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 time for teachers to collaborate, disengaged administrators, and the lack of an iterative, ongoing process. An article from Education World highlights potential reasons for PLC failure.
Strategies for successful implementation
District administrators at District E and District F first implemented one-school pilot programs to test PLC effectiveness. At District E, district administrators launched two distinct pilots to compare systematic, evidence-based educational reforms.
One school implemented the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) merit pay model, and the other implemented PLCs. After two-year pilots, the PLC school demonstrated clear advantages in student achievement and in staff morale as compared to the TAP model. Thus, administrators elected to move forward with PLCs rather than the TAP model.
Principal-led
The school principal planned and coordinated implementation at the school. Contacts report that strong principal leadership is crucial to train and hold teachers accountable.
Specific focus
Rather than overwhelm teachers with massive curricular change, the school principal selected one area of focus for the entire school—nonfiction writing—as contacts cite research suggesting that nonfiction writing improves performance in other subjects
Solutions to implementation challenges
Though contacts at most profiled districts report that PLC implementation was successful, contacts from successful profiled districts do report facing multiple implementation challenges. Because implementation challenges relate primarily to teacher pushback, administrators must engage teachers in implementation, collect and incorporate teacher feedback, allow teachers to own the process, and offer consistent professional development and training support.
Implementation challenges at profiled districts
Contacts at District D report that teachers resisted PLC implementation because administrators required teachers to attend PLC meetings during traditional teacher planning time. Contacts at District B and District C also report this challenge. Administrators struggle to adjust master schedules and with encouraging teachers to give up classroom time.
Solutions:
- Adjust schedules to offer PLC meeting time outside of teacher planning time
- Negotiate PLC time into teacher association contracts
Contacts at most profiled school districts cite teacher desire for autonomy as one of the most severe obstacles to PLC implementation. Contacts at District E report that a small group of teachers prefer to work alone and resist collaborative changes. At District A, contacts report that many teachers were unwilling to eschew their standard curricula and units in favor of evidence-based, common curricula and assessments.
Solutions:
- Use student achievement data to demonstrate the district’s need for reform
- Generate PLC mission and purpose statements
- Incorporate teacher feedback to adjust PLC professional development
Though contacts at District B report that the district achieved effective implementation, they note that PLCs have begun to lose effectiveness due to staff turnover and lack of sustained, consistent professional development related to PLCs. Similarly, contacts at District C note that though they implemented PLCs 10-12 years ago, in more recent years teachers began to use PLC time to focus on managerial tasks rather than on the four essential questions.
Solutions:
- Offer consistent professional development for experienced teachers and new hires
- Implement formal PLC re-launch trainings that incorporate expectations for PLC meeting time
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