A review of research on professional learning communities: What do we know?
Like the title says, a research review on PLCs, synthesizing results from 10 articles.
- All research supported the idea that learning communities change teaching practice, although not all articles were specific about what changes took place.
- In one study, teachers in PLCs developed more student-centered classrooms. Some other studies discussed specific teaching strategies used as a result of PLCs.
- All studies showed a change in school culture through “collaboration, focus on student learning, teacher authority, and continuous teacher learning.”
- All 6 studies that looked at student achievement found that student learning improved. However, this was only seen when the focus of collaboration was student learning and not just working together.
- Their conclusion: “The focus of a PLC should be developing teachers’ “knowledge of practice” around the issue of student learning”
- “…working collaboratively is the process not the goal of a PLC. The goal is enhanced student achievement.”
elearnspace. Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age – Annotated
George Siemens’ 2004 introduction to connectivism
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.