Curriculum Development Project

PERCEPTIONS OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS AND TEACHERS REGARDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES

Comment by Amy Craig: Title page is double spaced.

Stephen Vincent Westbrook, Ed.D.

Assistant Superintendent

Ascension Parish School System

Paper Presented at the

Annual Meeting of the Mid-South Educational Research Association

Pensacola

November 2013

Introduction

Educational leaders have found that traditional forms of staff development, such as when outside experts are brought into the school building to offer a workshop to teachers to enhance their pedagogical skills, do not necessarily cause teachers to change their practices in the classroom (Curry & Killion, 2009; Dufour, Dufour, Eaker, & Karhanek, 2009; Klein, 2008; Schmoker, 2005; Vescio, Ross, & Adams, 2008). As a result of the problems associated with traditional professional development activities, there has been a growing movement to create Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) on school campuses across the country (Curry & Killion, 2009; Hord, 2009; Klein, 2008; Servage, 2008). Researchers define the concept of PLCs “as a school’s professional staff who continuously seek to find answers through inquiry and then act on their learning to improve student learning” (Hipp & Huffman, 2010, p. 11). Many researchers additionally stress how PLC work is tied to gathering data about student work and linking teacher practices to student academic achievement (Klein, 2008; Louis, 2008; Rasberry & Mahajan, 2008). Comment by Amy Craig: Note that when quotation marks are used with a direct quote, a page number MUST be included. If you don’t want to do this, then PARAPHRASE.

Principals, in their role as educational leaders, are vital when it comes to organizing such reform efforts (Guskey, 2009; Hipp & Huffman, 2003; Hord & Sommers, 2008; Mullen & Huttinger, 2008; Wahlstrom & Louis, 2008). The review of the related literature suggests that certain factors need to exist or be promoted by a school principal in order for this reform effort to be sustained. They include sharing and supporting leadership among teachers; developing shared values and a common vision; having teachers learn collectively and apply their learning in the classroom; sharing successful practices among teachers; and providing supportive conditions (i.e., Structures and Relationships) that enable teachers to be productive in their PLC work (Hipp & Huffman, 2003; Hipp & Huffman, 2010; Hord, 2009).

Although the practice of creating PLCs has seemed promising in that it can impact student achievement (Stoll, Bolam, McMahon, Wallace, & Thomas, 2006), researchers like Servage (2008) caution that the process is difficult and requires teachers to seriously challenge their beliefs and assumptions in order to be effective. Other researchers challenge the idea that professional development can be correlated to student achievement (Guskey, 2009; Leithwood, Patten, & Jantzi, 2010). Stoll and Louis (2007) describe the difficulties that arise in promoting trust among members of a PLC group as a potential barrier to successful PLC development. Fullan (2005) further suggests that it is necessary to have PLCs at the school level interact with various other PLC groups in order for them to be effective. Only by interacting with teachers from other schools in a district – even with teachers in other districts in the state or nation – can the full potential of PLCs be realized and sustained (Fullan, 2005). Comment by Amy Craig: Notice first names are NEVER used in the narrative and you also should NEVER include the name of the article. Simply cite with author last name. The reader can then find the article in the references.

As a result of a literature review, it is apparent that educators can benefit by more research being done in the area of PLCs to answer questions that have arisen. For instance, “What is being done by schools that have successfully created PLCs and made this type of job embedded professional development a deeply valued part of their culture?” “What can other schools learn from the experiences of schools with successful PLC cultures?” “What specific actions should schools wanting to implement PLCs take in order to achieve their goal?”

REFERENCES Comment by Amy Craig: Notice the formatting of these reference – these are APA. NO months or days- only use the year. Check for which part is italicized, capitalized, etc…

Curry, M., & Killion, J. (2009). Slicing the layers of learning. Journal of Staff Development, 30(1), 56-61.

DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & Karhanek, G. (2009). Raising the bar and closing the gap: Whatever it Takes. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Fullan, M. (2005). Leadership and sustainability: System thinkers in action. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Fullan, M. (2005). Professional learning communities writ large. In R. DuFour, R. Eaker, & R. DuFour (Eds.), On common ground: The power of professional learning communities (pp. 209-223). Bloomington, IN: National Educational Service.

Guskey, T. R. (2009). Closing the knowledge gap on effective professional development. Educational Horizons, 87(4), 224-233.

Hipp, K. K., & Huffman, J. B. (2003). Professional learning communities: Assessment – development – effects. Paper presented at the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement, Sydney, Australia. Retrieved from ERIC database. (ED482255)

Hipp, K. K., & Huffman, J. B. (2010). Demystifying professional learning communities. New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield Education.

Hord, S. M. (2009). Professional learning communities. Journal of Staff Development, 30(1), 40-44.

Hord, S. M., & Sommers, W. A. (2008). Leading professional learning communities. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Klein, E. J. (2008). Learning, unlearning, and relearning: Lessons from one school’s approach to creating and sustaining learning communities. Teacher Education Quarterly, 35(1), 79-97.

Leithwood, K., Patten, S., & Jantzi, D. (2010). Testing a conception of how school leadership influences student learning. Educational Administration Quarterly, 46(5), 671-706.

Louis, K. (2008). Creating and sustaining professional communities. In A. Blankstein, P. Houston, & R. Cole (Eds.), Sustaining professional learning communities (pp. 41-57). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Mullen, C. A., & Huttinger, J. L. (2008). The principal’s role in fostering collaborative learning communities through faculty study group development. Theory into Practice, 47(4), 276-285.

Olivier, D. F., & Hipp, K. K. (2010). Assessing and analyzing schools as professional learning communities. In K. Hipp & J. Huffman (Eds.), Demystifying professional learning communities (pp. 29-41). New York, NY: Rowman & Littlefield Education.

Rasberry, M. A., & Mahajan, G. (2008). From isolation to collaboration: Promoting teacher leadership through PLCs. Hillsboro, NC: Center for Teaching Quality.

Schmoker, M. (2005). No turning back: The ironclad case for professional learning communities. In R. DuFour, R. Eaker, & R. DuFour (Eds.), On common ground: The power of professional learning communities (pp. 135-153). Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press

Servage, L. (2008). Critical and transformative practices in professional learning communities. Teacher Education Quarterly, 35(1), 63-77.

Stoll, L., Bolam, R., McMahon, A., Wallace, M., & Thomas, S. (2006). Professional learning communities: A review of the literature. Journal of Educational Change, 7(4), 221-258.

Stoll, L., & Louis, K. S. (2007). Professional learning communities: Divergence, depth and dilemmas. Berkshire, England: Open University Press.

Vescio, V., Ross, D., & Adams, A. (2008). A review of research on the impact of professional learning communities on teaching practice and student learning. Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research, 24(1), 80-91.

Wahlstrom, K., & Louis, K.S. (2008). How teachers experience principal leadership: The roles of professional community, trust, efficacy and shared responsibility. Educational Administration Quarterly, 44(4), 458-495.

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