Professional Learning Community Model Research Articles

Incremental Growth through Professional Learning Communities of Math Teachers Engaged in Action Research Projects

This study investigates the experiences of a professional learning community (PLC) composed of six secondary math teachers enrolled in a graduate math methods course. Through the discussion of educational texts and collaborative inquiry, the teachers identified classroom challenges they aimed to address through individual action research projects. The PLC provided a supportive environment for teachers to share their processes, receive peer feedback, and collectively reflect. This study underscores the value of action research and PLCs in driving educational improvement. By engaging in structured inquiry within a collaborative setting, teachers gained insights into pedagogical issues, developed targeted incremental interventions, and contributed to the broader discourse on math education pedagogy. The collaborative PLC model facilitated reflective practice, challenged assumptions, and empowered teachers as agents of change. Implications for teacher professional development, instructional practices, and future research directions are discussed.

Professional Learning Community

This study aims to analyze the impact of the Professional Learning Community (PLC) on the quality of learning in Nusantara Capital Buffer Schools (IKN). A mixed-method approach, combining qualitative and quantitative elements, was employed to understand the phenomenon comprehensively. The results indicate a significant improvement in learning outcomes, as evidenced by the increase in the average post-test score (70) compared to the pre-test score (48.75). The PLC program provided a platform for teachers to collaborate, share insights, and develop effective strategies to address learning challenges. Furthermore, implementing the PLC fostered a more supportive school environment, making students feel more comfortable and engaged. The findings underscore the importance of enhancing and expanding PLC initiatives to improve students' academic and non-academic achievements. Practically, these results suggest that the PLC model can be a valuable tool for teacher development and improved student outcomes. Academically, this study contributes to the growing literature on collaborative learning environments and their role in enhancing educational quality.

Dialogic reading in an early childhood education setting: ECEs’ learning in the context of a community of practice model

ABSTRACT The professional development (PD) of early childhood educators (ECEs) is key to childcare quality. The Professional Learning Community (PLC) model has been well-researched in K-12 settings and is found to have advantages over traditional models of PD; thus, it holds promise for educators in other settings such as early childhood education centers. Indeed, there is an increasing call for the implementation of this model in ECE settings. Some research has found that supporting ECEs’ professional learning (PL) through PLC development is a promising approach; nonetheless, PLCs remain under-researched in early childhood contexts, and findings are less conclusive. The current study examined the potential of PLC development for supporting learning about Dialogic Reading (DR) – a topic of interest to ECEs. In the current study, ECEs in one Canadian context participated in an online project in which they concurrently learned about the PLC model and DR. Our research, including ECEs’ written reflections, and video data of the ECE-child storybook reading, yielded novel findings. These findings suggest that ECEs learned to employ the specific techniques of dialogic reading for engaging children and enriching the dialogic interactions during storybook reading, while also learning to enact processes associated with a PLC model. The ECEs attributed several features of the PLC model to deepening their DR learning. These findings and their implications for practice and future research are further considered.

“Take a Deep Breath and Re-Center the Student's Perspective”: Partnering Instructors and Disabled Students for Accessible Teaching

Background Because accessible and anti-ableist teaching is rarely prioritized in instructional development programs, a new initiative was developed at a large, public university. Launched in January 2022, it piloted strategies for shifting instructors’ mindsets about and pedagogical approaches to accessibility. Using a professional learning community model, disabled students served as course consultants to instructors, working closely together in a semester-long partnership. Objective The purpose of this study was to research the program's effects on the participating instructors. Method Multiple raters coded qualitative data collected over a period of five months from meeting notes spanning 30 instructor–student partnership meetings, four all-team meetings, two student focus groups, three instructor focus groups, and six online discussion boards. Results The results showed the mindset shifts and teaching strategies that emerged through this semester-long initiative. They also revealed the program elements that had the greatest impact on instructors. Conclusion This study demonstrates the role that disabled students can play in helping instructors learn about accessibility and how learning community models support substantive changes in teaching. Teaching Implications The results of this study should help psychology teachers and departments improve their courses and engage in ongoing development to improve access and equity in their courses.

Innovating Teaching Practice Through Professional Learning Communities: Determining Knowledge Sharing and Program Value

The Professional Learning Community (PLC) model has been used to help faculty develop innovative teaching practices and diffuse effective strategies and resources throughout K-12 schools. Yet, whether and how PLCs influence research-focused higher education institutions remain unknown. Drawing on existing research on PLCs and the social network theory, this mixed-methods study investigated how participants shared what they learned during their time in the program to build greater capacity and the perceived benefits and weaknesses of the PLC model. We conducted semi-structured interviews ( n = 8) and a survey ( n = 77) among current PLC fellows and alumni at a large research university. The results based on social network analysis showed that PLC fellows shared knowledge and resources across departments and offices at the university, and these efforts led to additional collaborative research and grant applications. Results also indicate that PLC fellows valued the diversity of the program, developed skills that they used in their courses, gained confidence in their ability to share knowledge and resources, and appreciated the accountability the program provided. Furthermore, respondents rated the program positively and indicated that they were currently using the knowledge and skills gained to further develop innovative teaching practices as well as planning to continue to do so in the future. These findings suggest that the PLC model can be an effective way for universities to empower faculty to develop innovative teaching practices, and, by sharing what they have learned with others, to build capacity for innovative teaching and research practices across the institution.

The Positive Impacts of a Professional Learning Community Model on Student Achievement in Small Schools

The Positive Impacts of a Professional Learning Community Model on Student Achievement in Small Schools

Innovative Leadership Factors and Leader Characteristics that Affecting Professional Learning Community of Primary Schools in Bangkok and Its Vicinity

This research aimed to investigate the innovative leadership factors and leader characteristics of school administrators in affecting teachers’ involvement in the professional learning community of primary education schools in Bangkok and its vicinity of Thailand. Hence, the researcher would shed light on a linear structural relationship model to examine the impacts of innovative leadership factors and leader characteristics of primary school administrators on teachers’ involvement in the professional learning community. A quantitative approach survey design was employed in this research. A total of 840 respondents responded to questionnaires in a proportional of two teachers to one school administrator from 280 primary schools. The respondents participated in a survey utilizing a multi-stage sampling technique. The researcher planned to test whether the identified innovative leadership factors and leader characteristics are fitting with empirical data as the key research output. The findings indicated that there was a total of five innovative leadership factors and three leader characteristics in a professional learning community model. The linear structural relationship model was supported to the empirical data, with χ2 = 42.321, df = 31, χ2 /df = 1.3652, CFI = 0.998, TLI = 0.997, RMSEA = 0.021, and SRMR = 0.01, p = 0.0845. In conclusion, the linear structural relationship model for primary school administrators has a goodness of fit with the attained data. Finally, the findings of this research have successfully proposed a linear structural relationship model that would be guidelines for a primary school administrator to develop his capabilities to promote a professional learning community.

ENGLISH TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY IN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS STUDENTS: STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVE ON ITS’ IMPLEMENTATION

This study investigates the English teachers’ professional learnisg community from the students’ perspective on its implementation. It is done at some senior high schools in Bekasi. The design of this study was based on qualitative methods with a descriptive design. The data collection technique is done through a semi-structured interview technique. The selected study respondents were based on the purposive sampling technique. Through this technique, the respondents selected to be interviewed were the outstanding principals in senior high schools. The research instrument used was an interview based on the checklist found in Olivier and Hipp’s professional learning community model. The result of the study is that the professional learning community is very effective in school improvement practice and has a significant role in shaping teachers’ personal and collective ability and application. The development of a professional learning community through strengthening the practice of the main functions that are the backbone of the professional learning community, such as collective learning practices and applications, can be seen to improve teachers’ teaching practices and student learning activities which are basic practices in school improvement activities.

Purposeful Collaboration through Professional Learning Communities: Teacher Educators’ Challenges

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected the teaching practicum component of initial teacher education programmes in significant ways. School-based placement could not take place, but teacher educators still needed to ensure that the teaching practicum component complied with policy. The aim of this study is to indicate how work-integrated learning teacher educators created professional learning communities among an entire population of 7 041 student teachers enrolled for the Baccalaureus Educationis degree, the challenges they faced and how they managed these challenges. The professional learning community model of Hord (2009) was used as a conceptual framework for this study. In this qualitative multi-site case study, document analysis was the primary data collection method. Journals and WhatsApp messages kept by the two work-integrated learning teacher educators and the minutes of virtual work-integrated learning meetings were analysed using narrative and thematic analysis. The findings indicated four main challenges, namely constituting the professional learning communities and developing the alternative task, dealing with issues related to group demographics and diversity, connectivity, technology and collaborating in learning in a remote environment, and lastly, providing continuous feedback, support and guidance. Recommendations for future practice are discussed.

Bilingual Supports for Clinicians: Where Do We Go From Here?

Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify and define the support needs of bilingual speech-language pathologists working in one urban school district and to investigate the experiences of the clinicians engaged in a professional learning community (PLC) format within their public school system. Method Twenty-three bilingual speech-language pathologists met in a PLC over the course of 5 months, with a total of four sessions that were a mix of in person and virtual. The participants engaged in group discussions and activities alongside their peers to address self-identified areas of support and need. Additionally, initial and final focus group and exit slip data following the PLC were collected to inform the discussion topics of the PLC and gather final impressions. Constant comparative analysis was utilized to analyze focus group and exit slip data. Results When looking across the experiences of the clinicians in the district, the three themes that emerged from the data were systemic obstacles, professional obstacles, and supports. The three themes that emerged from the speech-language pathologists' experiences in the PLC included their positive experiences, the challenges with participation, and the positive outcomes from exposure to new techniques and earning platforms. Conclusion The findings of this study suggest that bilingual clinicians benefit from a PLC model when addressing specific areas of need.

Indigenous knowledge in field education – expanding Praxis

ABSTRACT Social work education faces the challenge of overcoming the dominance of teaching and learning approaches that originate in the global north. Both professional standards and ethical principles in Aotearoa New Zealand require social work educators to be informed about indigenous models of practice and utilise cultural perspectives in their work. This article reports one aspect of an exploratory qualitative research project that investigated the factors that influence how social workers engage in the teaching and learning process with students on practicum. The research involved 20 individual interviews and five focus groups with field educators from two academic institutions. Participants were aware of the importance of facilitating student learning about culturally informed practice and discussed creative ways they achieved this. Although participants suggested that field education is inherently informed by indigenous knowledge and values, applied thematic analysis indicated that Māori pedagogical models were not intentionally utilised. Limited management support, insufficient development time, and the marginalisation and isolation of field educators were highlighted as inhibiting the transformation of practice to address this gap. The article proposes a professional learning community model that has the potential to support field educators to develop their practice when these kinds of tensions and limitations are identified.

Exploring a Transformative Teacher Professional Development Model to Engender Technology Integration in the 21st Century ESL Language Classrooms

A 21st century teacher must communicate in the language and style of their students to ensure that their learning is meaningful. However, this is challenging, especially for teachers who are less familiar with using technology in teaching. To inspire a group of ESL ‘digital immigrant' teachers, a professional learning community (PLC) was set up. PLC consisted of both pre-service teachers (digital natives) and in-service teachers (digital immigrants). The two groups exchanged knowledge through a series of sharing sessions to demonstrate the technical aspects of technology, as well as to provide an understanding that technology has affordances and constraints. This case study investigates a group of in-service teachers who adopted the IDDIRR instructional design model (introduce, demonstrate, develop, implement, reflect, revise) to develop technology-based lessons for their ESL classrooms. The data for this study were collected through three main instruments: surveys, interviews and written reflections. The survey data was descriptively analysed using SPSS Version 24, while the reflection and interview data were assessed using thematic analysis. The findings suggest that the IDDIRR-TPACK + PLC model, along with a supportive PLC environment and the presence of more knowledgeable peers (MKO), helped enhance teachers' TPACK and inspired them to integrate more technology in their classrooms.

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

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.

Strategieë om die implementering van die Suid-Afrikaanse professionele leergemeenskapmodel te bevorder

The Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Training and Development in South Africa 2011–2025 requires that subject-related professional learning communities should be established widely between 2011 and 2017. However, only some of the District Teacher Development Centres that are intended to provide meeting places need to be up and running by 2025. The gap between policy and implementation can impede or even prevent the establishment of professional learning communities. Three implementation problems were identified that could catapult the professional learning community model into the infamous education reform cycle, and strategies are proposed for a smooth implementation. It is proposed that a coordinated strategy be followed to prevent the South African professional learning community model falling prey to the reform cycle.

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

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 wiki technology and knowledge of teaching through inquiry. Teachers participated in the Professional Learning Community Model for Entry into Teaching Science (PLC-METS), a professional development program that is based on an integrated teacher education model of knowledge sharing, collaboration, and communication between teachers and scientists, with the goal of supporting early-career teachers’ ability to engage their students in scientific inquiry. The use of a wiki environment to collaborate on activities, deliver resources, and share knowledge is rapidly expanding in professional development communities. The use of the wiki in PLC-METS positively predicted the results of teachers’ knowledge of inquiry-based teaching. Results demonstrate that the wiki can contribute to building a learning community for collaboration between early-career science teachers and scientists. The paper also discusses the educational implications for the design of wiki-based professional learning communities that impact teachers’ professional development.

From Experience to Expertise: Professional Development through Collaborative Inquiry

This research paper presents the outcomes of a professional learning community (PLC) of teachers involved in a personal service approach to professional development. The PLC was conceptualized as an inquiry-based professional development intervention based on teachers’ specific needs. Participants represented 4 regions that encompassed a large Ontario school board district. Through a qualitative grounded theory research approach, two key outcomes emerged from the data, including, ‘Intrinsic motivation to improve teaching and learning’ and ‘Critical reflections in teaching.’ By critically reflecting on their teaching within the PLC model, the teacher-participants guided their own professional development in the context of self-affirming practice. Since the research project was contextualized in the literature, the paper further discusses how this professional development model is ideally suited to meet the needs of teachers and students of the 21st Century. Lastly, it is suggested that this PLC model can be replicated in similar contexts by schools and school boards across the Golden Horseshoe.

The Sustainability of Innovative Schools as Learning Organizations and Professional Learning Communities During Standardized Reform

Background: Implicitly, innovative schools have historically contained some (but not usually all) of the properties of learning organizations and professional learning communities but have a weak record of sustaining success over time. Can innovative schools that self-consciously establish themselves as learning organizations and professional learning communities sustain their early promise of success in the face of the predictable cycle of the “attrition of change”; of pressure and envy in the surrounding district, profession, and community; and of the historically specific and recent pressure of standardized reform? Purpose : This article explores the impact of these influences on three innovative schools and their sustainability over time. It concentrates in particular on the promise and viability of one of these schools, which has been consciously modeled as a learning organization and professional learning community. Conclusions: Although further research is required, the article concludes that the learning organization and professional learning community model may provide a more robust resistance to conventional processes of the attrition of change and of surrounding change forces, but much like other innovative schools, it also shows signs of defaulting to conventional patterns of schooling in the face of standardized reform.

Comparison of Responses to Superstitions on a Written Test and in Actual Situations

The latest and active practices implemented in developed countries in the process of school improvement is the Professional Learning Community (PLC). There are many PLC Models written by Western researchers and often referenced by local researchers in Malaysia. One of the models that are often referred to is the PLC Model written by Olivier, D. F., & Hipp, K. K. (2010). Collective Learning and Application Practices is one of the dimensions found in that model. There are eleven characteristics listed in Collective Learning and Application Practices and appropriate in the context of the Western educational environment. The question now is whether all these characteristics are practiced in the context of the local educational environment or is it possible that other characteristics that are suitable and practiced in the Malaysian context. This research was conducted to analyze the characteristics of the Collective Learning and Application Practices from the PLC Model written by Olivier, D. F., & Hipp, K. K. (2010). This research uses a qualitative method based on a conceptual framework adapted from the PLC Model written by Olivier, D. F., & Hipp, K. K. (2010). The research instrument used in the qualitative data collection procedure was the PLC-related interview protocol. The data obtained through the qualitative interview was analyzed using the ATLAS.ti software. Samples for qualitative methods were based on purposive sampling techniques which involved an excellent principal from the selected school. The findings showed that there was three items or new attributes in the Collective Learning and Application Practices that are not stated in the PLC Model.