This study explores the impact of professional learning communities on student achievement in a small school setting. Aaron Hansen's book, "How to Develop PLCs for Singletons and Small Schools," offered a guide for arranging vertical, grade-level teams with one teacher per grade level at one private, K-8 school. The faculty engaged in…

This quantitative study explored teacher perceptions of professional learning community dimensions, teacher self-efficacy, and collective efficacy. Professional learning communities (PLCs) have been shown to positively impact teacher self-efficacy and collective efficacy, all supporting student achievement. The overarching question guiding this…

The professional learning community (PLC) is considered to be an effective school improvement strategy centered on student achievement. The goal of this study was to introduce the PLC approach in a few public elementary schools in Cameroon to evaluate the causal impact of this organizational model on student learning. A quasi-experimental approach…

Professional Learning Community (PLC) has steadily grown in importance over the last decade. The growing importance of PLCs lies in its potential to act as a lever for school-based curriculum development and innovation so as to provide diverse learning experiences to satisfy broader learning outcomes beyond academic achievements (e.g., the…

The focus of the action research reported here is on how leaders and teachers used teamwork in developing a professional learning community in a new compulsory school in Iceland. Collaboration is a critical issue in schools as it can improve practice that supports student achievement. Results from the TALIS 2008 study show that Icelandic teachers…

Through collaboration between one rural southeastern university and a local rural school system of high-poverty in southeast Georgia (a pseudonym, Justice County School System [JCSS]), a mixed method case study analysis was conducted to examine a system-wide professional learning initiative. The goal of this initiative was to provide professional…

This study investigated leadership supports provided by an elementary principal of 15 years in a high performing diverse school. Employing document analysis and interviews, the researcher gathered and analyzed data in an effort to identify those leadership strategies that could be replicated at other school sites. The study identified the…

Professional learning communities (PLCs) are a widespread phenomenon in K-12 education, as they are perceived as a mechanism for enhancing teacher effectiveness and, therefore, student achievement. However, there is a dearth of empirical research on PLCs--particularly, the primary focus that the communities take, teachers' perceptions and…

Changing teacher practices to improve student learning is a challenge. For teachers' practices to change, faculties within schools must build communities of practice. However, supporting teachers' collaborative learning within a Professional Learning Team can be an elusive challenge. We found through the Instructional Learning Team (ILT) model of…

A teacher professional development program for in-service elementary school science teachers, the Rice Elementary Model Science Lab (REMSL), was developed for urban school districts serving predominately high-poverty, high-minority students. Teachers with diverse skills and science capacities came together in Professional Learning Communities, one…