This paper explores how a professional learning community (PLC) redesigns high school mathematics lessons towards a shared commitment. We describe the nature of a PLC's collective curricular vision to illuminate how teachers can come to new understandings as a group in order to shift the ways students experience mathematics. Using the curricular…

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…

This study used mixed methods to explore the impact of a university-hosted professional learning community (PLC) on teacher retention in public schools. Recent graduates (1-3 years) and mentor teachers were invited to participate. Via a case study approach, participants were challenged to look critically at their teaching and use data to…

A burgeoning set of education-related organizations join networks each year, reflecting a shared belief that problems in education are too complex for any one educator or organization to solve on their own and that collaboration can support educational improvement. The goal of this paper is to describe how networked improvement communities (NICs)…

Digital transformation shapes the educational system in many ways. It has also far-reaching implications for teachers as their job description may fundamentally change in the future. In this light, it is important 1) to identify necessary digital competences of teachers and 2) to find ways to foster those competences in an efficient way. By means…

This study was designed to initiate the process of building professional development learning communities for pre-service math teachers through revealing those teachers' conceptions/beliefs of students' learning and their own learning in China. It examines Chinese pre-service math teachers' conceptions of student learning and their related…

This manuscript builds on the previous reviews of professional learning communities (PLCs), using 10 empirical international research studies to present the impact of PLCs on teacher practice and student learning. The results showed that PLC studies that embrace collaboration and focus on student learning reported improved teacher practice and…

This 5-year mathematics professional development project involves 27 elementary teachers prepared and supported as Elementary Mathematics Specialists (EMSs) in high-need urban schools. They complete a university's K-5 Mathematics and Teacher Supporting & Coaching Endorsement programs and participate in Professional Learning Communities and…

Teacher education programs are typically seen as innovative models of teaching, but how do teacher educators stay current in methodologies that reach diverse and underserved students? This study documents the initial teaching concerns of seasoned teacher educators (PK-8th grade), across areas of study, and followed them across two years as they…

The key to instructional improvement lies in teacher learning, and teachers' professional learning is best achieved in a professional community. This study compares teachers' communal learning activities in rural and urban schools in China with the aim of illustrating the influence of the professional learning community (PLC) on teachers'…

This mixed-method study explored the influencing process of professional learning communities (PLCs) on teacher job satisfaction in China. A questionnaire survey on 488 teachers in 16 primary schools in Shanghai was administered to examine the effect of PLCs on teacher job satisfaction. Follow-up qualitative interviews on ten teachers were…

Mathematics teachers develop understandings about instruction across multiple settings, such as classrooms, workshops, and professional learning communities. When teacher teams collaborate, their prior teaching and learning experiences meaningfully inform their sensemaking. However, current research does not explicitly link teacher conversations…

In many Western countries, there has been an emphasis on ways in which to support teachers to shift practice from traditional mathematics instruction to inquiry-based classrooms. As a form of professional learning and development, lesson study offers the potential for teachers to develop their ability to respond to students' thinking through…

A history-infused lesson package developed by a team of teachers in a professional learning community was used to teach introductory calculus in a secondary school. First, we report a quasi-experimental design that showed that students in the experimental group performed significantly better than students in the control group. Second, we report on…

We report on the development and evaluation of MathVision, a mobile-application designed to develop Virtual Professional Learning Communities through asynchronous discussion about 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students' mathematical thinking. MathVision allows teachers to upload videos of problems solving sessions using Cognition Based Assessment…