If the reforms in public education are to be sustained, it is commonly believed that they must be founded in new conceptions of schooling. Recently, to improve school effectiveness and raise students success, educational researchers are devoting increasing attention to research related to transforming our schools into professional learning communities. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of principals concerning the process and dynamics of the implementation of professional learning communities. <p>Qualitative method was used in this study. The perceptions of the principals were explored through six research questions. The research questions addressed the following areas: process and dynamics of the implementation process, challenges to the collaboration and issues of sustainability in professional learning communities. Six principals, four females and two males, from two school divisions were selected and data were collected using semi-structured interviews. The interviews were tape recorded and transcribed. Participants responses were analyzed according to the research questions and recurring themes.<p>The findings of this study revealed that the process and dynamics of implementing professional learning communities, included pre-implementation (self-education), the implementation process itself (training internal stakeholders), teaching the PLC concept to external stakeholders, and facilitating collaboration amongst all stakeholders. Participants emphasized that collaboration was a critical component for the positive development and effectiveness of the professional learning communities. <p> Further analysis of the data indicated that time, funding, diverse interests, preconceived mindsets of stakeholders, constant staff changes, workload, fear of being ridiculed or judged, and evaluation/data collection methods were the major challenges in the implementation process. Regarding sustainability, respondents advocated that it was essential to focus on school vision, create a collaborative culture, provide administrative support to all stakeholders, and retain key people who are self-motivated. <p>In the final analysis, this study determined that the implementation of professional learning communities is a question of will. A group of staff members who are determined to work collaboratively will be able to implement and sustain professional learning communities, regardless of some foreseeable problems.

The purpose of this research was to learn about how coaching serves as a form of professional learning for newly-appointed vice-principals. This study is intended to add to our understanding of the ways in which coaching supports the professional learning of vice-principals in a context where their role is ill-defined and determined by their principal. A qualitative research approach was used which included personal interviews with fourteen first-time elementary vice-principals in five Ontario school districts. The study was based on the following research question: How does the coaching experience support the professional learning of first-time school administrators? The participants reported positive feelings about their coaching experiences. Specifically, they described that they appreciated the confidential and non-evaluative nature of the coaching relationship, that the focus was on their individual learning needs, and that the coaching provided opportunities to engage in reflective thinking. In terms of their learning, the participants reported that through coaching they built confidence, gained knowledge about both the managerial and leadership aspects of school leader roles, and that they learned about themselves and their own well-being in the process. Several challenges were reported. These included a desire for increased frequency of scheduled coaching sessions while maintaining a focus on learning during the sessions, and financial constraints for those who needed to be released from teaching responsibilities in order to participate in coaching. Based on their experiences, the participants described the vice-principal role as being determined by the principal, offering limited opportunity to exercise their own leadership, expecting them to follow decisions made by the principal, and serving to prepare them for the principalship. The thesis concludes that coaching for newly-appointed elementary vice-principals is a valuable experience because it serves as personalized professional learning that engages participants in reflective thought. The lack of clarity about the vice-principal role creates a situation where vice-principals understand their role principally through their experiences of it, not through research, policy, or training. As a result, each vice-principal has unique learning needs based on their experience of the role thus they benefit when their learning is personalized.

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.

The purpose of this research was to learn about how coaching serves as a form of professional learning for newly-appointed vice-principals. This study is intended to add to our understanding of the ways in which coaching supports the professional learning of vice-principals in a context where their role is ill-defined and determined by their principal. A qualitative research approach was used which included personal interviews with fourteen first-time elementary vice-principals in five Ontario school districts. The study was based on the following research question: How does the coaching experience support the professional learning of first-time school administrators? The participants reported positive feelings about their coaching experiences. Specifically, they described that they appreciated the confidential and non-evaluative nature of the coaching relationship, that the focus was on their individual learning needs, and that the coaching provided opportunities to engage in reflective thinking. In terms of their learning, the participants reported that through coaching they built confidence, gained knowledge about both the managerial and leadership aspects of school leader roles, and that they learned about themselves and their own well-being in the process. Several challenges were reported. These included a desire for increased frequency of scheduled coaching sessions while maintaining a focus on learning during the sessions, and financial constraints for those who needed to be released from teaching responsibilities in order to participate in coaching. Based on their experiences, the participants described the vice-principal role as being determined by the principal, offering limited opportunity to exercise their own leadership, expecting them to follow decisions made by the principal, and serving to prepare them for the principalship. The thesis concludes that coaching for newly-appointed elementary vice-principals is a valuable experience because it serves as personalized professional learning that engages participants in reflective thought. The lack of clarity about the vice-principal role creates a situation where vice-principals understand their role principally through their experiences of it, not through research, policy, or training. As a result, each vice-principal has unique learning needs based on their experience of the role thus they benefit when their learning is personalized.

The current study explored the collaborative processes present in a collaboration between an urban university in the Southeast United States, a state-funded educational support agency, and several urban and suburban school districts served by the state agency. To obtain a comprehensive understanding of the collaboration and relevant practices, perceptions were obtained from university, community agency, and K-12 school representatives through 12 individual and 2 group interviews. Data were collected and analyzed using Moustakas’s (1994) transcendental phenomenology methodology. Findings indicated that participants perceived collaborative processes in the areas of collaborative structure, communication practices, characteristics of collaborators and organizations, and group dynamics. Participants also described outcomes of the collaboration in the areas of general impact on professional learning participants, learning, evolution of behaviors and beliefs, relationship development, emotional impact, sustainability, and generalizability. Comparison of the current results to Hord’s (1986) model of inter-organizational collaboration and the literature on inter-organizational collaboration revealed strong support for a synthesis model of inter-organizational collaboration. Furthermore, the findings suggest implications for practice in the areas of goal alignment, communication, perceptions of collaborative involvement, system entry and assimilation, and personal characteristics.

If the reforms in public education are to be sustained, it is commonly believed that they must be founded in new conceptions of schooling. Recently, to improve school effectiveness and raise students success, educational researchers are devoting increasing attention to research related to transforming our schools into professional learning communities. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of principals concerning the process and dynamics of the implementation of professional learning communities. <p>Qualitative method was used in this study. The perceptions of the principals were explored through six research questions. The research questions addressed the following areas: process and dynamics of the implementation process, challenges to the collaboration and issues of sustainability in professional learning communities. Six principals, four females and two males, from two school divisions were selected and data were collected using semi-structured interviews. The interviews were tape recorded and transcribed. Participants responses were analyzed according to the research questions and recurring themes.<p>The findings of this study revealed that the process and dynamics of implementing professional learning communities, included pre-implementation (self-education), the implementation process itself (training internal stakeholders), teaching the PLC concept to external stakeholders, and facilitating collaboration amongst all stakeholders. Participants emphasized that collaboration was a critical component for the positive development and effectiveness of the professional learning communities. <p> Further analysis of the data indicated that time, funding, diverse interests, preconceived mindsets of stakeholders, constant staff changes, workload, fear of being ridiculed or judged, and evaluation/data collection methods were the major challenges in the implementation process. Regarding sustainability, respondents advocated that it was essential to focus on school vision, create a collaborative culture, provide administrative support to all stakeholders, and retain key people who are self-motivated. <p>In the final analysis, this study determined that the implementation of professional learning communities is a question of will. A group of staff members who are determined to work collaboratively will be able to implement and sustain professional learning communities, regardless of some foreseeable problems.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Central Florida, 2009. / Adviser: Rosa Cintrón. Includes bibliographical references (p. 327-371).

While school districts across the nation are pressed to make better and more frequent use of a range of educational data, they have few resources that help guide the process of improving educator capacity for data use. To date, there have been few efforts to examine the intersection of professional learning and data use to better guide efforts at improving educator data use capacity. In order to learn more about how school districts attempt to meet educator needs in terms of data-related learning, and how they use policies to approach this issue, I examined the intersection of data use and professional learning in three school districts. I used a qualitative case study methodology to examine these issues, and relied on interview data from n=110 individuals across the three districts, as well as document analysis in each district, to better understand the existing structures in each context and how those structures came to be. I also utilized random sampling for some focus groups, and used a peer nomination process for other focus groups, which allowed me to identify educators thought by their colleagues to be “exemplar” data users. I found that across the districts, educators at all levels articulated with remarkable consistency a range of skills and knowledge they said were essential to good data use. Also, educators were consistent in describing the kinds of professional learning structures they thought best supported their needs as learners. However, in most cases, district structures fell short of these ideals. The districts rarely codified expectations related to the structure of professional learning or to data-related skills and knowledge in formal policy, and planning related to data use tended to be fragmented among many departments and leaders. As a result, there were many assumptions that “someone else” or another department was providing support in terms of data-related professional learning, while many times data use-related learning simply fell between the cracks. Informed by existing research and the results of this study, I posited a model aimed at supporting policymakers as they engage in planning for data-related professional learning. / text

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand how teachers discuss pedagogy and learning in the context of a professional learning community in an elementary school. This understanding has the potential to assist principals and teachers to establish professional learning communities that use their time productively. Study participants belonged to a fifth grade professional learning community. Data sources included video and audio recordings, transcripts, field notes, interviews and artifacts. The data were examined for Episodes of Pedagogical Reasoning (Horn, 2005) which was the unit of analysis for the study. Episodes of Pedagogical Reasoning are units of teacher-to-teacher talk where teachers show their comprehension of a concern in their practice. One finding from the data analysis indicated that although the professional learning community in the study did not follow the "ideal" PLC model, the teachers used the time they were given to accomplish what they needed to do in the course of implementing the Common Core Standards. Another finding was the teachers use of practical talk (Doyle & Ponder, 1978) in determining how best to implement the Common Core Standards. Their practical talk focused on instrumentality and congruence. Instrumentality is defined as a change proposal that must describe a method in a way that depicts classroom contingencies. If the procedure fits the way a teacher normally conducts classroom activities, then it is congruent.

New curriculum reforms and changes post 1994 has created a need for teachers to reprofessionalise and reskill themselves so that they can implement reforms in their schools and classrooms. This has added pressure on teachers, novice teachers, as well as experienced teachers who have been teaching for over fifteen years, to learn an enormous amount of knowledge in order for them to teach effectively in the classroom. Knowledge on professional development of teachers is expanding to new and useful ways of teacher learning to embrace these changes. Recent literature suggest that teacher learning in communities of practice (Wenger, 1991) or learning communities (Lieberman and Pointer Mace, 2008) actually translates into enduring and sustained learning that leads to transformation in teaching and improving the quality of education. In addition to this clustering has been introduced as a useful way of teacher learning. The purpose of this study is to explore teacher learning in learning area clusters. These clusters are considered to be learning communities, because teachers are provided with opportunities to engage in professional dialogue and collaborative problem solving in issues related to teaching and learning. The conceptual framework used in data analysis is the knowledge – practice theory proposed by Cochran Smith and Lytle (1999) as well as Day and Sachs (2004). The four domains of knowledge are knowledge for practice, knowledge in practice, knowledge of practice and knowledge of self. This framework together with Shulman’s (1987) identification of content knowledge (CK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) was used in data analysis. The study was located within the qualitative mode of inquiry specifically in the interpretivist paradigm as it is concerned with interpretation and understanding of teacher learning experiences in clusters. In order to answer the research questions I used the method of Narrative Inquiry as this allowed me to understand how teacher knowledge is narratively composed, embodied in a person and expressed in practice. 6 I selected five participants who belong to learning area clusters who were purposively identified. Data was collected through semi structured interviews. The findings revealed that clustering is built on qualities of commitment, leads to teachers’ reflections of practices, increases confidence of teachers, promotes self-initiated learning and leads to organic learning in clusters. Clustering is one useful way of understanding teacher learning. This study contributes towards our understanding of how clusters can be used effectively to enhance teacher learning. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood, 2011.