ERIC Number: ED582316
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 125
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 978-0-3554-6994-3
ISSN: EISSN-
EISSN: N/A
The Impact of Professional Learning Communities on Student Learning in Mathematics in a Small, Rural Southern High School in North Carolina
Ford, Eastman Bryant, Jr.
ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Wingate University
Historically, there have been different types of instructional practice in education. Before the mid-1980s, administrators pushed content. In the mid-1980s, it was Effective Teaching with the Six-Point Lesson Plan. There were many observations with the Career Ladder of which the researcher was a participant in the pilot program. There came cooperative learning where students were learning from each other in groups. Some schools liked the method that the researcher's school used, which was paideia seminars. From the finer points of the above methods evolved professional learning communities in which teachers meet for 30 minutes once a week to share lesson plans or ideas. Researchers have published informative articles and written books about professional learning communities as illustrated in the literature review. According to this literature, there is a feeling that this approach to collaboration has done more to enhance education than anything thus far. This study used surveys of parents and mathematics teachers to learn their thoughts on the subject. The researcher used statistical methods to show that this method of collaborative teaching and learning is well worth the time and the money. While many parents had no idea PLCs existed, schools have employed them for several years. In this mixed methods study, the researcher used short-answer quantitative and discussion qualitative items to get real opinions about PLCs. There is still research to be done on professional learning communities. Teachers are teaching according to the literature that is available. Teachers are also participating in professional development opportunities made available by the administration. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Teaching Methods, Parent Surveys, Teacher Surveys, Mathematics Teachers, Mathematics Instruction, Statistical Analysis, Communities of Practice, Mixed Methods Research, Teacher Collaboration, Faculty Development, Rural Schools, High Schools, Secondary School Teachers, Cooperative Learning
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: North Carolina
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A