence of a learning community: a transforming experience at the boundaries

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Raia, Federica

    2013-03-01

    I narrate a process of transformation, a professional and personal journey framed by an experience that captured my attention shaping my interpretation and reflections. From a critical complexity framework I discuss the emergence of a learning community from the cooperation among individuals of diverse social and cultural worlds sharing the need to change a traditional professional development program structure and develop a new science education Masters Degree/Certification program. I zoom into the continual redefinition of the community, its evolution and complex interrelations among its participants and the emergence of a learning community as a boundary space having an emancipatory role and allowing growth and learning. I analyze the dialectical relationship between agents' behavior either impeding growth or having an emancipatory function of a mindful RelationalAct in a complex adaptive system framework.

  12. Professional Learning Communities: Concepts in Action in a Principal Preparation Program, an Elementary School Team, a Leadership Team, and a Business Partnership

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Servais, Kristine; Derrington, Mary Lynne; Sanders, Kellie

    2009-01-01

    The Professional Learning Community (PLC) model has moved to the forefront in the field of education as one of the most effective frameworks to improve student achievement and overall school success. The research conducted for this paper provides evidence for systemic and action based improvement using the PLC model in four diverse venues:…

  13. Professional Learning Communities Facilitator's Guide Handouts for the What Works Clearinghouse™ Practice Guide: Teaching Academic Content and Literacy to English Learners in Elementary and Middle School. REL 2015-105

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dimino, Joseph A.; Taylor, Mary Jo; Morris, Joan

    2015-01-01

    These handouts, which are meant to accompany the facilitator's guide, are designed to assist professional learning communities (PLCs) in applying evidence-based strategies to help K-8 English learners acquire the language and literacy skills needed to succeed academically. The facilitator's guide uses a five-step process for collaborative…

  14. The Effects of the Collaborative Leadership Style Provided by Professional Learning Communities on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program Mean Value-Added Scores in Selected Middle Schools in East Tennessee

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jones, Jone S.

    2011-01-01

    This causal-comparative study examined the effects of the collaborative leadership style provided by professional learning communities (PLCs) on the students' Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) mean Value-Added achievement scores in language arts and mathematics. The study used twenty-nine selected middle schools in eight different…

  15. Professional Learning Communities Participant's Activities for the What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guide: Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten through 3rd Grade. REL 2016-277a

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kosanovich, Marcia; Foorman, Barbara

    2016-01-01

    The Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Southeast developed a Professional Learning Community (PLC) Facilitators Guide to support educators in the implementation of recommendations from the What Works Clearinghouse's. The practice guide focuses on the foundational reading skills that enable students to read words, relate those words to their…

  16. Implementation of "The Ways of Knowing Through the Realms of Meaning" as a Conceptual Framework in Professional Learning Communities as they Impact/Influence Strategic Planning in Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, Queinnise; Kritsonis, William A.

    2009-01-01

    To move toward educational excellence leaders, teachers, and district administrators must be strategic in planning for instructional success. As this planning takes place, I believe that the concept of "Professional Learning Communities" (PLC) should occupy a large space in a school strategic plan for success. Strategic planning should be viewed…

  17. Rebel with a Cause: A Pioneer in the Field Reflects on the Evolution of Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Murphy, Carlene U.

    2012-01-01

    A revolution took place in staff development in the late 1980s and into the 1990s. It was not reported on the evening news. Very few knew it was happening. The author was a rebel, along with others she had not yet met, in the rebellion that resulted in learning communities, the dominant form of professional development today. In 1978, the…

  18. Intercom: Newsletter of the Learning Resources Association of the California Community Colleges, 1999-2000.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coleman, Anita, S., Ed.

    2000-01-01

    These documents compose the Learning Resources Association of California Community Colleges (LRACCC) newsletters for the 1999-2000 academic year. The first issue features a position paper on why learning resources require professionally trained managers. The Learning Resources administrators must possess a Masters or Ph.D. in Library and…

  19. Evaluating the Impacts of Professional Development: A Mixed Method Study of Adult Education Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dilworth, Jessica S.

    2010-01-01

    Adult education programs providing classes to students preparing for high school equivalency and learning English that demonstrate characteristics of learning organizations may be better able to thrive when confronted with less-than-ideal circumstances. Many of these programs organize adult educators into learning communities as the context for…

  20. Productive Use of Collaborative Time. Research into Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Williamson, Ronald

    2012-01-01

    Many schools have embraced the idea of professional learning communities (PLC's). While the term is used to describe many types of collaborative activities, PLC's are most successful when they focus intently on improving student learning. In these communities of learners there is a shared commitment to continually learn and act on that learning in…

  1. Learning professionalism during the third year of medical school in a 9-month-clinical rotation in rural Minnesota.

    PubMed

    Zink, Therese; Halaas, Gwen Wagstrom; Brooks, Kathleen D

    2009-11-01

    Professionalism is now an explicit part of the medical school curricula. To examine the components that are part of developing professionalism during the Rural Physician Associate Program (RPAP) experience, a 9-month rotation in a rural community during the third year of medical school. Two researchers analysed 3 years of essays for themes. IRB approval was obtained. Themes were organized using Van de Camp's model of professionalism. Students described how patients taught them about illnesses, the affects on their lives and the lives of their families. Preceptors role-modelled how to relate to patients with compassion and respect (Professionalism Towards the Patient). As a member of the health care team, clinic and hospital staff taught students how to be a good team member (Towards Other Health Care Professionals). Shadowing preceptors in their roles as physicians and community members, students learned about their responsibilities to the community (Towards the Public). Multiple opportunities for self-evaluation and reflection taught students to know themselves and find balance between work responsibilities and their personal lives (Towards Oneself). The RPAP appears to create a supportive learning environment that incorporates psychological safety, appreciation of differences, openness to new ideas and time for reflection - an ideal environment for developing professionalism.

  2. Community as Teacher Model: Health Profession Students Learn Cultural Safety from an Aboriginal Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kline, Cathy C.; Godolphin, William J.; Chhina, Gagun S.; Towle, Angela

    2013-01-01

    Communication between health care professionals and Aboriginal patients is complicated by cultural differences and the enduring effects of colonization. Health care providers need better training to meet the needs of Aboriginal patients and communities. We describe the development and outcomes of a community-driven service-learning program in…

  3. Community Mapping in Action: Uncovering Resources and Assets for Young Children and Their Families

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ordonez-Jasis, Rosario; Myck-Wayne, Janice

    2012-01-01

    Community mapping is a promising practice that can assist early intervention/early childhood special education (EI/ECSE) professionals uncover the depth and diversity of community needs, resources, and learning opportunities, in the neighborhoods surrounding their schools. Community mapping is an inquiry-based method that situates learning in the…

  4. Problem Solved: Middle School Math Instruction Gets a Boost from a Flexible Model for Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jacobs, Jennifer; Koellner, Karen; Funderburk, Joanie

    2012-01-01

    Education researchers frequently seek out districts, schools, and teachers as partners for professional learning projects. They share their ambitious vision--a new model of professional learning that will support an empowered community, instructional improvement, and student achievement. The authors, along with other members of their research…

  5. Learning Modalities and Delivery Systems for Officer Professional Development Period 3: Literature Review

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2014-06-01

    Communication ............................................................................................................................... ......27 4.3.3... Community and Collaborative Learning ................................................................................................28 4.3.3.1...Courses as a way to build Networked Communities .................................29 4.3.4 Assessment and Feedback

  6. Elementary Teachers' Perceptions of Appropriate Collaborative Planning and Professional Planning Time: A Case Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wise, Kristi

    2017-01-01

    Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are a best practice that has been around for decades; however, due to organizational structuring in elementary schools, teachers are allowed 30 minutes of planning time. During this time little planning or collaboration with peers is achieved. Previous research has proven that professional learning by way…

  7. Insights into Contextualised Learning: How Do Professional Examiners Construct Shared Understanding through Feedback?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Martin

    2014-01-01

    This project uses the community of practice metaphor to explore some of the discursive characteristics of learning that take place when a group of United Kingdom-based professional examiners engage in joint-work activity in both face-to-face and remote computer-mediated communication contexts. Professional examiners are all subject experts, and…

  8. A Culture of Collaborative Inquiry: Learning to Develop and Support Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nelson, Tamara Holmlund; Slavit, David; Perkins, Mart; Hathorn, Tom

    2008-01-01

    Background/Context: The type of professional development provided for teachers has been undergoing change from a one-time workshop approach to a more embedded, long-term, reflective, and collaborative structure. Although findings on the impact of new forms of professional development (PD) are beginning to emerge in the literature, there is little…

  9. The Use of Two Professional Learning Community Practices in Elementary Classrooms and the English Language Arts Achievement of California's Most At-Risk Student Subgroups in a Southern California School District

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mitchell, Carrie Lynn

    2007-01-01

    This study examines the impact of 2 professional learning community (PLC) classroom practices on the English Language Arts achievement of California's most at-risk subgroups between selected higher- and lower-performing elementary schools in a southern California school district. The conclusions from this study agree with the body of research,…

  10. Professional Learning Communities in Improved Illinois Elementary Schools: The Value of Professional Learning Communities for Leaders of Illinois Elementary Schools Formerly in "No Child Left Behind" Status

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thomas, Steven James

    2012-01-01

    The "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 has created a system, which potentially labeled 82% of US school as "failing" in 2011. Consequences for failing schools go beyond public ostracism to the release of numerous staff and school leaders or the closing of the…

  11. Community Engagement as Authentic Learning with Reflection

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Power, Anne

    2010-01-01

    Authentic learning in teacher education is deeply connected with students' future professional practice. This paper describes coaching and mentoring strands of a unit in the preparation of pre-service teachers and critically evaluates reflections made in terms of Professional Teacher Standards. (Contains 1 table.)

  12. Exploring the Link between Experienced Teachers' Learning Outcomes and Individual and Professional Learning Community Characteristics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vanblaere, Bénédicte; Devos, Geert

    2016-01-01

    The continuous professional development of teachers is crucial in our current knowledge-based society, yet empirical research on experienced teachers' learning outcomes is scarce. In this study, we examine perceived changes in classroom practices and in competence as outcomes. By making these outcomes measurable, we can relate them to several…

  13. Developing a Discourse of the Postmodern Community Development Professional

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McArdle, Karen; Mansfield, Sue

    2013-01-01

    This article seeks to promote the generation of a discourse of the postmodern community work professional. A shared discourse will lead, we propose to shared capital. We argue that there is a tension between the modern and postmodern for those of us engaged in the profession of community learning and development (CL&D). We need to value…

  14. Collaborative Inquiry and Distributed Agency in Educational Change: A Case Study of a Multi-Level Community of Inquiry

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Butler, Deborah L.; Schnellert, Leyton; MacNeil, Kimberley

    2015-01-01

    Teacher professional development has been identified as essential to educational reform. Moreover, research suggests the power of inquiry communities in spurring teacher professional learning and shifts in classroom practice. However, not enough is known about what conditions within a community of inquiry might be necessary to inspire, support,…

  15. Help Yourself, Help Your Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Luft, Julie A.; Bang, EunJin; Hewson, Peter W.

    2016-01-01

    Science teachers often participate in professional development programs (PDPs) to improve their students' learning. They sign up for workshops, institutes, university classes, or professional learning communities to gain knowledge and new instructional practices and to find colleagues with whom to discuss their teaching. But with so many options…

  16. Lessons Learned from Transformational Professional Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miranda, Twyla T.

    2012-01-01

    What is transformative professional development for educators? Ideally, teachers and school leaders are given multiple opportunities to revisit schemas about themselves and their learning communities, with the intent to transform practice, the school environment, and even themselves. In practice, three cohorts of teachers and school leaders…

  17. A Specialist Professional Experience Learning Community for Primary Pre-Service Teachers Focussed on Mathematical Problem Solving

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cavanagh, Michael; McMaster, Heather

    2017-01-01

    Problem solving has been identified as an important approach to learning and teaching mathematics, yet many primary pre-service teachers (PSTs) struggle to implement it during their professional experience. In this paper, we report the experiences of a group of four primary PSTs who, in an additional professional experience placement, formed a…

  18. Always Growing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pierce, Dennis

    2017-01-01

    Ongoing professional development is critical even for the very top executives at community colleges. While many community college systems focus on the onboarding of new presidents, professional learning should be a never-ending process. The best institutions recognize this and devote time and resources to the continuing development of their…

  19. Tangled paths: Three experienced teachers' growth in understanding during an extended science community of practice professional development effort

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brown, Nancy Melamed

    This qualitative investigation extends the study of teacher learning within a reform-based community of practice model of professional development. This long-term, multiple case study examined three experienced teachers' transformations in thinking about science instruction. Data were collected during the three years of the Guided Inquiry supporting Multiple Literacies research project, designed to develop instructional practices informed by a socio-cultural, inquiry-based orientation. Data sources included: transcripts of semi-structured interviews collected at strategic points, the teacher's journals, initial application information, and teachers' written case studies. Using an interpretive case study approach, tenets of the teachers' orientations were identified through a recursive process. Results are organized to reflect two principles that were integral to the design of the professional development community. The first principle describes changes in teachers' orientations about the goals and characteristics of science instruction in the elementary grades. The second describes changes about teachers' knowledge about themselves as learners and the influence of this knowledge on their thinking about science instruction and student learning. Illustrative findings indicate that: (a) it is possible for teachers' language regarding conceptions of their practice to change with only superficial change in their orientations, (b) teachers can hold dualistic ways of thinking about their practice, (c) in some cases, teachers use a significant amount of autobiography about their own learning to explain their practice; over time, this was replaced with warrants using the language that developed within the professional development community, and (d) long-term case studies revealed differences in orientations that emerged and were refined over time. These findings provide strong support for communities of practice as a model of professional development and hold implications for advancing teacher learning.

  20. Digital Badges--Rewards for Learning?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shields, Rebecca; Chugh, Ritesh

    2017-01-01

    Digital badges are quickly becoming an appropriate, easy and efficient way for educators, community groups and other professional organisations, to exhibit and reward participants for skills obtained in professional development or formal and informal learning. This paper offers an account of digital badges, how they work and the underlying…

  1. Mentoring as a Formalized Learning Strategy with Community Sports Volunteers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Griffiths, Mark; Armour, Kathleen

    2012-01-01

    The aim of our study was to examine formalized mentoring as a learning strategy for volunteer sports coaches and to consider implications for other volunteer groups in the community. Despite the increasingly popular use of mentoring as a learning and support strategy across professional domains, and the sheer scale of volunteer sports coach…

  2. Developing Schools as Professional Learning Communities: The TL21 Experience

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Malone, Anthony; Smith, Gregory

    2010-01-01

    Over the last 2 decades, Irish schooling and society have gone through a period of significant structural and policy-driven change. To meet the emerging needs of the knowledge/learning society, schools and teachers are challenged to develop their capacities as "active learning communities". This places greater demands on teachers and…

  3. Teaching Young Adults with Disabilities through Service Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Woodruff, Elizabeth A.; Sinelnikov, Oleg A.

    2015-01-01

    While many scholars agree that service learning is beneficial to both the student and the community, the research on service learning in the physical education setting is limited. However, there are courses that can be aligned with the professional preparation needs of students and the broader needs of the community. Drawing on theory which has…

  4. Creating Teacher Communities of Inquiry through Lesson Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Widjaja, Wanty

    2013-01-01

    Opportunities for teachers to engage in collaborative learning to examine and reflect on their practice are vital for sustained professional learning. Lesson Study centres on teachers coming together with colleagues to plan, observe, and reflect on classroom teaching and learning as a Community of Inquiry. In this project, six teachers from three…

  5. Creating a Conference and Workshop Attendance Process with Teacher Collaboration

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hironaka, Janet Hiroko

    2009-01-01

    This study aimed to build a professional learning community collaboratively among high school teachers for lifelong growth to minimize teacher isolation, discomfort, and fear. The study was driven by a compelling desire to extend personal learning in ways to impact the school learning community. The foundation for this study was the body of…

  6. Teachers' Learning Communities: Catalyst for Change or a New Infrastructure for the Status Quo?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wood, Diane

    2007-01-01

    Background/Context: In an era of high stakes accountability, public school districts struggle to improve teaching and learning for all students. As a result, effective professional development approaches for teachers are a high priority. Recently, teachers' learning communities (LCs) have been recommended because successful LCs foster teacher…

  7. Reinventing Teacher Professional Norms and Identities: The Role of Lesson Study and Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lieberman, Joanne

    2009-01-01

    The present article addresses how lesson study can facilitate changing traditional norms of individualism, conservatism and presentism that constrain American teachers from learning from one another. The article investigates how lesson study can serve as a vehicle for developing teacher learning communities by developing or redeveloping teachers'…

  8. Extending Learning Communities: New Technologies, Multiple Literacies, and Culture Blind Pedagogies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Knight, Michelle G.; Dixon, Iris R.; Norton, Nadjwa E. L.; Bentley, Courtney

    2004-01-01

    Technologies such as videoconferencing used for distance education are creating ways for high schools to extend their learning communities to connect youth with professional communities of practice in ways that approximate the face-to-face interactions in traditional classrooms. These technologies are often touted as a way to augment course…

  9. Accelerated Schools as Professional Learning Communities.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Biddle, Julie K.

    The goal of the Accelerated Schools Project (ASP) is to develop schools in which all children achieve at high levels and all members of the school community engage in developing and fulfilling the school's vision. But to fully implement the ASP model, a school must become a learning community that stresses relationships, shared values, and a…

  10. Professional Identity Formation and Development of Imagined Communities in an English Language Major in Mexico

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Villarreal Ballesteros, Ana Cecilia

    2010-01-01

    Recent work has shown the importance of identity in language learning and how the desire to belong to an imagined community drives individuals to invest in their learning (Norton, 2000). This work has documented that a mismatch between students' imagined community and the community envisioned by the teacher can have negative outcomes on students'…

  11. Knowing and Learning about Science in Primary School "Communities of Science Practice": The Views of Participating Scientists in the "MyScience" Initiative

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Forbes, Anne; Skamp, Keith

    2013-01-01

    "MyScience" is a primary science education initiative in which being in a community of practice is integral to the learning process. One component of this initiative involves professional scientists interacting with primary school communities which are navigating their way towards sustainable "communities of practice" around the "domain" of…

  12. "I Never Feel Alone in My Classroom": Teacher Professional Growth within a Blended Community of Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Trust, Torrey; Horrocks, Brian

    2017-01-01

    Well-designed face-to-face and virtual communities of practice provide opportunities for teachers to learn, grow as professionals and make changes to their practice with the support of peers. However, as more K-12 teachers become Connected Educators and act as conduits between online spaces and communities in their schools, the boundaries between…

  13. Undergraduate nursing students' perceptions of service-learning through a school-based community project.

    PubMed

    Bassi, Sherry

    2011-01-01

    Service-learning (SL) is an experiential teaching method that combines instruction with community service, with the aim of enriching students' academic learning, interpersonal skills and sense of responsibility while making meaningful contributions to the community. However, measuring outcomes of service-learning projects is difficult. This article reports on the perceptions of 18 third-year undergraduate nursing students who took part in a pilot service-learning project targeting tobacco use in a local elementary school. Faculty members evaluated the program's outcomes by engaging students in structured reflection on the program about its relevance to their future careers as practicing professionals, especially in community-based settings. The students' perceptions were elicited through three sets of reflective assignments following the project. Findings from the reflective assignments suggest that the pilot program was successful in enhancing the students' academic, social, and personal development while building a partnership between the school of nursing and key players in the community, including school-based nurses, teachers, administrators, families, and community leaders. The author suggests that service-learning projects can help nursing students accomplish key developmental tasks of the college years (such as building their competence, autonomy, and integrity), while helping impart the skills and values they will need as they graduate and seek professional nursing roles.

  14. Clinical supervision in a community setting.

    PubMed

    Evans, Carol; Marcroft, Emma

    Clinical supervision is a formal process of professional support, reflection and learning that contributes to individual development. First Community Health and Care is committed to providing clinical supervision to nurses and allied healthcare professionals to support the provision and maintenance of high-quality care. In 2012, we developed new guidelines for nurses and AHPs on supervision, incorporating a clinical supervision framework. This offers a range of options to staff so supervision accommodates variations in work settings and individual learning needs and styles.

  15. Perceptions of School Administrators and Teachers Regarding the Implementation of Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Westbrook, Stephen Vincent

    2013-01-01

    Researchers have identified teaching quality as a significant factor in increasing student academic achievement (Berry & Wieder, 2009; Hord, 2009; Schmoker, 2005; Waters, 2011). Educational leaders have therefore sought ways to improve teachers' pedagogy. One popular method for doing so has been to implement Professional Learning Communities…

  16. Collaboration Creation: Lessons Learned from Establishing an Online Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gray, Colin; Smyth, Keith

    2012-01-01

    This paper describes the design, implementation, evaluation and further refinement of an ELGG-based social networking site to support professional development activity, project group and special interest groups, and the discussion and sharing of educational experiences and resources across Edinburgh Napier University in the United Kingdom.…

  17. Educational Forum: A Journal of Teaching, Learning & Professional Development, Spring 1992.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fideler, Elizabeth F., Ed.

    1992-01-01

    Designed to promote discourse on teaching, learning, and professional development, this spring 1992 issue of Massachusetts Bay Community College's (MBCC's) "Educational Forum" documents modes of inquiry and faculty development activities that MBCC has found promising. The following articles are contained in the issue: (1) "Education Through…

  18. Creative Inclusion in Community Theatre: A Journey with Odyssey Theatre

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wooster, Roger

    2009-01-01

    What does "inclusion" mean in practice? This article considers the work of Odyssey Theatre, a group of learning-disabled and non-learning-disabled performers as they put together a production with the support of professional theatre workers. Working processes are examined and the balance of empowerment and professional leadership…

  19. Implementing a university-community-retail partnership model to facilitate community education on universal design.

    PubMed

    Price, Christine A; Zavotka, Susan L; Teaford, Margaret H

    2004-10-01

    A collaborative partnership model was used to develop and implement a state-wide community education program on universal design. University faculty, extension professionals, older adult service agencies, service learning students, and a community retail chain made up the original partnership. This collaboration resulted in a five-stage partnership model. The model was used to develop and disseminate a consumer education program to promote aging in place. The five stages include (a) identifying partner strengths and shared learning, (b) program development, (c) implementing the universal design program, (d) facilitating collaborative outreach, and (e) shifting toward sustainable outreach. A lack of knowledge exists among consumers, builders, and health care professionals regarding strategies for aging in place. Collaborations between educators, outreach professionals, students, and a retail partner resulted in increased interest and awareness about universal design changes that enable seniors to age in place.

  20. The role of professional communities in governing patient safety.

    PubMed

    Turner, Simon; Ramsay, Angus; Fulop, Naomi

    2013-01-01

    Using the example of medication safety, this paper aims to explore the impact of three managerial interventions (adverse incident reporting, ward-level support by pharmacists, and a medication safety subcommittee) on different professional communities situated in the English National Health Service (NHS). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with clinical and managerial staff from two English NHS acute trusts, supplemented with meeting observations and documentary analysis. Attitudes toward managerial intervention differ by professional community (between doctors, nurses and pharmacists) according to their existing norms of safety and perceptions of formal governance processes. The heterogeneity of social norms across different professional communities and medical specialties has implications for the design of organisational learning mechanisms in the field of patient safety. The paper shows that theorisation of professional "resistance" to managerialism privileges the study of doctors' reactions to management with the consequent neglect of the perceptions of other professional communities.

  1. School Teachers' Continuous Professional Development in an Online Learning Community: Lessons from a Case Study of an eTwinning Learning Event

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Holmes, Brian

    2013-01-01

    A social revolution is occurring in the way information is shared, knowledge is generated and innovation takes place over the Internet and there is renewed interest in the social concept of "community" to support online learning. This article describes action research conducted in the context of an eTwinning Learning Event (LE) that…

  2. Communities of Practice in Higher Education: Professional Learning in an Academic Career

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Arthur, Linet

    2016-01-01

    This article focuses on the life history of a university academic, and the ways in which he learned in different communities of practice during his career. This account raises questions about the applicability of situated learning theory to a knowledge-based organisation, and argues that both the external context and the individuals within the…

  3. Chapter 2: Navigating the Mentoring Process in a Research-Based Teacher Development Project: A Situated Learning Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Patton, Kevin; Griffin, Linda L.; Sheehy, Deborah; Henninger, Mary L.; Arnold, Ruth; Pagnano, Karen; Gallo, Anne Marie; Dodds, Patt; James, Alisa

    2005-01-01

    The authors examine the various communities of practice that were formed throughout a teacher development project that included a formal mentoring component. The authors describe a theoretical approach to understanding learning in communities of practice and present an approach for analyzing professional learning resulting from social interactions…

  4. Networked Learning and Network Science: Potential Applications to Health Professionals' Continuing Education and Development.

    PubMed

    Margolis, Alvaro; Parboosingh, John

    2015-01-01

    Prior interpersonal relationships and interactivity among members of professional associations may impact the learning process in continuing medical education (CME). On the other hand, CME programs that encourage interactivity between participants may impact structures and behaviors in these professional associations. With the advent of information and communication technologies, new communication spaces have emerged that have the potential to enhance networked learning in national and international professional associations and increase the effectiveness of CME for health professionals. In this article, network science, based on the application of network theory and other theories, is proposed as an approach to better understand the contribution networking and interactivity between health professionals in professional communities make to their learning and adoption of new practices over time. © 2015 The Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions, the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education, and the Council on Continuing Medical Education, Association for Hospital Medical Education.

  5. Technology Integration through Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cifuentes, Lauren; Maxwell, Gerri; Bulu, Sanser

    2011-01-01

    We describe efforts to build a learning community to support technology integration in three rural school districts and the contributions of various program strategies toward teacher growth. The Stages of Adoption Inventory, classroom observations, the Questionnaire for Technology Integration, interviews, STAR evaluation surveys, a survey of…

  6. Food Allergy Training for Schools and Restaurants (The Food Allergy Community Program): Protocol to Evaluate the Effectiveness of a Web-Based Program.

    PubMed

    Pádua, Inês; Moreira, André; Moreira, Pedro; Barros, Renata

    2018-06-12

    Food allergy is a growing public health concern. The literature suggests that a significant number of reactions occur in community services, such as schools and restaurants. Therefore, suitable training and education for education and catering professionals using viable and practical tools is needed. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a Web-based food allergy training program for professionals working in schools and restaurants, designed to improve knowledge and good practices in the community. Free learning programs which contain educational animated videos about food allergy were developed for professionals working at schools and restaurants. The learning programs comprise of nine 5-minute videos, developed in video animation format using GoAnimate, with a total course length of 45-60 minutes. The courses for professionals at both schools and restaurants include contents about food allergy epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis and treatment, dietary avoidance, emergencies, labelling, and accidental exposure prevention. Additionally, specific topics for work practices at schools and restaurants were provided. Food allergy knowledge survey tools were developed to access the knowledge and management skills about food allergy of school and restaurant staff, at baseline and at the end of the food allergy program. The courses will be provided on the e-learning platform of the University of Porto and professionals from catering and education sectors will be invited to participate. Data collection will take place between September 2017 and October 2017, corresponding to a 2-month intervention. Final results will be disseminated in scientific journals and presented at national and international conferences. The Food Allergy Community Program intervention may improve school and restaurant professionals' commitment and skills to deal with food allergy in the community. Furthermore, this e-intervention program will provide an innovative contribution to understanding the impact of electronic health technologies on the learning process and the development of strategies for community interventions. RR1-10.2196/9770. ©Inês Pádua, André Moreira, Pedro Moreira, Renata Barros. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (http://www.researchprotocols.org), 12.06.2018.

  7. New models to support the professional education of health visitors: A qualitative study of the role of space and place in creating 'community of learning hubs'.

    PubMed

    Donetto, Sara; Malone, Mary; Sayer, Lynn; Robert, Glenn

    2017-07-01

    In response to a policy-driven workforce expansion in England new models of preparing health visitors for practice have been implemented. 'Community of Learning hubs' (COLHs) are one such model, involving different possible approaches to student support in clinical practice placements (for example, 'long arm mentoring' or 'action learning set' sessions). Such models present opportunities for studying the possible effects of spatiality on the learning experiences of students and newly qualified health visitors, and on team relationships more broadly. To explore a 'community of learning hub' model in health visitor education and reflect on the role of space and place in the learning experience and professional identity development of student health visitors. Qualitative research conducted during first year of implementation. Three 'community of learning hub' projects based in two NHS community Trusts in London during the period 2013-2015. Managers and leads (n=7), practice teachers and mentors (n=6) and newly qualified and student health visitors (n=16). Semi-structured, audio-recorded interviews analysed thematically. Participants had differing views as to what constituted a 'hub' in their projects. Two themes emerged around the spaces that shape the learning experience of student and newly qualified health visitors. Firstly, a generalised need for a 'quiet place' which allows pause for reflection but also for sharing experiences and relieving common anxieties. Secondly, the role of physical arrangements in open-plan spaces to promote access to support from more experienced practitioners. Attention to spatiality can shed light on important aspects of teaching and learning practices, and on the professional identities these practices shape and support. New configurations of time and space as part of educational initiatives can surface new insights into existing practices and learning models. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  8. Establishing a Community of Practice between an Elementary Educator and a Scientist as a Means of Professional Development

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dashoush, Nermeen

    This dissertation reports on an ethnographic study to examine and detail emerging practices in a community of practice comprised of an elementary teacher and a scientist (microbiologist). The study was conducted in order to design a model for professional development. It also aimed to contribute to the limited research involving elementary educators and their work with scientists. Furthermore, extra attention was given to understanding how both the elementary teacher and the scientist benefitted from their participation in the community of practice created from working together in teaching and learning science as a form of professional development. This was in accordance with a community of practice framework, which details that a healthy community is one without a perception of hierarchy among members (Wenger, 1998). The elementary teacher and scientist as participants collaborated in the creation of a science unit for an afterschool program. A wide variety of data was collected, including: interviews, transcribed meetings, and online journals from both participants. The data was coded for reoccurring themes surrounding practices and shifts in perception about science teaching and learning that emerged from this community of practice as professional development. The findings have implications for practices that could be used as a foundational structure in future collaborations involving elementary teachers and scientists for elementary science professional development.

  9. Boundary Crossing during Pre-service Teacher Training: empowering or hampering professional growth?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Harrison, Christine

    2017-10-01

    Yuli Rahmawati's paper presents an auto-ethnographic inquiry into her lived experiences as a science teacher in different countries. Through her reflections and analysis of events, Yuli captures and builds a model of her identity and explores the influence of inter- and intra-cultural perspectives in shaping how she recognizes herself and brings meaning to her professional life. Yuli's insights and explanations of teaching within different cultural contexts highlight the importance of personally relevant and meaningful knowledge, where expectations and accepted norms, that might fit well within one community, may be seen quite differently in another. While for Yuli, this led to professional growth as she inquired and made sense of her new context, my concern is that the social and cultural change could, in some instances, lead to disengagement rather than professional growth. My concern is that the conflict that arises from boundary crossing may be experienced even stronger by inexperienced professionals, such as pre-service teachers. The learning trajectory of pre-service teachers is steep; they need to gain stronger knowledge of curriculum and pedagogy and an awareness of how their students learn. They also need to build confidence in their professional self and what they can do to support and trigger student learning. For this to happen, in the tight time frames available on teacher education courses, pre-service teachers need to understand and engage with the new community that they are placed in very quickly, to make sense of both their role and that of others within the community. This paper suggests that pre-service providers should carefully consider the learning opportunities offered by school contexts, that may vary dramatically from the social and cultural contexts experienced by their teachers as part of their own education, to prevent disengagement or misunderstanding hampering professional growth.

  10. Multidisciplinary Professional Learning Communities in a Public High School: An Action Research Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Finch, Jeffrey A.

    2017-01-01

    During professional development time in secondary schools, teachers often engage in peer exchanges that can have positive influence on instruction and learning, but often this time is focused within departmental groupings on content development without an emphasis on how to improve instruction through a more diverse student lens. This research…

  11. A Study of Professional Learning Communities in International Schools in Bangkok, Thailand

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gerhard, James Herbert

    2010-01-01

    Teacher collaboration and professional development are crucial components to any school improvement process. In an international school context differences among teachers emerging from culture, language, training, and environment can present a unique view of how teachers collaborate and learn together. The purpose of the study was to determine…

  12. Developing Professional Fitness through Classroom Assessment and Classroom Research. The Cross Papers, Number 1.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cross, K. Patricia

    Classroom assessment and research are effective means of professional development for community college faculty. Assessment tests engage students in monitoring and evaluating their own learning, and encourage teachers to reflect on their classes from a learning perspective. Classroom research is learner-centered, teacher-directed, collaborative,…

  13. The Energy to Lead

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sieveke-Pearson, Starla

    2010-01-01

    Being an assistant principal can be difficult, but using a professional learning community (PLC) to explore and capitalize on the aspects of the job that give one energy can help. The author shares her experience in serving as an assistant principal in a suburban school district in Colorado that supports the professional learning and growth of…

  14. The Language of Collaboration: Dialogue and Identity in Teacher Professional Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crafton, Linda; Kaiser, Eileen

    2011-01-01

    This article explores several professional development models currently being used in the US and in other countries to support teacher learning, including coaching, mentoring and communities of practice. While in some contexts the activities of the participants are informed by social constructivist views of learning, the authors argue that…

  15. Lesson Study as Professional Development within Secondary Physics Teacher Professional Learning Communities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Collins, Tonya Monique Nicki

    Two Professional Learning Communities of physics teachers from different high schools voluntarily participated in Lesson Study as a means of professional development. The five teacher-participants and one participant-researcher partook of two Lesson Study cycles, each of which focused on student physics misconceptions. The Lesson Study resulted in two topics of physics: projectiles and gravitation. The researcher aimed to determine what happens to secondary physics teachers who undergo Lesson Study through this phenomenological case study. Specifically, (1) What is the process of Lesson Study with secondary physics teachers? and (2) What are the teacher-reported outcomes of Lesson Study with secondary physics teachers? Overall, Lesson Study provided an avenue for secondary physics teachers to conduct inquiry on their students in an attempt to better understand student thinking and learning. As a result, teachers collaborated to learn how to better meet the needs of their students and self-reported growth in many areas of teaching and teacher knowledge. The study resulted in twelve hypotheses to be tested in later research centering on idealizing the process of Lesson Study and maximizing secondary physics teacher growth.

  16. Evaluating Reactions to Community Bridge Initiative Pilot Classes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Koldewyn, Julie; Brain, Roslynn; Stephens, Kate

    2017-01-01

    Does participating in an integrated service-learning project aimed at improving local sustainability issues result in significant professional real-world application for students? This study aimed to answer that question by evaluating student reactions to pilot classes featuring a sustainability-based service-learning program, Community Bridge…

  17. Making Dissatisfaction Divine: An Inspired Approach to Whole-School Reform

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sweetland, Julie

    2008-01-01

    Building community and supporting learning are two principles of Whole Schooling. This article describes how Center for Inspired Teaching, a nonprofit educational reform organization, uses these principles to foster professional learning communities in public schools in Washington, DC. When change agents approach disengaged, disempowered faculties…

  18. Becoming Music Teacher Educators: Learning from and with Each Other in a Professional Development Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pellegrino, Kristen; Sweet, Bridget; Derges Kastner, Julie; Russell, Heather A.; Reese, Jill

    2014-01-01

    During this heuristic phenomenological inquiry, we examined our lived experiences as five women (three doctoral students, two early career faculty) in the process of becoming music teacher educators participating in a year-long, online, group-facilitated professional development community (PDC). Data included recorded meetings via Skype, journal…

  19. Early Childhood Investment Zones: A Learning Approach for Authentic Community Partnership

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vermilya, Lois; Kerwin, Dorothy

    2017-01-01

    Many professionals in the early childhood field are inspired by community-driven initiatives that hold great promise for transforming outcomes for the youngest children and their families. However, most collective impact efforts are mobilized in large urban areas, where early childhood professionals and civic leaders take the lead. New Mexico has…

  20. Partnerships at Work: Lessons Learned from Programs and Practices of Families, Professionals and Communities.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bishop, Kathleen Kirk, Ed.; Taylor, Mary Skidmore, Ed.; Arango, Polly, Ed.

    Designed to celebrate family/interprofessional collaborative partnerships, this publication describes high-quality examples of how families and professionals at the family, community, state, and national levels have worked together to create programs and practices that are family-friendly and responsive to what families have said they want and…

  1. Out of Isolation and into Collaboration: Sustaining the Work of Professional Learning Communities in a Secondary School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jones, Christopher M.

    2013-01-01

    In the 21st century, increased school accountability has sharpened the focus of school and district leaders on improving instructional practice to raise student achievement. The implementation of professional leaning communities (PLCs) is one improvement effort in which schools establish collaborative cultures focused on increasing student…

  2. Teacher Professional Development for Technology Integration in a Primary School Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Shih-Hsiung

    2013-01-01

    Teacher professional development (TPD) can benefit teachers in classrooms. This study contributes to an understanding of TPD processes where there is sufficient technology integration through teacher participation in a school-based community. It assesses the effectiveness of TPD and its potential problems. Qualitative research methods are used to…

  3. Web Conference vs Webcast: The Perceived Effectiveness of Training Sessions at a Southeastern Community College

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jones, Jenny Bailey

    2017-01-01

    Professional development is a lifelong learning process and technology has provided and will continue to provide new and different delivery methods. Regardless of the delivery method, the intention of professional development is to increase teacher knowledge, which in turn, increases student achievement. At a southeastern community college,…

  4. Community Engagement as Catalyst for Professional Learning, Reflection, and Agency in Preservice-Teacher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Klehr, Mary

    2015-01-01

    I am a public elementary teacher currently serving as a school-based supervisor for a Professional Development School (PDS) undergraduate elementary-teacher-education program in Madison, Wisconsin, where our charge is to leverage the intersecting contexts of school, university, and community to prepare skilled and caring teachers for urban…

  5. Bridging Communities: Culturing a Professional Learning Community that Supports Novice Teachers and Transfers Authentic Science and Mathematics to the Classroom

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Herbert, B. E.; Miller, H. R.; Loving, C. L.; Pedersen, S.

    2006-12-01

    Professional Learning Community Model for Alternative Pathways (PLC-MAP) is a partnership of North Harris Montgomery Community Colleges, Texas A&M University, and 11 urban, suburban, and rural school districts in the Greater Houston area focused on developing a professional learning community that increases the retention and quality of middle and high school mathematics and science teachers who are being certified through the NHMCCD Alternative Certification Program. Improved quality in teaching refers to increased use of effective inquiry teaching strategies, including information technology where appropriate, that engage students to ask worthy scientific questions and to reason, judge, explain, defend, argue, reflect, revise, and/or disseminate findings. Novice teachers learning to adapt or designing authentic inquiry in their classrooms face two enormous problems. First, there are important issues surrounding the required knowledgebase, habit of mind, and pedagogical content knowledge of the teachers that impact the quality of their lesson plans and instructional sequences. Second, many ACP intern teachers teach under challenging conditions with limited resources, which impacts their ability to implement authentic inquiry in the classroom. Members of our professional learning community, including scientists, mathematicians and master teachers, supports novice teachers as they design lesson plans that engage their students in authentic inquiry. The purpose of this research was to determine factors that contribute to success or barriers that prevent ACP secondary science intern and induction year teachers from gaining knowledge and engaging in classroom inquiry as a result of an innovative professional development experience. A multi-case study design was used for this research. We adopted a two-tail design where cases from both extremes (good and poor gains) were deliberately chosen. Six science teachers were selected from a total of 40+ mathematics and science teachers. These six, on average, demonstrated either the highest gain in knowledge and/or engagement in inquiry-based teaching or the lowest gain among all the novice science teachers through the year of participation in the PLC-MAP program. Certain patterns emerged across all six cases, even when the other variables are acknowledged. The principal external factors were school climate—its culture, its mandates, its degree of teacher autonomy. The internal factors were teacher beliefs about learning through inquiry, about their own need for additional knowledge, and about managing inquiry--all tied to degrees of self-efficacy.

  6. Rewriting Professional Development: Professional Learning Communities in an Urban Charter School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Glasheen, Gregory J.

    2017-01-01

    This study challenges traditional professional development models, in which teachers are positioned as receptacles for knowledge and "best practices". This type of professional development devalues the local knowledge teachers possess, their theories of practice (Lytle & Cochran-Smith, 1994), and their ability to reflect on their…

  7. Learning from Learners: Family and Consumer Sciences Professionals in International Settings

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Keino, Leah C.

    2007-01-01

    Family and consumer sciences professionals' contribute to the well-being of individuals, families, and communities through work in and support of international efforts. However, limited literature is available on professionals' challenges when working in such settings. In this article, the author offers one professional's insights into working…

  8. Teacher Professional Development Strategies in Australian Government and Professional Associations Documents

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kostina, Ludmyla

    2015-01-01

    Teacher in Australia is determined as an active participant of professional community with high level of collaboration, professional development coherent activities and collaborative learning practice. Thus, teacher quality is one of critical factors affecting student outcomes. The article touches upon the issue of the potential to improve…

  9. An Assessment of Service-Learning in 34 US Schools of Pharmacy Follow Up on the 2001 Professional Affairs Committee Report

    PubMed Central

    Schlesselman, Lauren; Borrego, Matthew; Mehta, Bella; Drobitch, Robert K.; Smith, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    Objective. To determine if the service-learning components used at a convenience sample of schools and colleges of pharmacy meet the intent of the 2001 AACP Professional Affairs Committee (PAC) report. Methods. An online questionnaire was used to survey faculty members or staff involved with service-learning education at their school of pharmacy. Questions addressed aspects of service-learning including types of activities used, duration of student involvement with community partners, and association of learning objectives with service-learning activities. Results. The majority (85.3%) of respondents reported their institution used service-learning. Activities reported as part of service-learning ranged from working at health fairs to involvement with pharmacy school recruitment. More than half (64.3%) of service-learning activities involved long-term interactions with one community partner, and 74.1% of respondents indicated there was always an opportunity for student reflection on the service-learning activity. Conclusion. There is increasing though inconsistent application of PAC guidelines regarding service-learning. PMID:26688584

  10. Faculty Learning Communities: A Model for Supporting Curriculum Changes in Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Engin, Marion; Atkinson, Fairlie

    2015-01-01

    This article reports on a faculty learning community (FLC) as a professional development model for faculty in an English-medium university in the United Arab Emirates. The authors describe how the introduction of a new learning and teaching technology, in the form of iPads, resulted in many of the faculty feeling unsure about their pedagogy. A…

  11. The ACCE Position Statement on Media Enriched Learning Communities: "If We're Not Standing on the Edge and Thinking Ahead We're Taking up Too Much Room"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kember, Deborah; Brandenburg, Tony; Murphy, Angela

    2007-01-01

    The ACCE position statement for creating media enriched learning communities targets all stakeholders in educational policy and practice who influence the future of learning, schools, and systems. Stakeholders include policy-makers in government, national and international organisations, professional networks and institutions, school leaders,…

  12. Service Learning: A Vehicle for Building Health Equity and Eliminating Health Disparities

    PubMed Central

    Sabo, Samantha; de Zapien, Jill; Teufel-Shone, Nicolette; Rosales, Cecilia; Bergsma, Lynda

    2015-01-01

    Service learning (SL) is a form of community-centered experiential education that places emerging health professionals in community-generated service projects and provides structured opportunities for reflection on the broader social, economic, and political contexts of health. We describe the elements and impact of five distinct week-long intensive SL courses focused on the context of urban, rural, border, and indigenous health contexts. Students involved in these SL courses demonstrated a commitment to community-engaged scholarship and practice in both their student and professional lives. SL is directly in line with the core public health value of social justice and serves as a venue to strengthen community–campus partnerships in addressing health disparities through sustained collaboration and action in vulnerable communities. PMID:25706014

  13. Some Aspects of School Seen as a Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bradea, Adela

    2016-01-01

    Each school is part of the community and at the same time, a provider of education services. This makes school a Learning Community for both teachers and students. While in the case of students this is a mission accomplished, in that of teachers' things seem to be a bit more difficult. The latter ones should see themselves as members of a…

  14. Coming to Know in the "Eye of the Storm": A Beginning Teacher's Introduction to Different Versions of Teacher Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Craig, Cheryl J.

    2013-01-01

    Through the metaphor, "learning to teach in the 'eye of the storm'", a beginning teacher's experiences of teaching in one of America's diverse urban campuses become known. Three themes of global significance emerge: (1) the similarities and differences between professional learning communities and knowledge communities; (2) the morphing of "the…

  15. Tulsa Community College, Exploring America's Communities. Progress Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tulsa Community Coll., OK.

    In 1996, Oklahoma's Tulsa Community College (TCC) participated in the American Association of Community Colleges' Exploring America's Communities project, which works to strengthen the teaching and learning of American history, literature, and culture at U.S. community colleges. TCC's primary goals were to promote professional development, to…

  16. Instructional Technology and Learning Resource Center-Based Community Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, James W.

    A survey of nonformal community education activities was conducted to determine specific use of media for identified educational and informational purposes. The results presented in this report are intended to provide resource information to professionals and paraprofessionals who ultimately may be employed in Learning Resource Center-Based…

  17. Why Mentor? Linking Mentor Teachers' Motivations to Their Mentoring Conceptions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    van Ginkel, Gisbert; Verloop, Nico; Denessen, Eddie

    2016-01-01

    Current mentoring models for teacher preparation and induction emphasize the need to engage novice teachers' learning through collaborative professional learning communities. Mentors in such communities are expected to engage in joint knowledge construction with novices, and to be "co-thinkers" who enact a developmental view of…

  18. Working with Business and Industry.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stempel, Ellen F.

    This publication contains guidelines for fostering cooperation between the business and professional community and a community adult learning center. It is based on a program in operation at the Great Neck (New York) Adult Learning Center. The guidelines for initiating and conducting the program cover the following processes: selection of the…

  19. Theorizing Collaborative Mathematics Teacher Learning in Communities of Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bannister, Nicole A.

    2018-01-01

    Persistent disconnects within and among education research, practice, and policy are limiting the reach of professional mathematics teacher communities, one of the most promising levers for humanizing mathematics teaching and learning in schools. An overarching goal of this commentary is to convince the field of mathematics education to broaden…

  20. Developing professional identity in nursing academics: the role of communities of practice.

    PubMed

    Andrew, Nicola; Ferguson, Dorothy; Wilkie, George; Corcoran, Terry; Simpson, Liz

    2009-08-01

    This paper analyses the current standing of nursing within the wider United Kingdom (UK) higher education (HE) environment and considers the development of academic identity within the sector, introducing a technology mediated approach to professional learning and development. A community of practice (CoP) is a way of learning based on collaboration among peers. Individuals come together virtually or physically, with a common purpose, defined by knowledge rather than task [Wenger, E., 1998. Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity, sixth ed. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge]. In 2008, a small team of academics at Glasgow Caledonian University, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Community Health created and implemented iCoP, a project undertaken to pilot an international CoP, where novices and expert academics collaborated to debate and discuss the complex transition from clinician to academic. Although not intended as a conventional research project, the developmental journey and emerging online discussion provide an insight into the collective thoughts and opinions of a multi-national group of novice academics. The article also highlights the key challenges, problems and limitations of working in an international online arena with professionals who traditionally work and thrive in a face to face, real time environment.

  1. An Inquiry into the Influence of Professional Learning Communities on English Language Arts Teachers' Pedagogical-Content Knowledge

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pittman, Pamela Kay

    2015-01-01

    Teaching is an ever-evolving profession, one in which teachers must stay abreast of recent research and trends to continually deepen their knowledge and refine their skills. Therefore, teachers need high quality professional learning opportunities to help them master the content they teach and strengthen their teaching skills. Professional…

  2. Using Wiki to Create a Learning Community for Chemistry Teacher Leaders

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shwartz, Y.; Katchevitch, D.

    2013-01-01

    This study focuses on using wikis as a learning environment, as part of a professional development program for chemistry teacher leaders. The study was performed in Israel and involved 20 chemistry teachers. One goal was to investigate how using wiki may promote effective science teacher professional development. Various aspects of the teachers'…

  3. Leveraging the Potential of Personal Learning Networks for Teacher Professional Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maloney, Katherine J.

    2016-01-01

    In times of exponential change, high quality, cost-effective teacher professional development is an urgent need that personal learning networks (PLNs) promise to address. The purpose of the qualitative case study was to (a) explore, understand, and describe how PreK-12 educators, who are members of The Educator's PLN and Classroom 2.0 communities,…

  4. Records of Practice and the Development of Collective Professional Knowledge

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ball, Deborah Loewenberg; Ben-Peretz, Miriam; Cohen, Rhonda B.

    2014-01-01

    Although recent years have seen an increase in professional learning communities, use of video and lesson study groups, most teachers still work and learn in isolation. What they know is personal and remains private; little opportunity exists for most teachers to develop shared knowledge or language. The scale of the teaching force, and the rapid…

  5. Building Your Personal Learning Network (PLN): 21st-Century School Librarians Seek Self-Regulated Professional Development Online

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moreillon, Judi

    2016-01-01

    For school librarians, being part of a "connected" community provides support for getting specific needs met, solving personally relevant and meaningful problems, and developing professional expertise. AASL provides many avenues for members of the profession to learn with and from one another. These include AASL and subgroup electronic…

  6. Improving Teacher Education in the Netherlands: Data Team as Learning Team?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bolhuis, E. D.; Schildkamp, K.; Voogt, J. M.

    2016-01-01

    Using data in a professional learning community is a promising form of professional development. In this study, we followed a data team of teacher educators, who systematically tried to improve the education of student teachers (by decreasing first year drop-out). By conducting a single case study, we investigated the data team participants'…

  7. Improving the quality of learning in science through optimization of lesson study for learning community

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Setyaningsih, S.

    2018-03-01

    Lesson Study for Learning Community is one of lecturer profession building system through collaborative and continuous learning study based on the principles of openness, collegiality, and mutual learning to build learning community in order to form professional learning community. To achieve the above, we need a strategy and learning method with specific subscription technique. This paper provides a description of how the quality of learning in the field of science can be improved by implementing strategies and methods accordingly, namely by applying lesson study for learning community optimally. Initially this research was focused on the study of instructional techniques. Learning method used is learning model Contextual teaching and Learning (CTL) and model of Problem Based Learning (PBL). The results showed that there was a significant increase in competence, attitudes, and psychomotor in the four study programs that were modelled. Therefore, it can be concluded that the implementation of learning strategies in Lesson study for Learning Community is needed to be used to improve the competence, attitude and psychomotor of science students.

  8. The professional learning community as perceived by Israeli school superintendents, principals and teachers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schechter, Chen

    2012-12-01

    A professional learning community (PLC) facilitates collaborative learning among colleagues at all levels in their common working environment. PLCs are particularly useful in schools, with teachers and principals meeting regularly to solve problems relating to teaching and learning. Being a means of improving student achievement, PLCs have received growing support from researchers and practitioners alike, yet some professionals are still exploring ways to develop learning networks focusing on teaching and learning issues. The purpose of this study was to examine Israeli teachers', principals', and superintendents' perceptions of inhibiting and fostering factors of the PLC. In this qualitative, topic-oriented study, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 15 teachers from elementary, middle and secondary schools and their respective principals (15) and superintendents (15). Generating themes was inductive, grounded in the perspectives articulated by participants. The principals and the teachers indicated that overload, a lack of resources and top-down commands were PLC-inhibiting factors. The superintendents saw the principal's leadership style as a main PLC-fostering factor. Understanding how these three echelons in the school system perceive the inhibiting and fostering factors of a PLC could indicate whether and how this collaborative learning process can be nurtured and sustained in schools.

  9. Teachers 'Liking' Their Work? Exploring the Realities of Teacher Facebook Groups

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bergviken Rensfeldt, Annika; Hillman, Thomas; Selwyn, Neil

    2018-01-01

    Social media are now an important aspect of the professional lives of school teachers. This paper explores the growing use of mass 'teacher groups' and 'teacher communities' on social media platforms such as Facebook. While these online communities are often welcomed as a means of professional learning and support, the paper considers the extent…

  10. Empowering Non-Licensed-in-English Language Teachers to Construct Professional Knowledge in Their Actual and Imagined Communities of Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aguirre-Garzón, Edgar Augusto; Castañeda-Peña, Harold Andrés

    2017-01-01

    Research has accumulated important knowledge over recent decades on how licensed language teachers develop and learn from cognitive and socio-cultural stances. Yet, relatively little evidence exists on how non-licensed-in-English language teachers (NLELTs) grow professionally in their communities. Similarly, few studies have yet investigated the…

  11. Probing community nurses' professional basis: a situational case study in diabetic foot ulcer treatment.

    PubMed

    Schaarup, Clara; Pape-Haugaard, Louise; Jensen, Merete Hartun; Laursen, Anders Christian; Bermark, Susan; Hejlesen, Ole Kristian

    2017-03-01

    Complicated and long-lasting wound care of diabetic foot ulcers are moving from specialists in wound care at hospitals towards community nurses without specialist diabetic foot ulcer wound care knowledge. The aim of the study is to elucidate community nurses' professional basis for treating diabetic foot ulcers. A situational case study design was adopted in an archetypical Danish community nursing setting. Experience is a crucial component in the community nurses' professional basis for treating diabetic foot ulcers. Peer-to-peer training is the prevailing way to learn about diabetic foot ulcer, however, this contributes to the risk of low evidence-based practice. Finally, a frequent behaviour among the community nurses is to consult colleagues before treating the diabetic foot ulcers.

  12. A New Paradigm in ESL Teaching and Learning Environments: Online Professional Development for Taiwanese Instructors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chu, Shiao-wei

    2013-01-01

    This case study investigates the perspectives of four Taiwanese English ESL (English as a second language) teachers with regard to their participation in an online professional development course. To build a collaborative online professional development community, in which teachers acquire professional knowledge to improve teaching instruction and…

  13. Secondary students in professional laboratories: Discoveries about science learning in a community of practitioners

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Song, Mary Elizabeth

    This study explores what educators may learn from the experiences of secondary students working in professional scientific laboratories. My investigation is guided by the methodology of phenomenological; I depend primarily on interviews conducted with students and professional researchers. This material is supported primarily by on-site observations, and by informal conversations between me and the study participants. My dissertation has three goals: (one) to use the work of secondary students in scientific research laboratories to consider how they know the discipline; (two) to distinguish the students' professional accomplishments from science learning at school; and, (three) to engage readers in a reflection about authority within the scientific community, and the possibility that by accomplishing research, students take their legitimate place among those who construct scientific knowledge. My methods and focus have allowed me to capture qualities of the student narratives that support the emergence of three major themes: the importance of doing "real work" in learning situations; the inapplicability of "school learning" to professional research arenas; and the inclusive nature of the scientific community. At the same time, the study is confined by the narrow pool of participants I interviewed over a short period of time. These talented students were all academically successful, articulate, "well-rounded" and in this sense, mature. They typically had strong family support, and they talked about ideas with their parents. Indeed, the students were all capable story-tellers who were anxious to share their experiences publicly. Yet they themselves remind the reader of their struggles to overcome naivete in the lab. By doing so they suggested to me that their experiences might be accessible to a broad range of young men and women; thus this study is a good beginning for further research.

  14. Learning Together: The Role of the Online Community in Army Professional Education

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2005-05-26

    Kolb , Experiential Learning : Experience as the Source of Learning and Development... Experiential Learning One model frequently discussed is experiential learning .15 Kolb develops this model through analysis of older models. One of the...observations about the experience. Kolb develops several characteristics of adult learning . Kolb discusses his model of experiential learning

  15. Building Learning into the Teaching Job.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Renyi, Judith

    1998-01-01

    A two-year study of professional development recommended that schools build professional development into school life via flexible scheduling and extended time blocks; help teachers assume responsibility for their own professional development; find common ground with the community via resource sharing; and find revenues to support professional…

  16. Enhancing Self-Efficacy in Elementary Science Teaching With Professional Learning Communities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mintzes, Joel J.; Marcum, Bev; Messerschmidt-Yates, Christl; Mark, Andrew

    2013-11-01

    Emerging from Bandura's Social Learning Theory, this study of in-service elementary school teachers examined the effects of sustained Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) on self-efficacy in science teaching. Based on mixed research methods, and a non-equivalent control group experimental design, the investigation explored changes in personal self-efficacy and outcome expectancy among teachers engaged in PLCs that featured Demonstration Laboratories, Lesson Study, and annual Summer Institutes. Significant changes favoring the experimental group were found on all quantitative measures of self-efficacy. Structured clinical interviews revealed that observed changes were largely attributable to a wide range of direct (mastery) and vicarious experiences, as well as emotional reinforcement and social persuasion.

  17. Preparing educators for problem-based and community-based curricula: a student's experiences.

    PubMed

    Dana, N

    1997-03-01

    The Department of Nursing at the University of Natal Durban (UND) introduced a one year Masters Degree in Progressive Education for Health Professionals in 1996, the aim of which is to prepare educators of health professionals to understand better innovative methods of teaching, learning and more specifically problem-based learning (PBL) and community-based education (CBE). The author of this paper is a registered nurse and this paper focuses on her experiences as a student in this programme. Most of the experiences gained are related to the use of a Personal and Academic Development Portfolio, which covered activities from both her own classes and those related to facilitation of basic student's learning.

  18. The eLIDA CAMEL Nomadic Model of Collaborative Partnership for a Community of Practice in Design for Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jameson, Jill

    2008-01-01

    A nomadic collaborative partnership model for a community of practice (CoP) in Design for Learning (D4L) can facilitate successful innovation and continuing appraisals of effective professional practice, stimulated by a "critical friend" assigned to the project. This paper reports on e-learning case studies collected by the UK JISC eLIDA…

  19. Redefining "Community" through Collaboration and Co-Teaching: A Case Study of an ESOL Specialist, a Literacy Specialist, and a Fifth-Grade Teacher

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ahmed Hersi, Afra; Horan, Deborah A.; Lewis, Mark A.

    2016-01-01

    This article explores the development of a professional learning community through a case study of three teachers--an ESOL specialist, a literacy specialist, and a fifth-grade teacher--who engaged in co-teaching and collaboration. The emerging community of practice offered these teachers a space to learn and problem-solve by utilizing their…

  20. Knowledge Contribution in a Non-Formal Virtual Setting through a Social Constructionist Approach: A Case Study of an Online Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moses, Myra Gail

    2012-01-01

    This study explored an online learning community in a non-formal educational setting and the process participants used in order to share, create, and construct knowledge through their interactions in the online community. Participants in the study were college interns who were part of a grant that focused on providing professional development for…

  1. Increasing Bellevue School District's elementary teachers' capacity for teaching inquiry-based science: Using ideas from contemporary learning theory to inform professional development

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maury, Tracy Anne

    This Capstone project examined how leaders in the Bellevue School District can increase elementary teachers' capacity for teaching inquiry-based science through the use of professional learning activities that are grounded in ideas from human learning theory. A framework for professional development was constructed and from that framework, a set of professional learning activities were developed as a means to support teacher learning while project participants piloted new curriculum called the Isopod Habitat Challenge. Teachers in the project increased their understanding of the learning theory principles of preconceptions and metacognition. Teachers did not increase their understanding of the principle of learning with understanding, although they did articulate the significance of engaging children in student-led inquiry cycles. Data from the curriculum revision and professional development project coupled with ideas from learning theory, cognition and policy implementation, and learning community literatures suggest Bellevue's leaders can encourage peer-to-peer interaction, link professional development to teachers' daily practice, and capitalize on technology as ways to increase elementary teachers' capacity for teaching inquiry-based science. These lessons also have significance for supporting teacher learning and efficacy in other subject areas and at other levels in the system.

  2. Strategies for Employee Learning in Professional Service Firms: A Study of Community Pharmacies in Australia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kotey, Bernice; Saini, Bandana; While, Lesley

    2011-01-01

    The study investigated employee learning strategies in community pharmacies in Australia and the factors that explain differences among pharmacies in the strategies employed. A qualitative methodology was applied, involving semi-structured interviews with owners, managers, or senior employees of 12 pharmacies. The findings revealed learning…

  3. "The Teacher Education Conversation": A Network of Cooperating Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nielsen, Wendy S.; Triggs, Valerie; Clarke, Anthony; Collins, John

    2010-01-01

    This study investigated a professional learning community of cooperating teachers and university-based teacher educators. To examine our roles and perspectives as colleagues in teacher education, we drew on frameworks in teacher learning and complexity science. Monthly group meetings of this inquiry community were held over two school years in a…

  4. Reflections on the Uses of the Academic Journal in Socialization of the New Scholar

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Syed, Syraj; Poston-Escue, Carlee

    2009-01-01

    The benefits of developing learning communities or communities of practice to optimize the learning experiences of education professionals has been well documented in the recent research literature. Less consideration has been made for the development of academic scholars. This essay considers an existing paradigm within the academy, the academic…

  5. "Our Door Is Always Open": Aligning Literacy Learning Practices in Writing Programs and Residential Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Voss, Julia

    2016-01-01

    Writing studies has considered college students' literacy development as a chronological progression and as influenced by their off-campus connections to various cultural and professional communities. This project considers students' literacy development across disciplines and university activity systems in which they're simultaneously involved to…

  6. Learning Resource Services in the Community College: On the Road to the Emerald City.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hisle, W. Lee

    1989-01-01

    Summarizes the history and growth of learning resources services (LRS) programs at community colleges. Challenges for the future are identified as focus, instructional involvement, adapting to technology, service to nontraditional students, and professional commitment. It is argued that, although the LRS concept is widely accepted, these…

  7. Join the Flock!

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ferguson, Hadley

    2010-01-01

    A professional learning network (PLN) is a community of individuals around the world who are learning together. They can start out as strangers, people one couldn't pick out in a crowded room. But Twitter, the virtual meeting place where one's PLN comes together, helps these strangers come together to create a community built on communication and…

  8. Emergence of a Learning Community: A Transforming Experience at the Boundaries

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Raia, Federica

    2013-01-01

    I narrate a process of transformation, a professional and personal journey framed by an experience that captured my attention shaping my interpretation and reflections. From a critical complexity framework I discuss the emergence of a learning community from the cooperation among individuals of diverse social and cultural worlds sharing the need…

  9. Teacher Empowerment through Engagement in a Learning Community in Ireland: Working across Disadvantaged Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tannehill, Deborah; MacPhail, Ann

    2017-01-01

    This ongoing longitudinal study examined the professional development of physical education teachers in an Irish physical education learning community where all teachers worked in inner-city disadvantaged schools. This research is framed within teacher empowerment. Four years of data collection included in-service seminar/workshop evaluations,…

  10. Supporting Teachers' Professional Learning at a Distance: A Model for Change in At-Risk Contexts

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Warren, Elizabeth A.; Quine, Janine; DeVries, Eva

    2012-01-01

    This paper examines the effectiveness of a professional learning model developed to support early years teachers in rural and remote communities in Queensland as they began to implement the Australian Curriculum in Mathematics. The data are drawn from 35 teachers at the initial stage of a large, four year longitudinal study RoleM (Representations,…

  11. Closing the Professional Development, Learning Outcome and Budget Proposal Gap at a Two-Year Eduational Institution: An Action Research Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mason, Eric L.

    2014-01-01

    Two-year community colleges are commissioned to close the assessment-outcome loop, which includes the research site for this study. This action research study, which utilized quantitative and qualitative data sets, was designed to close the assessments, learning outcomes and the professional development budget proposal process gap. The developed…

  12. Blending Together, Step by Step: Principal Uses Professional Learning to Combine Two School Cultures into One

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martin, Linda E.; Shafer, Tracy; Kragler, Sherry

    2009-01-01

    There is no denying that combining two schools, or even opening a new school, is loaded with challenges and frustrations as well as high expectations. Principal Tracy Shafer saw a rural school consolidation as an opportunity to use professional development to create a community focused on student learning, meeting the need for high-quality…

  13. Supporting Collaborative and Continuing Professional Development in Education for Sustainability through a Communities of Practice Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Warr Pedersen, Kristin

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to consider an expanded vision of professional development for embedding education for sustainability (EfS) in a higher education institution. Through an exploration of a community of practice at the University of Tasmania, this paper examines how collaborative peer learning can sustain and promote continued…

  14. Effect of Faculty Member's Use of Twitter as Informal Professional Development during a Preservice Teacher Internship

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mills, Michael

    2014-01-01

    Educators have increasingly turned to Twitter as a means for receiving professional development and building and sustaining professional learning communities. This paper reports the results of a study of 82 undergraduate preservice teachers and their attitudes regarding Twitter as a medium for informal professional development support during their…

  15. Professional Development for Teachers of English Language Learners: Discursive Norms, Learning Processes, and Professional Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Molle, Daniella

    2010-01-01

    The lack of empirical scholarship on professional development initiatives for teachers of English language learners (ELLs) in US schools has been repeatedly documented in educational research. The present dissertation project examines a professional development course specifically designed for K-12 teachers of ELLs. The course aims to foster the…

  16. Building the Reflective Capacity of Practicing Principals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rich, Robert A.; Jackson, Sherion H.

    2006-01-01

    Reflection is often used as a professional development tool in coaching and mentoring leaders. Outside of education, research is underway to learn how managers can develop as learning facilitators in the workplace. However, the current focus on learning communities and learning organizations within education makes reflective thinking particularly…

  17. Modules as Learning Tools in Linear Algebra

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cooley, Laurel; Vidakovic, Draga; Martin, William O.; Dexter, Scott; Suzuki, Jeff; Loch, Sergio

    2014-01-01

    This paper reports on the experience of STEM and mathematics faculty at four different institutions working collaboratively to integrate learning theory with curriculum development in a core undergraduate linear algebra context. The faculty formed a Professional Learning Community (PLC) with a focus on learning theories in mathematics and…

  18. A Faculty Driven Teaching & Learning Center: The Evolution of a Professional Development Venture.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sablan, Helen

    Tacoma Community College (TCC), in Washington, has implemented a comprehensive professional development program to serve the training and development needs of its employees. Program goals include promoting student success through curriculum review and teaching development, increasing opportunities for professional development, building a positive…

  19. Collaboration and Self-Regulation in Teachers' Professional Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Butler, Deborah L.; Lauscher, Helen Novak; Jarvis-Selinger, Sandra; Beckingham, Beverly

    2004-01-01

    This paper describes a professional development model with promise for supporting meaningful shifts in practice. We begin by introducing the theoretical principles underlying our professional development model, with a focus on explicating the interface between collaborative inquiry in a learning community (Lave, 1991, In L.B. Resnick, J.M. Levine,…

  20. Leadership and the Professional Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gaspar, Sandra

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to describe the transformation of one small, rural school district's professional development program. The study focused on the actions that school leaders took to replace a traditional, workshop-based program that was deemed ineffective with a new professional development model. The new model was designed to create…

  1. Teachers' Perceived Values on the Effect of Literacy Strategy Professional Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mundy, Marie-Anne; Howe, Mary E.; Kupczynski, Lori

    2015-01-01

    This study examined 299 Louisiana teachers from three school districts regarding their perceptions of the value provided by specific types of professional development (PD) including professional learning communities (PLC), demonstration lessons, and in-service as well as graduate hours in reading/literacy on implementation (frequency of use),…

  2. Community-Academic Partnerships: Developing a Service-Learning Framework.

    PubMed

    Voss, Heather C; Mathews, Launa Rae; Fossen, Traci; Scott, Ginger; Schaefer, Michele

    2015-01-01

    Academic partnerships with hospitals and health care agencies for authentic clinical learning have become a major focus of schools of nursing and professional nursing organizations. Formal academic partnerships in community settings are less common despite evolving models of care delivery outside of inpatient settings. Community-Academic partnerships are commonly developed as a means to engage nursing students in service-learning experiences with an emphasis on student outcomes. The benefit of service-learning projects on community partners and populations receiving the service is largely unknown primarily due to the lack of structure for identifying and measuring outcomes specific to service-learning. Nursing students and their faculty engaged in service-learning have a unique opportunity to collaborate with community partners to evaluate benefits of service-learning projects on those receiving the service. This article describes the development of a service-learning framework as a first step toward successful measurement of the benefits of undergraduate nursing students' service-learning projects on community agencies and the people they serve through a collaborative community-academic partnership. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Learning to reason: a journey of professional socialisation.

    PubMed

    Ajjawi, Rola; Higgs, Joy

    2008-05-01

    One of the key attributes that health professional students and new graduates develop during professional socialisation is clinical reasoning ability. Clinical reasoning is a complex skill that is essential for professional practice. There is limited research specifically addressing how physiotherapists learn to reason in the workplace. The research reported in this paper addressed this gap by investigating how experienced physiotherapists learned to reason in daily practice. This learning journey was examined in the context of professional socialisation. A hermeneutic phenomenological research study was conducted using multiple methods of data collection including observation, written reflective exercises and repeated, semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using phenomenological and hermeneutic strategies involving in-depth, iterative reading and interpretation to identify themes in the data. Twelve physiotherapists with clinical and supervisory experience were recruited from the areas of cardiopulmonary, musculoskeletal and neurological physiotherapy to participate in this study. Participants' learning journeys were diverse, although certain episodes of learning were common or similar. Role models, mentors and colleagues were found to be influential in the development of reasoning. An important implication for the professional socialisation of physiotherapists and other health professionals and for those involved in practice development is the need to recognise and enhance the role of practice communities in the explicit learning of clinical reasoning skills.

  4. Virtual Learning Ecosystems: A Proposed Framework for Integrating Educational Games, E-Learning Methods, and Virtual Community Platforms

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Washington, Christopher

    2015-01-01

    Digitally delivered learning shows the promise of enhancing learner motivation and engagement, advancing critical thinking skills, encouraging reflection and knowledge sharing, and improving professional self-efficacy. Digital learning objects take many forms including interactive media, apps and games, video and other e-learning activities and…

  5. Knowledge of Mental Capacity Issues in Community Teams for Adults with Learning Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Willner, Paul; Jenkins, Rosemary; Rees, Paul; Griffiths, Vanessa J.; John, Elinor

    2011-01-01

    Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the state of knowledge of mental capacity issues among health and social services professionals working in community teams supporting people with learning disabilities. Methods A structured interview was constructed around three scenarios, based on actual cases, concerning a financial/legal issue,…

  6. Teacher Teams That Get Results: 61 Strategies for Sustaining and Renewing Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gregory, Gayle H.; Kuzmich, Lin

    2007-01-01

    Sustaining results-oriented team efforts is hard work, and achieving diversified solutions to complex issues over time requires commitment an creativity. To support the momentum of learning communities, this book provides an illustrated collection of ready-to-use tools and examples of plans in action for results-oriented faculty and staff.…

  7. Lifelong Learning and Teacher Development. Estonian Studies in Education. Volume 4

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mikk, Jaan, Ed.; Veisson, Marika, Ed.; Luik, Piret, Ed.

    2012-01-01

    The papers in this collection contribute to the understanding of several aspects of lifelong learning. Two papers highlight the characteristics of reflection among teachers including self-evaluation and blogging. Two other papers study cooperation in lifelong learning--one, the impact of communities on professional learning among university…

  8. School Leadership for Learning: Insights from TALIS 2013

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    OECD Publishing, 2016

    2016-01-01

    The OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) is the largest international survey of teachers and school leaders. Using the TALIS database, this report looks at different approaches to school leadership and the impact of school leadership on professional learning communities and on the learning climate in individual schools. It looks…

  9. Hypothesis: the hospital learning environment impedes students' acquisition of reflectivity and medical professionalism.

    PubMed

    Benbassat, Jochanan

    2018-02-24

    Undergraduate clinical education follows the "bedside" tradition that exposes students to inpatients. However, the hospital learning environment has two main limitations. First, most inpatients require acute care, and students may complete their training without seeing patients with frequent non-emergent and chronic diseases that are managed in outpatient settings. Second, students rarely cope with diagnostic problems, because most inpatients are diagnosed in the community or the emergency room. These limitations have led some medical schools to offer longitudinal integrated clerkships in community settings instead of hospital block clerkship rotations. In this paper, I propose the hypothesis that the hospital learning environment has a third limitation: it causes students' distress and delays their development of reflectivity and medical professionalism. This hypothesis is supported by evidence that (a) the clinical learning environment, rather than students' personality traits, is the major driver of students' distress, and (b) the development of attributes, such as moral reasoning, empathy, emotional intelligence and tolerance of uncertainty that are included in the definitions of both reflectivity and medical professionalism, is arrested during undergraduate medical training. Future research may test the proposed hypothesis by comparing students' development of these attributes during clerkships in hospital wards with that during longitudinal clerkships in community settings.

  10. Change Management in Dental Education: A Professional Learning Community.

    PubMed

    Palatta, Anthony M

    2018-06-01

    Professional learning communities (PLCs) are defined as "a group of people sharing and critically interrogating their practice in an ongoing, reflective, collaborative, inclusive, learning-oriented, growth-promoting way." PLCs have been found to be an effective change management strategy in business and education when confronted by rapid change. The American Dental Education Association's Commission on Change and Innovation in Dental Education new national program-ADEA CCI 2.0-includes the development of a PLC. By employing an "engage and learn" model PLC centered on continuous quality improvement and systems thinking, dental faculty can identify internal and external barriers to change that could lead to innovative solutions to complex issues. This article argues that a PLC is a viable change management strategy to counteract the effect of multiple external forces impacting dental education and thus to develop future-ready faculty.

  11. Tweet Me, Message Me, Like Me: Using Social Media to Facilitate Pedagogical Change within an Emerging Community of Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goodyear, Victoria A.; Casey, Ashley; Kirk, David

    2014-01-01

    While e-support has been positioned as a means, to overcome some of the time and financial constraints to professional learning, it has largely failed to act as a medium for professional learning in physical education. Consequently, this paper positions teachers prior interest with social media acts as a type of "leverage" for using…

  12. Community-based medical education: is success a result of meaningful personal learning experiences?

    PubMed

    Kelly, Len; Walters, Lucie; Rosenthal, David

    2014-01-01

    Community-based medical education (CBME) is the delivery of medical education in a specific social context. Learners become a part of social and medical communities where their learning occurs. Longitudinal integrated clerkships (LICs) are year-long community-based placements where the curriculum and clinical experience is typically delivered by primary care physicians. These programs have proven to be robust learning environments, where learners develop strong communication skills and excellent clinical reasoning. To date, no learning model has been offered to describe CBME. The characteristics of CBME are explored by the authors who suggest that the social and professional context provided in small communities enhances medical education. The authors postulate that meaningfulness is engendered by the authentic context, which develops over time. These relationships with preceptors, patients and the community provide meaningfulness, which in turn enhances learning. The authors develop a novel learning model. They propose that the context-rich environment of CBME allows for meaningful relationships and experiences for students and that such meaningfulness enhances learning.

  13. Advancing Professional Development Through a Community of Practice: the New England Network for Faculty Affairs.

    PubMed

    Power, Christine M; Thorndyke, Luanne E; Milner, Robert J; Lowney, Kathleen; Irvin, Charles G; Fonseca-Kelly, Zoe; Benjamin, Emelia J; Bhasin, Robina M; Connelly, Maureen T

    2018-01-01

    In an era of competing priorities, funding is increasingly restricted for offices of faculty affairs and development. Opportunities for professional staff to grow and network through attendance at national meetings and to share best practices are limited. We sought to describe a community of practice established to enhance the professional development of faculty affairs professionals and to document its impact. We outlined the process of formation of the New England Network for Faculty Affairs (NENFA), reviewed the pedagogical approaches to professional development, and surveyed members to evaluate the impact of NENFA on their activities, professional network and their institutions. After a successful 2011 initial meeting, NENFA created an organizing committee and conducted a needs assessment among potential members. NENFA's charter, mission, goals, and structure were based on survey results. NENFA's regional community of practice grew to 31 institutions and held 10 meetings over 5 years. Meetings have examined a faculty development topic in depth using multiple learning formats to engage participants from academic medical centers and allied professions. Results from a 2015 member survey confirmed the value of NENFA. Multiple members documented changes in practice as a result of participating. NENFA has been sustained by volunteer leadership, collaboration, and the value that the group has brought to its members. We propose that a "community of practice" offers an effective model for collaborative learning among individuals at different institutions within a competitive health care environment. We recommend that the approach be replicated in other regions.

  14. Science Professional Learning Communities: Beyond a singular view of teacher professional development

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jones, M. Gail; Gardner, Grant E.; Robertson, Laura; Robert, Sarah

    2013-07-01

    Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are frequently being used as a vehicle to transform science education. This study explored elementary teachers' perceptions about the impact of participating in a science PLC on their own professional development. With the use of The Science Professional Learning Communities Survey and a semi-structured interview protocol, elementary teachers' perceptions of the goals of science PLCs, the constraints and benefits of participation in PLCs, and reported differences in the impact of PLC participation on novice and experienced teachers were examined. Sixty-five elementary teachers who participated in a science PLC were surveyed about their experiences, and a subsample of 16 teachers was interviewed. Results showed that most of the teachers reported their science PLC emphasized sharing ideas with other teachers as well as working to improve students' science standardized test scores. Teachers noted that the PLCs had impacted their science assessment practices as well as their lesson planning. However, a majority of the participants reported a differential impact of PLCs depending on a teacher's level of experience. PLCs were reported as being more beneficial to new teachers than experienced teachers. The interview results demonstrated that there were often competing goals and in some cases a loss of autonomy in planning science lessons. A significant concern was the impact of problematic interpersonal relationships and communication styles on the group functioning. The role of the PLC in addressing issues related to obtaining science resources and enhancing science content knowledge for elementary science teachers is discussed.

  15. Mathematics Professional Development: Critical Features for Developing Leadership Skills and Building Teachers' Capacity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Koellner, Karen; Jacobs, Jennifer; Borko, Hilda

    2011-01-01

    This article focuses on three features of professional development (PD) programs that play an important role in developing leadership skills and building teachers' capacity: (1) fostering a professional learning community, (2) developing teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching, and (3) adapting PD to support local needs and interests. We…

  16. Conceptualising the Research-Practice-Professional Development Nexus: Mobilising Schools as "Research-Engaged" Professional Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dimmock, Clive

    2016-01-01

    This paper argues the need for coherent, holistic frameworks offering insightful understandings as well as viable, connected and synergistic solutions to schools in addressing pressing problems arising from the acknowledged gaps between research, practice and professional development. There is a need to conceptualise a comprehensive conceptual…

  17. Creating Stories to Live By: Caring and Professional Identity Formation in a Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Konkin, Jill; Suddards, Carol

    2012-01-01

    Building on other models of longitudinal integrated clerkships (LIC), the University of Alberta developed its Integrated Community Clerkship with guiding principles of continuity of care, preceptor and learning environment. Professionalism is an important theme in medical education. Caring is important in professional identity formation and an…

  18. Identifying and Supporting Productive Collaborative Teacher Talk

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Flarend, Alice M.

    As improvements and changes in science education are promulgated, science teachers must be educated about these changes. Professional development programs are central to promoting teacher learning. Although the field seems to have agreed upon large-scalepedagogical features of high quality professional development with an emphasis on building a collaborative community of learners, effective implementation of these features is still problematic. The connections between these collaborative features and actual teacher work during the professional development remain unclear. This qualitative discourse study investigated how teachers engaged in small group discussions use discourse to collaborate during a weeklong professional development program that employed these useful pedagogical features. Small group discussions among the forty-two participants, diverse in their demographics and teaching experiences, were video and audio recorded. A collaborative discourse framework is developed and applied to the discussions, successfully categorizing episodes of discourse according to their productive potential for learning. The structure of the PD activities is then investigated to determine characteristics encouraging to these productive learning conversations. The analysis in this study indicated requiring groups to come to a consensus helps groups dig deeper into the content, promoting a more productive negotiation of concepts. Building consensus around an artifact such as a graph strengthened the need for consensus and thereby strengthened the opportunities for productive conversation. In addition, professional development activities that target building and using specific language were also opportunities for productive learning talk, providing opportunities to negotiate the deep meaning of words and concepts rather then leaving them unexamined. When viewed through the lens of Wenger's Community of Practice (1998) these findings are ways of strengthening the community. Consensus strengthens the mutual accountability and the purposeful building of vocabulary strengthens the shared repertoire, as did having the consensus artifact.

  19. Leading a Community of Learners: Learning to Be Moral by Engaging the Morality of Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Starratt, Robert J.

    2007-01-01

    This article attempts to provide a foundational understanding of school learning as moral activity as well as intellectual activity. It first develops a distinction between general ethics and professional ethics, and provides an initial explanation of the moral good involved in learning. The moral good of learning is then connected to the…

  20. Principles of Design Energize Learning Communities: Practical Tips Put the Emphasis on "Learning"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Easton, Lois Brown

    2012-01-01

    Adult learning is essential in schools. Learning Forward's Scholar Laureate Shirley Hord observes, "The improvement of our schools seldom results from mandates. What has become very clear is that change (its adoption and implementation) cannot occur without the provision of ongoing and long-term learning for the professionals" (Hord, 2011, p. xv).…

  1. Mapping Physical Education Teachers' Professional Learning and Impacts on Pupil Learning in a Community of Practice in South Korea

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yoon, Keejoon; Armour, Kathleen M.

    2017-01-01

    Background: A new national physical education (PE) curriculum has been developed in South Korea and PE teachers have been challenged to deliver new transferable educational outcomes in character development through PE. In one geographical area, in order to support teachers to make required changes, a Communities of Practice (CoP) approach to…

  2. Lessons Learned from the Arizona Galileoscope Star Party Program

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pompea, Stephen M.; Sparks, R. T.; Dugan, C.; Walker, C. E.

    2013-01-01

    The National Optical Astronomy Observatory has joined together multiple audiences in various communities to conduct outreach using Galileoscopes. The audience consists of 5th grade students and teachers, their families and friends, and anyone else who wants to attend a special star party led by students using Galileoscopes. However, across one community there are many subcultures that one should be responsive to in the program design. The program model, which has been independently evaluated, combines professional development and classroom visits by NOAO education practitioners with the goal of a community star party. We have conducted the program in several mid-sized Arizona cities after an initial prototype star party held near the state capitol building in Phoenix. In this program, with Galileoscopes purchased with funding from Science Foundation Arizona, we have now held Galileoscope star parties in Flagstaff, Safford, and Globe, with two programs in Yuma, Arizona. We will discuss planning efforts, professional development plans and lessons learned, and specific logistical issues that have arisen in the program. Although the professional development component for teachers is rather traditional, the overall lessons learned are applicable to many astronomy programs for non-traditional audiences.

  3. Reaching All Learners: A Study of Teacher's Perspectives about Cooperative Learning and Students Diagnosed with ADHD

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Garcia, Maria M.

    2013-01-01

    This study focused on describing teachers' perspectives in reference to cooperative learning, students diagnosed with ADHD, and teacher participation in professional learning communities (PLCs). A quantitative methodology, survey study method was used to collect information. The literature review on ADHD and Cooperative Learning helped…

  4. Reframing Service-Learning as Learning and Participation with Urban Youth

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kinloch, Valerie; Nemeth, Emily; Patterson, Ashley

    2015-01-01

    This article describes a critical service-learning project that resulted from an educational partnership among a national teachers' union, a local teachers' union, and a major research university. The partnership-funded by a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service, Learn and Serve program--focused on professional development…

  5. Collaborative innovations with rural and regional secondary teachers: enhancing student learning in mathematics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pegg, John; Panizzon, Debra

    2011-06-01

    When questioned, secondary mathematics teachers in rural and regional schools in Australia refer to their limited opportunities to engage and share experiences with peers in other schools as an under-utilised and cost-effective mechanism to support their professional learning and enhance their students' learning. The paper reports on the creation and evaluation of a network of learning communities of rural secondary mathematics teachers around a common purpose—enhancement and increased engagement of student learning in mathematics. To achieve this goal, teams of teachers from six rural schools identified an issue hindering improved student learning of mathematics in their school. Working collaboratively with support from university personnel with expertise in curriculum, assessment and quality pedagogy, teachers developed and implemented strategies to address an identified issue in ways that were relevant to their teaching contexts. The research study identifies issues in mathematics of major concern to rural teachers of mathematics, the successes and challenges the teachers faced in working in learning communities on the issue they identified, and the efficacy of the professional learning model.

  6. The Role of University Science Faculty in Promoting Meaningful Educational Change Through Inservice Teacher Professional Development

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schuster, D. A.

    2005-12-01

    The role of university faculty in promoting meaningful educational change through inservice teacher professional development has long been theorized, but seldom modeled. Cordial relations and clear mutual goals shared between discipline specialists, such as university scientists and the K - 12 staff development communities, have not existed, and dysfunctional relationships between K-12 schools and the university over the past century have inhibited the solidification of these meaningful professional development partnerships. Our research suggest that inservice teachers tend to learn more about scientific processes in settings where they have the opportunity to interact and engage in an environment where opportunities for learning are promoted by participation and work with professionals in the sciences: University scientists that fostered collaborative flexible environments and treated teachers as professionals appear to have had greater impacts on teachers' learning about the creative, imaginative, social, and cultural aspect of science than the university scientists who treated teachers as technicians. Our work challenges many of the seminal studies and in-depth literature reviews of the last 15 years that assert that an explicit/reflective approach is most effective in promoting adequate conceptions of science among both prospective and practicing teachers. It should be noted, however, that all of these previous studies were conducted in the context of preservice elementary and secondary science methods courses and the process of generalizing these findings to practicing teachers appears to have occurred only in literature reviews and is not clearly substantiated in published research reports. Our study recommends that science teacher professional development should involve initiating inservice teachers into the ideas and practices of the scientific community. Teaching is a learning profession and professional development contexts need to assign teachers a certain amount of responsibility for their own learning. The work of science teaching cannot be accomplished without teacher learning, and teachers of science learn about scientific communities when scientists invite them to engage in the context of scientific practice. Unfortunately, numerous state and federal policies do not support science teachers as they seek to achieve these ends. Many of these policies push schools and universities to design professional development offerings that attempt to generate social capital in order to improve the school as an organization and do not the enrich the individual science teacher. However, these systems of professional development do not acknowledge that scientific knowledge is rapidly changing and K - 12 science teachers and curricula require continual renewal if they are to be accessible and relevant to students' lives. The university is uniquely situated to provide contexts through which inservice teachers can realize the "social and cultural embeddedness of scientific knowledge" (Lederman et. al., 2002).

  7. Growing PreK-12 Educators through a Partnership of School Districts and a Regional University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Russell, Brenda A.; Kirk, Jeffrey L.; Eddings, Bobbie J.; Farris, L. Ann

    2013-01-01

    In central Texas and regions across the country, community leaders are calling for university-community engagement, including development of structures for community-based research and service learning. Including the community in decision making regarding continuing professional education serves as a link between universities such as Texas A&M…

  8. Moving Beyond Motive-based categories of Targeted Violence

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Weine, Stevan; Cohen, John; Brannegan, David

    Today’s categories for responding to targeted violence are motive-based and tend to drive policies, practices, training, media coverage, and research. These categories are based on the assumption that there are significant differences between ideological and non-ideological actors and between domestic and international actors. We question the reliance on these categories and offer an alternative way to frame the response to multiple forms of targeted violence. We propose adopting a community-based multidisciplinary approach to assess risk and provide interventions that are focused on the pre-criminal space. We describe four capabilities that should be implemented locally by establishing and maintaining multidisciplinary responsemore » teams that combine community and law-enforcement components: (1) community members are educated, making them better able to identify and report patterns associated with elevated risk for violence; (2) community-based professionals are trained to assess the risks for violent behavior posed by individuals; (3) community-based professionals learn to implement strategies that directly intervene in causal factors for those individuals who are at elevated risk; and (4) community-based professionals learn to monitor and assess an individual’s risk for violent behaviors on an ongoing basis. Community-based multidisciplinary response teams have the potential to identify and help persons in the pre-criminal space and to reduce barriers that have traditionally impeded community/law-enforcement collaboration.« less

  9. A new inter-professional course preparing learners for life in rural communities.

    PubMed

    Medves, Jennifer; Paterson, Margo; Chapman, Christine Y; Young, John H; Tata, Elizabeth; Bowes, Denise; Hobbs, Neil; McAndrews, Brian; O'Riordan, Anne

    2008-01-01

    The 'Professionals in Rural Practice' course was developed with the aim of preparing students enrolled in professional programs in Canada to become better equipped for the possible eventuality of professional work in a rural setting. To match the reality of living and working in a rural community, which by nature is interprofessional, the course designers were an interprofessional teaching team. In order to promote group cohesiveness the course included the participation of an interprofessional group of students and instructors from the disciplines of medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, teacher education, and theology. The format of the course included three-hour classes over an eight-week period and a two-day field experience in a rural community. The course utilized various experiential and interactive teaching and learning methods, along with a variety of assessment methods. Data were collected from student participants over two iterations of the course using a mixed methods approach. Results demonstrate that students value the interprofessional and experiential approach to learning and viewed this course as indispensable for gaining knowledge of other professions and preparation for rural practice. The data reveal important organizational and pedagogical considerations specific to interprofessional education, community based action research, and the unique interprofessional nature of training for life and work in a rural community. This study also indicates the potential value of further longitudinal study of participants in this course. Key words: Canada, community based action research, education, interdisciplinary, interprofessional.

  10. The new and improved learning community at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine resembles that at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

    PubMed

    Stewart, Rosalyn W; Barker, Allison R; Shochet, Robert B; Wright, Scott M

    2007-05-01

    In July 2005, a learning community was created at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) to foster camaraderie, networking, advising, mentoring, professionalism, clinical skills, and scholarship--The Colleges. The cultural and structural changes that emerged with the creation of this program have resulted in JHUSOM bearing a resemblance to J. K. Rowling's fictional Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This manuscript will describe the similarities between these two revered schools, and highlight the innovations and improvements made to JHUSOM's learning environment. The intense, stressful, and lengthy professional training required to achieve competency in the practice of medicine and in the practice of witchcraft (albeit fictional) have meaningful parallels. The supportive learning environment at these two schools should afford the next generation of graduates to have an even more enriching experience than those who have come before them.

  11. Otitis Media, Learning and Community.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McSwan, David; Clinch, Emma; Store, Ron

    2001-01-01

    A 3-year research project in Queensland (Australia) implemented educational and health strategies to ameliorate effects of otitis media at three schools in remote Aboriginal communities. The interdisciplinary model brought together health and education professionals, teacher aides, and the community, with the school being the lead agency. However,…

  12. Instruction Guide and Macro Analysis Tool for Community-led Air Monitoring

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    EPA has developed two tools for evaluating the performance of low-cost sensors and interpreting the data they collect to help citizen scientists, communities, and professionals interested in learning about local air quality.

  13. Building Community: Learning from Urban Studies.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Singson, Jamie

    2003-01-01

    Asserts that union professionals and urban planners share the overlying goal of building community, and that the theories of William H. Whyte, an urban researcher, have application in thinking about space and facilitating interaction on today's college campuses. (EV)

  14. Informal teacher communities enhancing the professional development of medical teachers: a qualitative study.

    PubMed

    van Lankveld, Thea; Schoonenboom, Judith; Kusurkar, Rashmi; Beishuizen, Jos; Croiset, Gerda; Volman, Monique

    2016-04-14

    Informal peer learning is a particularly powerful form of learning for medical teachers, although it does not always occur automatically in the departments of medical schools. In this article, the authors explore the role of teacher communities in enhancing informal peer learning among undergraduate medical teachers. Teacher communities are groups of teachers who voluntarily gather on a regular basis to develop and share knowledge. Outside of medical education, these informal teacher communities have proved to be an effective means of enhancing peer learning of academic teachers. The processes underlying this outcome are, however, not known. This study therefore aims to explore the processes that make informal teacher communities effective in supporting peer learning of teachers. A qualitative study was performed at a Dutch medical school, where a student-centred undergraduate curriculum had recently been introduced. As part of this curriculum, tutors are segregated into separate specialty areas and thus have only limited opportunities for informal learning with other tutors. The authors followed two informal teacher communities aimed at supporting these tutors. They observed the interactions within the teacher communities and held semi-structured interviews with ten of the participants. The observation notes and interview data were analysed using thematic analysis. The informal teacher communities allowed the tutors to engage in a dialogue with colleagues and share questions, solutions, and interpretations. The teacher communities also provided opportunities to explicate tacit expertise, which helped the tutors to develop an idea of their role and form a frame of reference for their own experiences. Furthermore, the communities enhanced the tutors' sense of belonging. The tutors felt more secure in their role and they felt valued by the organisation due to the teacher communities. This study shows that informal teacher communities not only support the professional development of tutors, but also validate and strengthen their identity as teachers. They seem to provide a dialogical space where informal intercollegiate learning is stimulated, stories are shared, tacit knowledge is made explicit, concerns are shared, and teacher identity is nurtured.

  15. Building an online community to promote communication and collaborative learning between health professionals and young people who self-harm: an exploratory study.

    PubMed

    Owens, Christabel; Sharkey, Siobhan; Smithson, Janet; Hewis, Elaine; Emmens, Tobit; Ford, Tamsin; Jones, Ray

    2015-02-01

    Online communities are known to break down barriers between supposed experts and non-experts and to promote collaborative learning and 'radical trust' among members. Young people who self-harm report difficulties in communicating with health professionals, and vice versa. We sought to bring these two groups together online to see how well they could communicate with each other about self-harm and its management, and whether they could agree on what constituted safe and relevant advice. We allocated 77 young people aged 16-25 with experience of self-harm and 18 recently/nearly qualified professionals in relevant health-care disciplines to three separate Internet discussion forums. The forums contained different proportions of professionals to young people (none; 25%; 50% respectively) to allow us to observe the effect of the professionals on online interaction. The young people were keen to share their lived experience of self-harm and its management with health professionals. They engaged in lively discussion and supported one another during emotional crises. Despite registering to take part, health professionals did not actively participate in the forums. Reported barriers included lack of confidence and concerns relating to workload, private-professional boundaries, role clarity, duty of care and accountability. In their absence, the young people built a vibrant lay community, supported by site moderators. Health professionals may not yet be ready to engage with young people who self-harm and to exchange knowledge and experience in an anonymous online setting. Further work is needed to understand and overcome their insecurities. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Adapting to Large-Scale Changes in Advanced Placement Biology, Chemistry, and Physics: The Impact of Online Teacher Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Frumin, Kim; Dede, Chris; Fischer, Christian; Foster, Brandon; Lawrenz, Frances; Eisenkraft, Arthur; Fishman, Barry; Jurist Levy, Abigail; McCoy, Ayana

    2018-01-01

    Over the past decade, the field of teacher professional learning has coalesced around core characteristics of high quality professional development experiences (e.g. Borko, Jacobs, & Koellner, 2010. Contemporary approaches to teacher professional development. In P. L. Peterson, E. Baker, & B. McGaw (Eds.), "International encyclopedia…

  17. Using Professional Development to Achieve Classroom Reform and Science Proficiency: An Urban Success Story from Southern Nevada, USA

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crippen, Kent J.; Biesinger, Kevin D.; Ebert, Ellen K.

    2010-01-01

    This paper provides a detailed description and evaluation of a three-year professional development project in a large urban setting in the southwestern United States. The impetus for the project was curriculum development focused on integrated scientific inquiry. Project goals included the development of a professional learning community, reformed…

  18. Universities, Schools, and Communities: A New Generation of Professional Development School Roles, Structures, and Governance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Basile, Carole G.; Gutierrez, Cindy

    2011-01-01

    What differentiates the professional development school (PDS) from other schools are the people and the roles they have created to enact the functions or goals unique to the PDS model: preparation of teacher candidates; enhanced professional learning for educators; improved student achievement through the simultaneous renewal of university and…

  19. Digital Revolution or Digital Divide: Will Rural Teachers Get a Piece of the Professional Development Pie?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Broadley, Tania

    2010-01-01

    In order to sustain the rural education community, access to high quality professional development opportunities must become a priority. Teachers in rural areas face many challenges in order to access professional learning equitable to their city counterparts. In the current climate, the Federal government of Australia is committed to initiatives…

  20. A Multi-Year Study of the Impact of the Rice Model Teacher Professional Development on Elementary Science Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Diaconu, Dana Viorica; Radigan, Judy; Suskavcevic, Milijana; Nichol, Carolyn

    2012-01-01

    A teacher professional development program for in-service elementary school science teachers, the Rice Elementary Model Science Lab (REMSL), was developed for urban school districts serving predominately high-poverty, high-minority students. Teachers with diverse skills and science capacities came together in Professional Learning Communities, one…

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