Professional Learning Communities

The continual search for more effective strategies for school improvement has led to a number of new models of school reform. Some of these rely heavily upon findings in the field of human relations and organizational [Page 816]theory. The professional learning community (PLC) represents an emerging model for school improvement that draws from what we know about human relations and organizational change.

While the literature provides various characteristics that describe the operations of a PLC, extensive research has led Dr. Shirley Hord to propose five attributes or dimensions that characterize professional learning communities:

• 1.
  Supportive and shared leadership: Collegial and facilitative participation of the principal who shares leadership, power, and authority through involving staff in decision making
• 2.
  Shared values and vision: Shared vision that is developed from a steadfast commitment on the part of staff to students' learning and one that is consistently articulated and referenced in the staff's work
• 3.
  Collective learning and application of learning: Collective learning among staff and learning application to solutions for addressing the needs of the students
• 4.
  Supportive conditions: Physical conditions and human capacities that continually support the operation of a PLC through a collegial atmosphere and collective learning
• 5.
  Shared practice: Visitation and review of each teacher's classroom behavior by colleagues as feedback and assistance activity to actively support both individual and community improvement

These attributes collapse and comprise the majority of characteristics cited within the literature. Additional descriptors offering a vision of how PLCs function include the incorporation of reflective dialogue, a collective focus on student learning, sharing of norms, family-like atmosphere, connectedness, collaborative teaming, results orientation, always seeking to improve, and possessing a collective resolve. The PLC serves as an infrastructure and provides a new way to organize and arrange staff. This infrastructure becomes critical in seeking and implementing new strategies and methods designed for overall school improvement. Current national and state legislation seeks ongoing improvement, regardless of the current status and/or success of the school, thus establishing a need to incorporate strategies designed to promote continual improvement.

Ongoing research has moved beyond the description of PLCs by investigating how schools become PLCs and how this structure is sustained. This new line of research can provide an infrastructure for schoolwide reform and reculturing while focusing on addressing key phases of change. As this research continues to enhance the knowledge base of PLCs, valuable insights will surface in preparing schools with a structure that focuses on both professional and student learning.