This thesis explores the strong support for collaboration in schools’ while synthesizing literature already conducted on the subject. The primary objectives of this thesis is to discuss possible scenarios as to why educators are not collaborating, explore characteristics and implementations of collaboration with three specific groups including colleagues, stakeholders, and practicing professionals, and identify four key benefits of collaboration which include improved health, pedagogy, autonomy, and time. Evidence supports the idea that teachers who work in isolation can hinder growth within their profession. Additional evidence provides conclusive evidence that supports the benefits of collaboration by adding responsibilities to key contributors by holding them accountable for student learning.

This research study intends to find out about the use of online collaboration tools in supporting knowledge workers for the practice of employee volunteering. Online collaboration tools refer to the web-based technologies such as popular Web 2.0 tools like blogs or wikis and traditional online tools such as instant messenger, discussion forums, online chats and e-mail used by several individuals with the aim of achieving a common goal. The employee volunteering program- called Corporate Service Corps (CSC) - is an employee volunteering program in which the IBM employees tackle the economic and societal issues of the less developed countries they have been sent to while getting involved in project-based learning activities. This study provides an insight into how online engagement enabled the continuation of non-formal workplace learning practices such as volunteering and opened up possibilities for new ways to contribute to the learning process of employees. When it comes to online communities there is a mixture of entanglements, partnerships, negotiations and resistances between these tools and human actors. This research study explores how online communities are created by employee volunteers and also provides an understanding of non-formal learning practices within such fluid settings; important issues for organizations interested in non-formal learning practices of their employees are also raised. Today’s workplace settings are in constant need of recurrent learning processes interwoven with daily tasks on digital spaces. However, these digital spaces are not devoid of any issues and hence suggest the need for employees to be conscious of the emerging issues. The results from the case study are analysed by using participatory design methods in order to contribute to the understanding of the use of technology as both a single and collective experience. This research identified the specific benefits of online collaboration tools, and explored how their usage has been appropriated by employee volunteers for their practice of volunteering and how they influenced the process of their meaning-making. By doing so, it raised an awareness of the digital tools that provide collections of traits through which individuals can get involved in non-formal learning practices by having digital interactions with others.

Thesis advisor: Laura M. O'Dwyer / Youth civic participation is at alarmingly low levels. In 2014, nearly 80% of eligible 18-29 year-olds did not vote in the midterm election (CIRCLE, 2014). Other forms of civic engagement are also at starkly low levels: less than one in ten 18-29 year-olds report contacting a public official, boycotting a product, or frequently expressing political opinions on the internet (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014). Historically, schools have been tasked with preparing students with the knowledge and skills to be active democratic citizens. However, few studies have examined the role of teachers in fostering students' civic knowledge and skills. This study used data from the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 8th grade civics assessment to analyze the relationships between teacher participation in professional learning, use of interactive instructional practices, and student achievement in civics. Participation in professional learning significantly predicted both interactive instruction and student achievement: a one standard deviation increase in professional learning was associated with a predicted .32 standard deviation increase in interactive instructional practices, and a predicted .045 standard deviation increase in student achievement. There was no significant difference between more traditional and communities of practice based forms of professional development in their relationships with interactive instructional practices and student civic achievement. Interactive instructional practices were also significantly associated with increases in student achievement on NAEP civics, but the effect size was small: a one standard deviation increase in interactive instruction was related to a predicted .03 standard deviation increase in student achievement. Moreover, the relationship between interactive instruction and student achievement was curvilinear; high levels of interactive instruction were associated with decreases in student achievement. The study did not find any evidence that teacher participation in professional learning increased the effectiveness of interactive instructional practices. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Research, Measurement and Evaluation.

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In response to increasing demands placed on public education, professional learning communities (PLC) have emerged as a means of providing teachers with opportunities to collaborate together. Collaboration has been shown to improve teaching practices and lead to better student outcomes. Many collaborative teams, however, struggle to reach their collaborative potential. Trust has been shown to be an important factor contributing to the success of collaborative efforts. Few studies exist that empirically assess the relationship between team functionality and team trust. This study examines the relationship between these two constructs. A measurement tool was developed by the author to measure PLC team functionality based on five domains of functionality. Team trust was measured by a preexisting tool developed by Costa & Anderson (2010) based on four dimensions of trust. Multiple regression analyses were performed to assess the strength of the relationship between PLC team functionality and team trust. Control factors such as team stability, years of teaching, and principal support were included in the analysis. Findings showed a positive, significant relationship between the five domains of PLC team functionality and the four dimensions of team trust. While individual relationships between domains of functionality and dimensions of trust varied, between 46%-60% of variability in team functionality was explained by team trust. This study demonstrates the importance of trust in collaborative efforts of PLC teams as well as highlights a more complex relationship between the two constructs than previously understood in the literature.

This paper examines the characteristics of effective professional development (PD). It discusses the change process in a system and how it applies to an educational setting, including teacher practice and student achievement. This study uses a survey, interviews, and student benchmark assessment data to assess the influence of PD on a district. Four main themes surfaced from the research in this study: past experiences mold beliefs and practices, coherence throughout a system clarifies expectations, individualized professional learning leads to authentic change in practice, and professional development influences the entire system.

Professional Learning Community (PLC) structures require focused sessions of teacher collaboration as part of developing effective instructional practices leading to improved student performance outcomes. The PLC structured collaboration model has been implemented in schools across the country, however the current body of research regarding PLC structures has been focused on student performance and rather than the teacher learning processes that occur within the model. Teachers must learn throughout the PLC model, as they collaborate, plan instruction, create assessments, analyze data, and adjust implementation to improve results. A mixed-methods approach was used to explore correlations between PLC structure ratings and teacher self-identified learning preferences, with Kolb’s (1984) Experiential Learning Theory as the basis for determining learning preferences. The study included 115 elementary teacher participants from a school district that has prioritized PLC structures for nearly 10 years. Significant correlations were identified between PLC structural elements and teacher learning preferences, with qualitative results providing additional descriptive analysis regarding teacher perceptions of their learning within PLCs. The findings within this study indicate that teacher learning preferences may be a key consideration for school site administrators as part of PLC team construction and development.

Professional learning communities (PLCs) are a group of educators working collaboratively to improve student achievement and expand the pedagogy of the individual as well as the group. Studies on PLCs, grounded by the social constructivism theory of Vygotsky, Bandura, and Wenger, have found that collaboration and collegiality foster a positive school climate. This case study explored the perspectives of PLC participants at a suburban high school on the impact of their PLC on the school's culture. Ten teacher participants with at least 2 years of experience at the research site were individually interviewed, and 5 observations of content PLC meetings were conducted. Data were open coded to determine emergent trends. The analysis resulted in thick, rich descriptions of the experiences of the teacher participants. The findings suggested that the school's ineffective use of PLCs negatively affected its culture due to a lack of established norms, collaboration, communication, and accountability. A professional learning opportunity was developed focusing on effective PLC usage and the impact on school culture. The study supports positive social change by providing school leaders and PLC participants at the study site with information to sustain PLCs in a manner that promotes a positive school climate that could lead to a more efficient, consistent learning environment that benefits students.

Professional learning communities (PLCs) were established in a local suburban school district in 2010; however, since their inception, the value of the program has not been determined. In a K-8 school district, a qualitative case study was conducted to determine the influence of PLCs on the 4 domains of teacher responsibilities: preparation, classroom environment, teaching, and professional duties. The conceptual framework was based on Bandura's social learning theory and Danielson's framework for teaching. The research questions focused on how teacher participation and the allotment of time in a PLC, and the structure of a PLC, influence teacher classroom responsibilities. Data collected included interviews, written narratives by teachers, and a review of formative assessment documents. The participants were 5 teachers, selected through a purposeful sampling of teachers from across the grade levels of kindergarten to Grade 8, who had actively participated in a PLC for a minimum of 1 year. The data was analyzed to determine themes. The findings confirmed that PLCs allow for the exploration of ideas within a small group and that professional development is necessary to develop PLCs that influence teacher responsibilities in all 4 domains by Danielson. Based on the findings and supporting literature, a 3-day workshop was developed to provide teachers with an improved understanding of PLCs and how they can support teachers in implementing appropriate instructional practices for all students. This effort may result in a collaborative school culture for teachers and significant improvement in student achievement due to the recurring cycles of collective inquiry.

Abstract: This is a case study of a mathematics professional learning community. It illustrates the experience of eight Grade 2 teachers as they collaborate to improve their students'understanding of mathematics. In this inquiry, I worked as a participant-observer with the teachers over the course of five months as a witness to their expanding understanding of mathematics and learning. The case study describes two manifestations: the experiences of the teachers as they develop their knowledge of the mathematical learning of young children; and secondly, the teachers' growth as a professional learning community committed to improving the mathematical understanding of their students and of themselves. Collectively, the findings from this study extend other conversations on both professional learning communities and the development of teachers' knowledge about mathematical learning (often called pedagogical content knowledge). This work shows that opportunities for professional learning that are self-directed, context and content specific, within a milieu that is collegial and supportive, enable teachers to bridge the elusive gap between theory and practice. The specific questions addressed are as follows: 1. How does participation in a professional learning community affect teachers‘ iii pedagogical content knowledge and their understanding of students‘ learning of mathematics? 2. How do primary teachers develop an effective mathematics professional learning community? In mathematics, professional development often focuses on the creation of effective lesson design. This study differed in some key ways. Although good lesson design was valued and employed, the stimulus for teacher learning was the observation of the students as they struggled with new complex concepts. From these observations, the teachers became astute at recognizing particular consistencies and inconsistencies in the mathematical learning of the one hundred plus students they each observed within this project. Together, as a professional learning community, the teachers became adept at using external resources such as research and other resource materials to search the reasons and solutions for students‘ difficulty with mathematical concepts. Teachers' cognitive dissonance as they tried new instructional approaches and shared successes and failures with their colleagues provided the foundation for their growth in pedagogical content knowledge.