Research shows that schools are largely a professional solo cultures (Blossing 2014), which impede teachers' professional development as learning takes place in social interaction and through living-practice dilemmas (Wenger 1998/2004). Changing cultures is difficult, not least in the world of education that on the whole has been a solo culture since the establishment of convent schools.The purpose of this study is to investigate whether teachers believe that through professional collaboration in the form of Teacher Learning Community (TLC) has contributed their knowledge and compentence in the field of embedding formative assessment. TLC is a sort of community of practice for improve teaching. The study works according to the hypothesis that “Teachers believe that professional collaboration in the form of Teacher Learning Community (TLC) has contributed to their knowledge and expertise in the field of embedding formative assessment”. The study was conducted at a large secondary school in central Sweden which organized its collegial learning according to TLC and exclusively worked to develop and modify instruction regarding embedding formative assessment during five years before the study. The theoretical approach applied is based on the tradition of "school improvement" with a human relational and group dynamic organizational based on social-constructivism) (Schein, 1994; Giddens, 1984; Wenger 1998/2004; Schmuck & Runkel, 1994; Blossing 2008; Scherp 1998). The study is quantitative and was conducted using a questionnaire, processed through a factor analysis, that is, a multivariate analysis. The analysis was conducted in four stages: stage 1: factor analysis to reduce factors exceeding the value of 1; step 2: categorization of all questions related to the component; step 3: measurement of the homogeneity of issues with Cronbach's Alpha; step 4: hypothesis testing in Person. The correlation was 0,686 (p<0,001). This is a so called census survey and the high response rate gave the study high validity. The study concluded that it is possible to change a school's historic solo culture to a collaborative team culture through systematic collegial cooperation in the form of TLC, and as a result to change the current teaching patterns.

abstract: Abstract   Much has been researched and written concerning the structure, attributes, and benefits of the professional learning community (PLC), yet many have found that this highly collaborative model is difficult to implement. One reason for this was that conflict among team members often limited communication and therefore halted collaboration. In an attempt to overcome conflict, the researcher introduced an intervention to five grade-level teaching teams at a suburban elementary school where staff had been struggling to develop teams into PLCs. The intervention consisted of training participants in the use of collaborative norms, and then tracking the use of these norms during team meetings, as well as gathering the teachers' perceptions on how their team was being affected by the use of the norms. Seven training sessions were conducted, each devoted to an individual norm such as pausing, putting ideas on the table, or presuming the positive, and so on. A mixed-methods action research model was utilized in gathering and analyzing the data in this study. Qualitative measures included reflection journals completed by the teachers, open-ended survey questions, and written responses in which the teachers described prior to the intervention and again after the intervention how their team: 1. Is like a PLC, 2. Is not like a PLC, and 3. Is becoming like a PLC. Quantitative measures included a survey of team communication that used questions regarding efficacy, conflict, and candor/trust. Quantitative measures also included an instrument developed as part of the System for Multi-Level Observation of Groups (SYMLOG) which is used for recording evidences of values observed in team members. Results demonstrated increases in teachers' perceptions of friendliness among their colleagues, ability to deal with conflict amicably and constructively, and in teachers' perception that they were now being listened to and understood more than they had been previously. Teachers also reported that they came to think of their team as a PLC, and began to perceive that there were benefits with respect to student achievement because they were becoming a PLC. Discussion focused on lessons learned, implications for practice, and implications for research. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2011

Recent research has suggested that building personal relationships with students and establishing "learning communities" may be one way to encourage students to persist in their studies beyond the first year. Because many institutions require students to complete one or more writing courses early in their careers, first-year composition instructors have the opportunity to interact with students as they first attempt to assimilate into the academic culture. Response activities--one of the key ways writing instructors interact with their students and ask their students to engage with one another--can be a be a way to both facilitate effective revision and foster a sense of community among students. Group conferencing, defined in this study as a meeting between an instructor and a small group of students in which the participants receive feedback on drafts from their group members and instructor simultaneously, is a promising strategy for achieving those goals effectively and efficiently. The purpose of this study was to use a teacher research/participant-observer methodology to examine group conferencing more expansively and thoroughly than previous researchers and depicting a broader range of the behaviors that characterized the conferences and including the students' perception of the activity. In order to achieve these aims, a group of eighteen first-year composition students participated in individual conferences, in-class peer response, and group conferences and completed reflective assignments about each activity's effectiveness. Recordings of the group conferences were reviewed for significant behavioral patterns and the students' written responses were analyzed for indications of positive and negative reactions to group conferencing. The results included many behaviors described by previous researchers as well as several additional behavioral patterns that indicated the activity could be an effective and unique feedback experience. Most notably, working side-by-side with the instructor seemed to enhance the quality of feedback the students were able to offer one another because the instructor was able to demonstrate appropriate response techniques, prompt for more detailed responses from the students, and reinforce the students' helpful contributions. The students' written responses indicated that they saw value in group conferencing and, in some cases, came to prefer it over other feedback activities. Further, the findings of this study suggest that group conferencing may provide opportunities for community-building not afforded by other response strategies.

abstract: In this dissertation I employed a culminating cycle of action research following two earlier ones to facilitate the creation of a professional learning community (PLC). My research took place at an elementary school in an urban area of the American southwest. As principal of this school I had initiated the policies and procedures that were often recommended to create PLCs. However, observations of teachers in PLC meetings indicated that conversations focused on logistical planning issues, rather than on the in-depth pedagogical discussions that characterize high functioning PLCs. To address this problem I introduced a form of peer observation into the PLC meeting. This was achieved by showing short video recordings of teachers in their classrooms. I used a mixed methods approach to investigate how this innovation influenced three constructs associated with PLC meetings: professional learning, the sharing of tacit teaching knowledge, and collaboration in the PLC. Quantitative data consisted of responses to a survey given as a pre-, post-, and retrospective pre-test. Results showed significant gains for all three constructs between the retrospective pre-test and the post-test, but no significant gain between the pre- and post-test. Analysis of qualitative data produced four assertions. First, the process of peer observation during a PLC meeting benefitted the personal learning of teachers. Second, peer observation benefitted teacher teams' abilities to demonstrate the critical behaviors of a true PLC. Third, the process of facilitating peer observation through video recordings evoked negative emotions. Fourth, the degree to which teachers were able to learn from a video was influenced by their perceptions of the video's authenticity and similarity to their own classrooms. In the discussion, complementarity of the quantitative and qualitative data was described and results were explained in terms of previous research and established theory. Additionally, practical lessons that were learned, limitations, and research implications were described. In a concluding section, I discussed my personal learning regarding leadership, innovation, and action research; the purpose of the doctorate in education; and strengthening connections between research and practitioners. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2015

Die Nutzung von Social Media ist für Mitarbeiter längst zur Alltagsroutine geworden und drängt immer stärker in die Unternehmen und ihre Personalentwicklungsmaßnahmen (Gori & Robes, 2015). Aktuelle Forschungen von Franken & Franken (2015) zeigen deutlich, dass sich zukunftsorientierte Unternehmen verstärkt auf praxisorientiertes, in Arbeitsprozesse integriertes und computergestütztes Lernen fokussieren, um an die individuellen Bedarfe der Mitarbeiter angepasste Weiterbildungsmaßnahmen direkt am Arbeitsplatz zur Verfügung zu stellen. Dies führt zu einem zunehmenden Verschmelzen von Lern- und Arbeitsprozessen. Dabei sind Unternehmen mit einer ausgeprägten Lernkultur mit einer höheren Wahrscheinlichkeit innovativer, produktiver, liefern eine höhere Qualität und haben eine höhere Wahrscheinlichkeit, zu Marktführern in ihrer Branche zu gehören (Mallon, 2010). Wesentlicher Bestandteil dieser Lernkultur sind florierende, virtuelle, hochvernetzte unternehmensinterne Lern- und Wissenscommunities, in denen Kollaboration und Kooperation dominierende Arbeitsprinzipien sind. [... Einleitung]

nÃo hà / CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / Na Ãltima dÃcada, em relaÃÃo à educaÃÃo superior, o surgimento de ambientes de aprendizagem, acessÃveis atravÃs da grande rede, deu suporte para a formaÃÃo de comunidades virtuais. Estas comunidades que se formam em instituiÃÃes sÃo formaÃÃes sociais que necessitam ser pesquisadas e compreendidas dentro da acepÃÃo da ideia que representam para a educaÃÃo e para o social. Este trabalho tem como objetivo propor um modelo para avaliaÃÃo da coesÃo interna de uma comunidade virtual de aprendizagem e, desta forma, estabelecer o nÃvel de integraÃÃo na comunidade e proporcionar um caminho para intervenÃÃes que melhorem a qualidade da comunidade de aprendizagem. A partir do estudo do referencial teÃrico foi desenvolvido um modelo de avaliaÃÃo denominado MCICA que foi testado em um ambiente virtual de aprendizagem em uma instituiÃÃo do ensino superior. O modelo MCICA foi inspirado na teoria de fluxo de Czikszentmihalyi e desenvolvido com base em extensos estudos dos teÃricos que abordam as comunidades presenciais e virtuais. Assim, ainda que o modelo tenha sido desenvolvido, inicialmente, para avaliar comunidades virtuais de aprendizagem, ele pode ser usado para avaliar comunidades presenciais. Quanto à testagem do modelo, se trabalhou com base em abordagem etnometodolÃgica e os dados foram tratados quanti-qualitativamente. A aplicaÃÃo do modelo possibilitou diagnosticar o nÃvel de coesÃo nas possÃveis comunidades avaliadas e delinear a necessidade propostas de intervenÃÃo para favorecer a melhoria da qualidade de coesÃo das potenciais comunidades. AlÃm disso, a partir da aplicaÃÃo do modelo surgiram novas necessidades e ideias que podem incentivar a utilizaÃÃo de comunidades de aprendizagem como alternativa para a melhoria da educaÃÃo superior, a possibilidade de integrar o modelo em espaÃo virtual para facilitar o acesso e integraÃÃo de aÃÃes avaliativas institucionais das comunidades de aprendizagem. A proposta do modelo MCICA pode ser utilizada como um caminho para resolver uma parte das necessidades de avaliaÃÃo das instituiÃÃes que atuam atravÃs do meio virtual e que fomentam a formaÃÃo de comunidades virtuais de aprendizagem, proporcionando uma leitura das interaÃÃes interpessoais e a busca da melhoria da qualidade dentro destes espaÃos digitais e presenciais. / This paper aims to propose a model to evaluate the internal cohesion of virtual learning communities and provide a way for interventions to improve the quality of the learning community. Based on the study of the theoretical model was developed evaluation model called "ACICVA" which was tested in a virtual learning environment in an institution of higher education. The application of the model allowed to diagnose the level of community cohesion, assessed the need and outline proposals for action to foster greater cohesion quality of potential communities. Moreover, from the application of the model came new needs and ideas that may encourage the use of learning communities as an alternative to the improvement of higher education, the possibility of integrating the model in virtual space for easy access and integration of actions evaluative institutions of learning communities.

The problem was that there is a shortage of nurses who possess the leadership practices required to fill current and impending nursing leadership vacancies. Hospital-based nurse educators are in a prime position to foster a leadership mindset within nurses, and seek out potential nurse leaders; however, nurse educators first need to develop their own leadership practices and feel empowered to take on the role of mentoring future nurse leaders. The goal was to develop an online learning community where hospital-based nurse educators could develop their own nursing leadership practices through storytelling within an environment that included the elements of teaching presence, cognitive presence, and social presence. The online learning community would be considered an empowering environment, and nurse educators would improve their own feelings of empowerment. A wiki was used as the computer-user interface for the online learning community, and was designed based on the principles of human-computer interaction, learning theory, and instructional design. The wiki was separated into two learning communities, namely, the facilitated community and the self-organizing community. Some of the wiki pages were viewable by both communities, some were community specific, and other pages were private and viewable only to the nurse educator and the facilitator. The researcher/facilitator was the leader of the facilitated community, while self-organizing community members were responsible for leading their own community. The facilitator intervened in the self-organizing community when necessary, mostly to address technical issues. Through direct instruction via narrated presentations available to both communities, and leadership stories written and posted by the community members themselves, nurse educators learned about exemplary practices of leadership. Nurse educators in both communities significantly increased their own perceived leadership practices and perceived levels of empowerment. Educators in both learning communities identified that their communities included the elements of teaching, cognitive, and social presence. There were no differences between the communities, except on the teaching presence subscale of direct instruction, where the facilitated community was rated significantly higher. Given increases in empowerment levels, it was determined that both online learning communities could be considered empowering environments.

Leadership capacity may be enhanced when school staff members work together as a professional learning community (PLC). Leadership style may impact how well a school staff work as a professional learning community. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between principal leadership style and the level of PLC on 18 campuses across the US that were working on becoming PLCs. Staff members answered questions from two surveys which measured the level of leadership capacity, leadership style of the principal, and level of professional learning community within the schools. Questions regarding leadership capacity and leadership style were taken from the Leadership Capacity School Survey. Questions designed to measure the level of PLC on a campus were taken from the Professional Learning Community Assessment. The product-moment correlation coefficient or Pearson r was calculated between the answers from the questions from both surveys. The results indicated that when a capacity building principal is working with staff members to create a PLC, a higher level of PLC development is evidenced. When principals used collaboration with their staff, their schools operated at a lower level as a PLC. These results encourage principals to consider building capacity among their staff members if they want to create professional learning communities on their campus.

This essay reports on an investigation of an integrative solution to facilitating cooperative learning for net generation learners in a technology-rich environment. Of specific interest is the changing roles of learners and educators as well as the enabling role of technology. The case study investigated and utilised to compile this dissertation is the Earthly Aliens Theme Day. Data obtained by interviewing and observing Theme Day participants is utilised to support the answers of the research questions. The research results of this study have shown that St Alban's College successfully managed to implement computer-integrated Theme Days. The College broke the barriers between subjects; learners participated in a learning experience that is closer to reality than just another 'thumb suck' educational experience. The concept of group work has been introduced to learners, and they are allowed to be creative, lateral thinkers and problem solvers. A small committee of learners gained managerial skills, while College graduates who are entering the job market are equipped with the necessary cross-curricular life skills to cope in today's technological advanced world / Thesis (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Curriculum Studies / MEd / Unrestricted

AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OFNdeye Helene Oumou Diack, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Curriculum & Instruction, presented on October 23rd, 2019, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.TITLE: ADDRESSING THE CRITICAL STEPS OF BUILDING A CULTURE OF COLLABORATION IN A PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY (PLC): A CASE STUDYMAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. John McIntyre This case study examined PLC leaders and team members during their first year setting up their PLC collaborative process. It investigated the PLC design and activities, the team members lived experiences during the setting up of the PLC, and its impact on members’ interpersonal relationships and also their personal and professional growth. I collected the data by means of observations of team meetings, PLC documents analysis, an interview of an administrator, and a focus group of a team of three Caucasian American female experienced elementary teachers. The research took place in a school district at a semi-rural Midwestern town in the USA during the 2018-2019 school year. DuFour et al. (2016) model of a PLC provided the main framework for the study that took into account Situated Learning (Lave & Wenger, 1991) and Social Constructivism (Vygotsky, 1978). The findings showed that despite hindrances due to the design process, accountability measures of school improvement reporting weights, and the individual PLC members’ personalities, the team members I studied, unlike some other teams in the building, were doing a great collaborative work. They were driven by collective commitment to the PLC mission, values, visions and goals. They showed resiliency that is strengthened by mutual trust, mutual support, mutual respect, and protection for each other. They had a high level of dedication to improve their students’ achievements by means of common formative assessment of their academic and behavioral issues, intervention plans to address issues, and a very rigorous benchmarking of collectively designed instructional units. Vulnerability of both administrators and team members were evidenced, and the limitations of the study, recommendations for improvement, and implication for Policy Makers, as well as directions for future research are provided.