PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES

1. PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES Prof. Dr. E. Verbiest

2. OVERVIEW • What is a professional learning community? • Why (should we develop) professional learning communities? (innovation theory – effect of a professional learning community). • Assumptions of a professional learning community. • Developing a professional learning community. • How to think about (how to conceptualize) development of a professional learning community? • How to develop a professional learning community (research project) • Discussion

3. A professional learning community is ……………….

4. PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY Threefundamentalconcepts • PROFESSIONALISM: • Interest of students • improvement • knowledge base • LEARNING: • of students • of professionals • individual, collective • COMMUNITY: • sharedvision • sharedresponsability • mutualrecognition

5. PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY • Personal capacity • active, reflective and critical (re)construction of knowledge • currency • Interpersonal capacity • shared values and shared vision on learning and teaching • collective learning and shared practices • Organisational capacity • supportive structural conditions • supportive cultural conditions • shared, supportive and stimulating leadership

6. Two fundamental paradigms in innovation theory Outside view: implementation of external developed reform designs in schools Research Developing Diffusion

7. Evaluation of innovations according to the outside view • Limited results • Mutual adaption • Local factors (motivation, beliefs, capacity of teachers, culture, school leader…) are important • Policy cannot mandate what matters • Deprofessionalising

8. Two fundamental paradigms in innovation theory Outside view: implementation of external developed reform designs in schools Inside view: developing capacity of schools to transform themselves into supportive environments for teacher learning and change. 8

9. Do professional learningcommunitieswork? • Few research • Modest evidence • Indirect positive effect onstudents’ results • Through the creation of aninnovativeclimate in the school • Positive effect onteachers’ wellbeing in the school

10. Assumptions of a professional learning community. 1. Knowledge is situated in the day-to-day lived experiences of teachers and best understood through critical reflection with others who share the same experience . 2. Actively engaging teachers in PLCs will increase their professional knowledge and enhance student learning.

11. KNOWLEDGE BASE OF THE PROFESSIONAL • KNOWLEDGE FOR TEACHERS • KNOWLEDGE OF TEACHERS

12. KNOWLEDGE FOR TEACHERS • Theoreticalknowledge (codified in books) • Basedon research • Basis forskills en didacticalapproaches • Evidencebased teaching

13. KNOWLEDGE OF TEACHERS • (practical knowledge) • Developed on the basis of experiences • Implicit knowledge • Influential • Vulnerable

14. VULNERABILITY OF PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE Ambiguity of stimuli Interpretation in the context of frame of references Psychological processes Apprenticeship of observation Routines

15. VULNERABILITY OF PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE REFLECTION COLLECTIVE LEARNING IN A PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY

16. PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY Timperley et al. 2007: The opportunity to process the meaning and implications of new learning with one’s colleagues appears to be fundamental to the change process, where that change impacts positivelyon student outcomes. Participation in structured professional groups was, however, associated with neutral or negative outcomes for students in several studies. These studies show that it is possible for teachers to be given generous amounts of time to collaborate and talk together, only to have the status quo reinforced, with change messages misunderstood, misrepresented, or resisted.

17. Timperley et al. 2007: CONDITIONS FOR LEARNING IN A PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY • High but realistic expectations of students and believing they could make a difference. • Norms of collective responsibility for students • Analysing the impact of teaching on student learning. • Challenging problematic beliefs and testing the efficacy of competing ideas. • Bringing in new perspectives by external experts 17

18. THE C.O.P.L. - PROJECT CAPACITEITSONWIKKELING IN PROFESSIONELE LEERGEMEENSCHAPPEN (CAPACITIY BUILDING IN PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES) SUPPORT and RESEARCH

19. Research questions • How to account for the development of a school as a professional learning community • Which interventions contribute to the development of a school as a professional learning community? • Interventions: • Sources: external / internal action / event • Focus: are the interventions directed at the development of the three capacities? • Which interventions are contributing to the development of the schools as a PLC? • What is the role of the school leader

20. THE C.O.P.L. - PROJECT Approach / Methods • Quantitative (questionnaire – dimensions of a PLC) – • 6 schools in the project • 89 other schools ( benchmarking) • Pre and post test • Qualitative (interviews - dimensions of a PLC) • 4 schools (most successful) schools in the project • At the begin and at the end of the project, with school leaders and teachers • Transcription, coding, applying codes >> 4 whit-in case analyses and a cross case analysis.

21. COPL-project September 2005 – June 2008. Theoreticalstudy Developing questionnaire and interviews Questionnaire 89 school (survey) Questionnaire 6 project schools Questionnaire 6 project schools Interviews 6 schools Interviews 4 schools Sep Jan Jul Jan Jul Oct Jan Jun 05 06 06 07 07 07 08 08 Sem 1 2 3 4 5 6 Consultation, Coaching

22. How to think about development of a professional learning community? Oneanswer: thinking in stages of development

23. STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT not yet initiated initiated implemented incorporated CAPACITY Personal capacity Interpersonal capacity Organisational capacity

24. How to think about development of a professional learning community? • Oneanswer: thinking in stages of development • Anotheranswer: • No stages • Three different concepts: • Broadening • Deepening • Anchoring

25. LESS MORE B R O A D E N I N G D E E P E N I N G A N C H O R I N G THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SCHOOL AS A PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY CAPACITY / DIMENSION

26. THE C.O.P.L. - PROJECT • How to account for the development • Interventions: • Sources? Event Action Internalactionby school leader Internalevent Internalaction Internal External External event External action

27. THE C.O.P.L. - PROJECT • How to account for the development • Interventions: • Sources? • Focus: are the interventions directed at the development of the three capacities? • Almost every intervention focused on developing one or more capacities • Every capacity influenced by one ore more interventions • The school leaders are using deliberately the concept of a PLC as frame-work for selecting interventions

28. THE C.O.P.L. - PROJECT Frame of Analyses • How to account for the development • Interventions • Sources • Focus: • Which interventions are contributing to the development of the schools as a PLC?

29. story aid and sharing joint work telling assistance Independency Interdependency Effective interventions • Professional development • Re-organisation of the teaching process and making teachers depending on each other

30. Effective interventions • Professional development • Re-organisation of the teaching process and making teachers depending on each other • Connecting the development as a PLC to the running innovations and actions in the school • Re-organisation of the structures for meetings and CPD • Leadership

31. THE C.O.P.L. - PROJECT • How to account for the development • Interventions • Sources • Focus • Interventions • Role of the school leader?

32. THE C.O.P.L. - PROJECT • Role of the school leader • In schools most developed as a PLC, three roles are fulfilled • CULTURE BUILDER • EDUCATOR • ARCHITECT

33. THE ROLE OF THE SCHOOL LEADER CULTURE BUILDER • developing and disseminating a shared vision and sense of purpose, aimed at the improvement of the pupils’ learning • stressing the professional standards and expectations • stimulating trustfull relations and tolerance for errors • stimulating innovative attitudes and experiments • providing individual psychological support • involving the team members in CPD • using rituals and symbols to underline the values sought

34. THE ROLE OF THE SCHOOL LEADER EDUCATOR • modelling the teacher’s actions • instructional leadership • providing teachers with information regarding the pupils’ progress • maintain a professional dialogue and stimulate teachers intellectually • systematically supervise teachers’ learning processes • help to set feasible targets for teachers • train staff members and teams in the skills required for learning • develop leadership

35. THE ROLE OF THE SCHOOL LEADER ARCHITECT • making space, time and money available for learning, co-operation, CPD • developing systems providing teachers with information • developing shared and distributed leadership • draw up selectional and assessment criteria that stress individual and collective learning capacities • developing basic rules and procedures for communication, the organisation, curriculum and professional development • forming sub-teams in (bigger) schools

36. THE ROLE OF THE SCHOOL LEADER