This is part 4 of 5 in a series on creating learning communities in an independent school. Please see previous postings for parts 1 – 3.

Professional Learning Communities

Professional Learning Community (PLC) is a term that only recently came into common use in education circles despite that the concept has been around for decades.   Unfortunately, the term has been used to describe almost any type of professional learning that takes place in a group. Due to prior incorrect implementation, teacher impressions of PLC effectiveness may be wrong. A true professional learning community, as described in the literature,  is consistently described as having the following characteristics:  (a) shared values and vision that focus on student’s learning, (b) high expectations of student academic achievement, (c) collective responsibility or shared leadership with teachers having a say in decisions, (d) reflective professional inquiry, collaboration which is supported by leadership by organizational arrangement, and (e) promotion of group, as well as individual learning (Stoll, et al., 2006; Graham, 2007; DuFour, DuFour). PLCs are meant to be timely, relevant, content-specific, and hands on.

The heart of a PLC is the community. A successful PLC will establish a community that has a culture concerned with growth and active participation in practices that bring about necessary change. PLCs have a high potential to fail when implemented incorrectly.  When a school builds a PLC that brings together participants who do not explore new ideas, the school’s culture remains the same, as do ineffective classroom practices. There will be no growth, change, or increased student achievement.  Teachers have the motivation to participate in professional learning when it meets the criteria of being specific to their content area, is hands-on and is immediately applicable. With an increase in interest, teachers are more likely to be active participants who bring their ideas into professional learning communities (Stoll et al., 2006).

Three learning theories provide a robust theoretical framework for PLC include adult learning theory, social learning theory, and situated learning theory. Adult Learning Theory refers to any form of adult education.  Andrew Knowles coined the term andragogy, meaning literally “adult leading” (Knowles, 1984). An adult has a great depth of knowledge that was previously acquired in life and is available as a resource for future learning.  An adult has the readiness to learn new information that is essential to their current social position or current job. Adults internalize knowledge and see the immediate application of new skills. 

Vygotsky’s social learning theory, in its basic form, is a model of a demonstration by one participant and its imitation by the learner. Professional learning communities are partially based on social learning theory because mentorship plays an important role.  A more experienced mentor may provide feedback on a teacher’s performance or demonstrate exemplary practice on a task that is then imitated by the learner in a similar situation.  Intrinsic, internalized rewards such as positive feedback lead to increased motivation for learning (Miller, 2011).

Lave’s Situated Learning Theory states that knowledge should be presented in authentic contexts. Social interaction and collaboration are essential components of situated learning.  Learners become involved in a “community of practice” which incorporates certain beliefs and behaviors to be acquired.  Students move from novice to expert as they learn over time.  In professional learning communities, teachers have active engagement in implementing techniques immediately and seeing results.  Active learning, or hands-on practice in a real-world experience, contributes to teacher and student increased mastery over specific content (Miller, 2011).

Essential Components of a Professional Learning Community

The most critical element of PLC is a collaborative culture that has as its focus learning for all teachers, administrators, and students.  In a collaborative culture, professional learning teams have some commonality and a shared purpose.  One example would be departmental or grade level teams. Time is set aside each week for these community groups to work together on current practices, student performance, self and peer evaluations, goal setting, and curriculum development. Collaboration is not optional.  There must be scheduled a time to meet with the professional learning team just as teachers and administrators plan time for specific classes and duties. As support systems mature, the motivation for individual improvement occurs which impacts the collective. Administration plays a vital role in collective responsibility by ensuring accountability. “The professional learning that occurs within learning communities both supports and is supported by policy and governance, curriculum and instruction, human resources, and other functions within a school system” (Killion & Crow, 2011).

A PLC School must have a focus on learning through collective inquiry that is action oriented. Professional learning teams are looking for best practices in both teaching and learning. Teams have to get real about the current status of their practices and achievements of their students. Collective inquiry “enables team members to develop new skills and capabilities that in turn lead to new experiences and awareness” (“About PLCs”, 2017). The ultimate goal of these experiences is that team members will eventually experience “shifts in attitudes, beliefs, and habits which, over time, transform the culture of the school” (“About PLCs,” 2017). PLC teams seek to answer Rick DuFour’s guiding questions: (a) What do we expect students to learn? (b) How will we know when they have learned these skills? (c) What will we do if they do not learn these skills? (d) What will we do when students do learn these skills? (DuFour, 2010). The answers to these questions guide the members to action steps necessary to address student performance. Accountability amongst peers rather than driven by the administration is characteristic of PLCs. Together, teams analyze current practices and results to create goals for improvement. Teachers engage in peer observations and provide feedback to help improve both individual and group performance.

Figure 1. The department level PLC structure in a high school. Departments meet as individual learning teams utilizing the foundations of the PLC model as described in the literature. Additionally, these groups are also having vertical dialog as a school so that development is not just at the team level but also at the school level. Adapted from DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & Many, T. (2006). Learning by Doing: A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work™, pp. 2–4.

A third essential component to PLCs is a desire to commit to continuous improvement by focusing on results. PLC members are not satisfied with the status quo. Richard DuFour (2016), a leading educator who promotes PLC use warns teachers and administrators not to expect perfection but to instead aim for progress. The process is one of continuous improvement.  Goals are set for one stage, evaluated and new goals established for the next level of development. Data on student performances drive many decisions.  Peer feedback and self-reflection impact future improvement goals.