Abstract
In recent decades there has been increasing interest in identifying the critical features of effective professional learning communities (PLCs). This identification is useful for evaluating the quality of a PLC, but not for building one. This study aims at describing a conceptual model for developing a new PLC, illustrating its application with an example. The model is explained in terms of four constitutive elements (PARTICIPANTS, OBJECTIVES, MEDIATORS, and MECHANISM), and their interactive relations. The development of a PLC of foreign language teachers (PLC-FLTs) at Beijing Foreign Studies University is used to illustrate how the model can function successfully. The illustration is coupled with a discussion of the PLC’s decades of experience in collective leadership, management of the four elements, and tips for tackling various challenges in keeping the PLC going.
Highlights
We aim to present a model for developing a new professional learning communities (PLCs) and demonstrate how the model was applied to the building of the PLC-FLTs in higher education (HE) as an illustrative example
The productive and collaborative research carried out by the PLC-FLTs members generally indicates that our model is applicable and effective
We suggest that the four elements (PARTICIPANTS, OBJECTIVES, MEDIATORS, and MECHANISM) should be strategically managed for a number of reasons
Summary
2. The model for building a new PLC. 3. An illustration of how to build and sustain a PLC-FLTs. 3.1. Phase I: Choosing a topic and drafting the manuscript. Phase II: Discussing and revising the manuscript. Over the last three decades the notion of professional learning communities (PLCs) has drawn increasing attention from educational researchers since its introduction by DuFour and Eaker (1998). It is widely assumed that PLCs can make significant contributions to professional development, teaching effectiveness and student learning (Bolam et al 2005; Vangrieken et al 2017; Huijboom et al 2020). Much less is known about the presence of CLAC 84: 1-12.
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