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Research Report

Professional Learning Communities

A professional learning community (PLC) is an ongoing process in which teachers collaborate to complete cycles of inquiry and research to improve student learning. This report describes the benefits of and motivations behind professional learning communities and how school districts can implement and assess PLCs.

A professional learning community (PLC) is an ongoing process in which teachers collaborate to complete cycles of inquiry and research to improve student learning. At most profiled districts, administrators implement professional learning communities (PLCs) to improve teacher and student achievement.

This report describes the benefits of and motivations behind professional learning communities and how school districts can implement and assess PLCs.

Explore strategies to ensure successful PLC implementation, with a focus on implementation timelines, teacher professional development, and assessment. The report also highlights common implementation challenges and solutions.

PLC benefits and key qualities

At most profiled districts, administrators implement PLCs to improve teacher and student achievement. At District F, administrators implemented PLCs to improve student learning by improving teachers’ ability to collaborate, select and implement effective instructional strategies, and identify students in need of support. Similarly, administrators at District A implemented PLCs to foster meaningful collaboration and improve student postsecondary performance (e.g., performance on college admissions tests, grades in college coursework).

Successful PLCs incorporate timely, directive interventions to support struggling students, ask teams of teachers to develop common formative assessments and pedagogical strategies, and encourage teachers to analyze student performance data to identify curricular gaps. Without incorporating these key characteristics, PLCs do not always lead to increases in performance and achievement.

For example, a Journal of Education and Training study profiles a PLC initiative in a Texas district that failed due to an overly-narrow focus on data over student learning/reflective conversation, insufficient…

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