This paper focuses on the development of professional learning communities (PLCs) in schools, which are communities of educators tasked with improving student learning outcomes. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, the paper explores the central tenets of an effective PLC and contributes a definition of the concept to address much of…

This chapter describes the conceptualization and interactions of the Portfolio Group, a knowledge community of teachers and teacher educators with over a twenty-year history of collaboration. Formed in 1998, its story formed the model for the concept of the Faculty Academy. An overview of the Portfolio Group's members and collaborative activities…

Book groups are gatherings of readers who aspire to remain lifelong learners. Educators who read and enjoy quality fiction and non-fiction contribute with confidence to the rich, literate environment of classrooms. The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) expresses, through rich policy statements and other published works, the vital…

Our department is in the early stages of a multi-year effort to nurture a culture that values active learning. We focus on the change process, including specific, pragmatic ideas from the literature on grassroots leadership and systemic change. We briefly review Wenger's work on cultivating communities of practice and use Wenger's evaluation of…

Trends in teacher education increasingly emphasize the need for quality ongoing teacher professional development that is accessible, flexible, fosters advanced skillset development, and has the power to change teachers' practice. Participatory approaches to learning that are situated, collaborative, dialogic, and inquiry-oriented promote the…

A librarian-led Faculty Learning Community (FLC) focused on Open Educational Resources (OER) can be a practical, low risk way to sustain campus-based OER programs during and after initial start-up. Creating a space for sharing teaching successes and challenges is an important goal in the iterative journey toward open. The experiences and trust…

This study examines how involvement in four undergraduate faculty communities of practice is associated with faculty perceiving they improved in individual practices related to STEM reform. It is informed by the communities of practice and faculty change literature and utilizes data gathered through a survey of community members (n = 2503). The…

Communities of practice have become important tools for districts striving to improve teacher quality in a way that improves student outcomes, but scaling the benefits of these communities requires a more rigorous, intentional approach. That's why Learning Forward, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, created the Redesign PD…

It is widely accepted that individuals with criminal convictions experience multiple disadvantage and deprivation, and, as a result, are considered least likely to progress to higher education (Unlock, 2018). The risk-adverse nature of higher education application processes further compound such disadvantage, even though there is no evidence to…

Although many schools around the world have claimed to embrace the Professional Learning Community process, it would be more accurate to describe the current state of affairs in many schools as PLC Lite. Educators rename their traditional faculty or department meetings as PLC meetings, engage in book studies that result in no action, or devote…

In this program profile, we detail the design and implementation phases of an interdisciplinary first-year experience curriculum for multilingual students in the Creando Raíces learning community model at Humboldt State University. Our profile describes how we worked together as a professional learning community to integrate theories of writing…

In this webinar, Dr. Stephanie Hirsh, Executive Director of Learning Forward, presented the research on effective PLCs and shared her experiences in creating, assessing, and leading PLCs. This Q&A addressed questions participants had for Dr. Hirsh following the webinar. The webinar recording and PowerPoint presentation are also available.

Faculty members often collaborate on research and service projects, but teaching remains a relatively solitary activity (Gizir & Simsek, 2005 ; Ramsden, 1998 ). While students attend classes taught by various faculty members, faculty members remain largely unaware of the innovative and pedagogical improvements in teaching made by their…

Faculty in the School of Education have collaborated to re-envision teacher education at our university. A complex, dynamic, time-consuming and sometimes painstaking process, redesigning a teacher education program from a traditional approach (i.e. where courses focus primarily on theoretical principles of practice through textbooks and…

The professional learning communities and communities of practice approaches in the arena of education appear to hold considerable promise for sustainable school improvement. These approaches flow from the assumption that teacher's collaboration is central to transform a school into a learning organization. They also provide opportunities for…