Professional Learning Community in Schools

Professional Learning Community in Schools:
Teacher Collaboration Instructional Improvement Project

Beth I. Graham
Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment

Nearly twenty-five years ago, Stanford researchers, Milbrey McLaughlin and Joan Talbert, studied 1100 schools Oakland, CA, in an effort to determine why, among schools with similar demographics, some schools were much better at supporting student achievement than others. Their findings are elegant in their simplicity: when teachers collaborate in sustained, deliberate ways around their teaching and learning, the achievement of ALL students improves. McLaughlin’s and Talbert’s ground-breaking research of 1987 (their most recent research on the topic was published in October 2010), laid the foundation of what we know today as “professional learning community” -- not fad, or initiative; rather, a paradigm shift in the way teachers conduct their professional practice. Professional Learning Community is a model of embedded professional development that thousands of schools nation-wide are employing to transform teaching and learning.

At the state level, the DESE has recently issued guidelines for developing and strengthening Professional Learning Community in school through a cycle of inquiry. The Massachusetts Teachers Association, consistent with the Race to the Top initiative, is advocating for dramatic changes to the system of teacher evaluation. The MTA proposal includes five Standards of Professional Practice for Teachers, among them: “Standard 4: Reflective Practice: Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience;” and “Standard 5: Professional Responsibility: Teachers are members of learning communities.”

What does professional learning community in schools look like? PLCs are characterized by five critical elements: high levels of adult collaboration, the de-privatization of teacher practice, shared norms and values; and reflective discourse -- all within an intentional focus on student learning.   PLCs are groups with consistent membership, engaged in on-going, continuous improvement. Through PLCs, or teacher collaboration teams, members engage in a cycle of inquiry through which teachers identify a problem of practice; they bring evidence of learning, including student work and other data, to the group for feedback on their practice; they make decisions about and commit to making specific changes in instructional practice; and, they evaluate the difference these changes make in the achievement of their students, before repeating the cycle again.

Professional learning community is grounded in the notion that teachers hold incredible experience and expertise in their practice, and that when we tap into the experience and expertise held by all teachers, students benefit. The work engages us in moving from isolated practice to shared experiences in which teachers ask for and receive the kind of feedback critical to the success of their students. We hold a collective responsibility for all students; together, we are smarter than any one of can be working alone, on our very best day. This is so much more than tinkering around the edges; this work results in a transformational shift in the culture of our schools.

Through the Teacher Collaboration Instructional Improvement Project, ARPS’ partnership with UMASS, we have been able to accomplish in six months what has taken other school districts years to grow. For example, the District Leadership Team now works in professional learning community to understand and model adult learning in our schools. School Leadership Teams exist at every school AND teacher collaboration teams and inquiry groups exist throughout the district: teachers are working in grade-level teams, inter-disciplinary groups, and horizontal and vertical collaborations across the district, K-12

Next year, this work will be supported through funds from the Race to the Top, specifically, to address the goals of improving teacher and principal effectiveness, and strengthening climate, conditions, and school culture.

My colleagues are here tonight to share with you the programs that we are engaged in this year, as we make good on our promise to children. As we listen and learn about the work that is being accomplished throughout the districts, I encourage you to think of professional learning community as the vehicle that is driving instructional improvement in Amherst, the over-arching umbrella that holds the complexity of improving achievement for all students. By working in professional learning community, the various components of our plan to improve instruction cannot be viewed as separate “add-ons” or initiatives; but rather, the way in which we will together engage in the transformation of our professional practice.

Additional Information about Professional Learning Community

http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/archive/cors/issues_in_restructuring_schools/issues_no_6_spring_1994.pdf