The present study aims to examine the influence of teacher collaboration within professional learning communities (PLCs) and collaborative teaching practices on both the professional growth and academic achievement of students. The study employed a mixed-methods research design that incorporated both qualitative and quantitative research…

Purpose: Social media has become a popular platform for forming professional learning communities (PLCs) for educators. However, few studies have been conducted to understand physical educators' behaviors in these social media-based PLCs. This study aimed to investigate physical educators' help-seeking behaviors in a social media-based PLC on…

The importance of teacher collaboration and professional growth are highlighted by their inclusion in the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). In ESSA, it is recommended that teachers are provided with opportunities to collaborate and participate in learning communities. The purpose of this action research study was to address the problem of…

This study aims to determine the relationships between enabling school structure, teachers' social network intentions and the professional learning community. This study used a structural equation modelling approach to investigate the relationships and implemented the appropriate sampling method. Survey data were obtained from 302 teachers working…

During recent decades, professional learning communities (PLCs) have enhanced education from lower grade levels through college years, with many resulting benefits. PLCs provide an environment that encourages professional development, collaboration and innovation among teachers. Research suggests positive school reform occurs when teachers…

This qualitative case study of 20 teachers enrolled in a two-year fellowship, examines the professional development of science teachers during participation in a professional learning community. Our professional development model specifically employs vertical teaming of teachers from elementary, middle, and high school levels to examine the…

Approximately 11% of Michigan's roughly 199,620 elementary and secondary students are eligible for special education under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Students with disabilities placed in a self-contained classroom by an individualized education program (IEP) committee are usually those in need of the most intense programs…

Teachers in contemporary schools carry a host of work-related responsibilities. As such, the act of teaching (delivering content) is only one aspect of being a teacher. Interactions with colleagues, administrators, and students combine to form a complex socialization process as teachers, especially novice teachers in their induction years, learn…

Critical Friends Groups (CFGs) are a form professional learning community that has been used for teacher learning in K-12 environments for many years. In order to foster community and learning amongst distributed participants, CFGs are beginning to make their way online. This article describes the experience of a four-year old online CFG whose…

Teacher professional development (PD) that supports the emergence of professional learning communities (PLCs) is effective for teachers' learning and instructional improvement. Our work focuses on supporting the emergence of online PLCs and an emergent issue in this work is how to maintain the quality of teachers' experiences in online PLCs when…

Numerous studies have found that students of color are often subject to teacher biases or negative preconceptions. These biases often result in barriers and limitations that negatively impact students' academic achievement and social and emotional development. Studies have also documented the impact of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) in…

Music educators are continually seeking new ways to better their practice and improve student learning. Professional learning communities are a type of collaborative community that when administered successfully provide a forum for music educators to become active participants in both their own learning and that of their students. While the notion…

Objective: To analyze the scope of realization of professional learning communities with teachers and management teams who implemented that intervention during two years in a high school in the south of Chile. Methodology: In this applied research, teachers participated in phases of diagnosis of training needs for professional development. Based…

This article details one teacher education department's process of addressing the social-emotional learning of preservice teachers and, ultimately, their P-12 learners. We used an innovative social-emotional learning framework utilizing the professional learning communities model for faculty development and program implementation. It uses multiple…

The purpose of this project was to move the educational team of Westwood Baptist Academy (WBA) toward a collaborative approach to professional development by utilizing principles of distributed leadership to initiate a peer-led professional learning community. The Project Director lead a twenty-member educational team through a twelve-session…