The paper reviews teacher candidates' use of action research and the Professional Learning Community (PLC) concept to support their work in their pre-student teaching field experience. In this research study, teacher candidates are involved in a professional development school relationship that uses action research and PLCs to support candidate growth as teachers. The candidates use action research and PLCs to improve their lesson planning, classroom instruction, and assessment. The action research and PLCs are helpful avenues for teacher candidates to prosper under the high pressure of their teaching responsibilities and learn more about their practice.