Download or read book A Study of Professional Learning Communities and Science Achievement in Large High Schools written by Susan D. Kincannon and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this study was to compare the science achievement and high school completion rates of students in a large high school implementing professional learning community concepts and practices with two large high schools not participating in professional learning community concepts and practices. The primary methodology employed was a causal-comparative quanititative study. Information regarding student achievement and professional learning community concepts and practices was also collected. The data collected included: archived 2008 and 2009 Texas Academic Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) scores obtained from Confidential Student Rosters provided by the Texas Education Agency, archived high school completion rate data obtained online from the Texas Education Agency's Academic Excellence Indicator System for 2008 and 2009; and survey responses from science teachers, administrators, science instructional facilitators and science department heads. The following conclusions were derived based on the data analysis in this study: 1. Professional learning community concepts and practices identified by DuFour et al. (2006) were being implemented in large high schools with 2,000 or more students with and without a formal implementation plan; 2. Large high schools with 2,000 or more students with identified professional learning community implementation plans have a higher level of implementation of concepts and practices identified by DuFour et al.; 3. Professional learning community concepts and practices positively affect student science student achievement in large high schools with 2,000 or more students; 4. The implementation of professional learning communities in large high schools with 2,000 or more students does not appear to have an impact on students' Commended performance on the science Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS); 5. The high school completion rate for all students is higher for large high schools with 2,000 or more students implementing a formal professional learning community plan than it is for large high schools not implementing a formal professional learning communities plan.
Download or read book Building School Based Teacher Learning Communities written by Milbrey W. McLaughlin and published by Teachers College Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Building on extensive evidence that school-based teacher learning communities improve student outcomes, this book lays out an agenda to develop and sustain collaborative professional cultures. McLaughlin and Talbert—foremost scholars of school change and teaching contexts—provide an inside look at the processes, resources, and system strategies that are necessary to build vibrant school-based teacher learning communities. Offering a compelling, straightforward blueprint for action, this book: Takes a comprehensive look at the problem of improving the quality of teaching across the United States, based on evidence and examples from the authors’ nearly two decades of research.Demonstrates how and why school-based teacher learning communities are bottom-line requirements for improved instruction. Outlines the resources and supports needed to build and sustain a long-term school-based teacher professional community. Discusses the nature of high-quality professional development to support learning and changes in teaching.Details the roles and responsibilities of policymakers at all levels of the school system. “This book offers vivid examples of how teacher learning communities are formed and sustained. A must-read for educators at all levels who are serious about enacting change.” —Amy M. Hightower, Assistant Director, American Federation of Teachers
Download or read book The Impact of Professional Learning Communities on Student Achievement in American Public Schools written by and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The goal of this thesis is to outline what a professional learning community (PLC) is and the procedures used in its implementation. More importantly, this study then determines if PLCs can improve a school climate and increase student achievement. The study includes research on American public schools through the decades, various policies developed to promote student learning and to eliminate the gap in achievement among students of varying backgrounds. It looks at the policy of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and how that policy was altered to become the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The study then outlines the elements and implementation of PLCs, describing the role that everyone involved plays. Although more research is being conducted, there is existing evidence that PLCs have a positive impact on school climate and student achievement."--leaf 4.
Download or read book Professional Learning Communities as a Leadership initiated Reform Strategy for Math and Science Teaching in Urban High Schools written by Kristin Shawn Huggins and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Due to the urgency of not losing more urban high school students to academic failure and dropping out, the most promising reform efforts must be investigated. One of the most promising ways of creating successful high school reform that has been advocated is through restructuring schools into community-like organizations, often called professional learning communities. Yet, limited empirical research has been conducted concerning professional learning communities, especially in urban high schools. Thus, this research sought to understand how two urban high schools, one comprehensive high school in a large urban center and one small career academy high school in a medium-sized urban center, implemented professional learning communities as a leadership-initiated reform strategy for math and science teaching. Year-long interactions with each high school including in-depth observations and eighteen interviews, nine personnel from each site, revealed that certain organizational structures (e.g. social and human resources, structural conditions) must be in place for professional learning communities to have the potential to be a successful reform effort. Specifically, the way in which leadership supports professional learning communities through structure, pressure, and support was important. Both studies show that school context and leadership significantly affect the quality of professional learning communities and their ability to reform their instructional practices in order to increase student achievement.
Download or read book Professional Learning Communities at Work written by Richard DuFour and published by Solution Tree. This book was released on 1998 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides specific information on how to transform schools into results-oriented professional learning communities, describing the best practices that have been used by schools nationwide.
Download or read book What Works in Schools written by Robert J. Marzano and published by ASCD. This book was released on 2003 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Schools can and do affect student achievement, and this book recommends specific-and attainable-action steps to implement successful strategies culled from the wealth of research data.
Download or read book Schools as Professional Learning Communities written by Sylvia M. Roberts and published by Corwin Press. This book was released on 2009 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Build a community in your school and improve learning outcomes with this one-stop sourcebook that features the latest educational issues, new research-based strategies and activities, and more!
Download or read book Supporting New Professional Learning Communities in a Rural Comprehensive High School written by Dale Morris Simpson (Jr.) and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This action research case study examined the benefits and challenges experienced by social studies teachers when developing new professional learning communities (PLCs). Additionally, the study sought to assess how interventions developed by a school leadership team supported the development of these new PLCs, if at all. The study examined three research questions: 1. What benefits do high school social studies teachers experience when engaging in new professional learning communities? 2. What challenges do high school social studies teachers experience when engaging in new professional learning communities? 3. How do interventions developed by a school leadership team support the development of new professional learning communities, if at all? The results of this study have several implications for school leaders. First, findings indicate that PLCs could be a worthwhile initiative for improving schools in terms of both school culture and student achievement. Second, administrators should not expect teachers to achieve high levels of collaboration immediately. Instead, teachers need to spend their initial time getting to know each other, and calibrating their beliefs and philosophies. Third, administrators should not utilize the PLC framework to mandate identical instruction across classrooms. While consistency was developed through this process, teachers strove to maintain their own individuality as teachers. Finally, if teachers are expected to collaborate, they must receive the structural and relational supports needed to sustain their work. In this study, these supports included time to meet during the school day, common unit assessments and a rapid data analysis tool to collect and analyze student learning data, and the supportive leadership of a department chair and school leadership team.
Download or read book The Relationship Between Professional Learning Communities and Student Achievement in High Schools written by Teresa Ann Hughes and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A District wide Study Confirming the Relationship Between Professional Learning Communities and Student Achievement in Elementary Schools written by Joseph Samuel Backman and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Researchers have studied professional learning communities for over two decades. Educators have utilized the elements of professional learning communities in their schools to improve instruction and student learning. Yet, there is limited empirical evidence that establishes, describes, and confirms the relationship between professional learning communities and student learning. This study was completed to better understand the nature, strength, and types of relationships between the individual elements of professional learning communities and student achievement. The sample for this study was 26 elementary schools, 439 teachers, and nearly 11,000 students. An analysis of professional learning communities and student achievement data through hierarchical linear modeling indicated that each of the eight clearly defined elements of professional learning communities have a significant relationship with student achievement.
Download or read book Improve Student Achievement Through Professional Learning Communities written by Mindy Roberts and published by LAP Lambert Academic Publishing. This book was released on 2011-02 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: School districts have been developing and implementing reform movements for several decades, usually in response to federal, state or local pressures. Past reform movements have not significantly increased the academic achievement of our nation s children or closed the achievement gap between subgroups of students. The implementation of Professional Learning Communities has recently been noted to be the most promising strategy for improving and sustaining student achievement (DuFour, 2007). This study determined how general education teachers in a Midwestern school district perceived their personal skill level in working collaboratively and focusing on academic results while working in a Professional Learning Community. The overarching question for the research was: Do educator perceptions of their personal skill level in working collaboratively and focusing on academic results while implementing a Professional Learning Community have an effect on student achievement? This study should be especially useful to districts and teachers interested in the use of Professional Learning Communities.
Download or read book The American High School written by Victoria J. Maslow and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Relationship Between Professional Learning Communities and Student Achievement in High Schools written by James P. Stier and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 123 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book An Analysis of the Relationship of Professional Learning Community Implementation in Texas High Schools and Student Achievement written by Laura Lee Johnson-Estes and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the age of No Child Left Behind and increased accountability for education, educational leaders continue to seek an organizational reform model that will positively impact student achievement. Educational literature promotes the Professional Learning Community (PLC) model as a viable option to increase student achievement. This study sought to determine if a relationship exists between the perceived implementation of the PLC model and student academic achievement defined as Exit Level Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills in math, English language arts, science and social studies. The empirical research of Hord (2004) was combined with the work of practitioners DuFour and Eaker (1998) to develop the Organizational Structure Self Assessment (OSSA). This research began with a pilot study to test the OSSA. Once the OSSA was finalized, a stratified random sample of Texas high schools was selected and the OSSA was distributed to 380 high school principals representing all regions in the state of Texas. A total of 114 schools responded to the study. A hierarchical regression was used to determine if a relationship exists between PLC implementation and student achievement. Student economic status, language proficiency and instructional expenditures were controlled in order to partial out extraneous effects of these variables. The research study detected no relationship between having a common belief system (mission, vision, values, and goals) and academic achievement in math, English language arts, science, and social studies. A relationship was not revealed between a focus on continuous improvement and student academic achievement. A relationship was not found between collaboration and high school academic achievement. Finally, a relationship was not confirmed between sustainability and student academic achievement. The interaction of the four domains was not shown to be related to academic achievement in the four core content areas. Although no relationships were revealed between PLC domains and student achievement, virtually all participating schools reported some degree of compliance with the principles of the Professional Learning Community. Therefore the resulting restricted range of implementation could not answer the research questions with certainty. The question of whether PLC principles enhanced school performance is still open for further investigation.
Download or read book Transforming School Culture written by and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The purpose of this study was to assess the level of development of the five professional learning community (PLC) dimensions of Shared and Supportive Leadership, Shared Values and Vision, Collective Learning and Application, Shared Teaching Practices, and Supportive Conditions (Hord, 1996) as perceived by English and mathematics teachers and its relationship to subgroup student academic achievement in English language arts and mathematics. The Equitable Teaching Practice Survey (ETPS) was developed by the researcher to measure the equitable teaching practices employed as a result of teacher participation in the PLC and compared to Dimension 2, Shared Values and Vision and Dimension 3, Collective Learning and Application. Descriptive correlation research was conducted. A 17 item survey, School Professional Staff as Learning Community (Hord, 1996) and a 21item survey ETPS was used to collect the data regarding the five dimensions of a PLC and teaching practices associated with educational equity. It was administered to English and mathematics teachers in six urban high schools in one large school district. Student data were collected from the results of the 2006-2009 English language arts and mathematics assessments designed by the State of California Department of Education to meet the No Child Left Behind Act (2002) requirements for testing grades nine through twelve. The study found that Dimension 2, Shared Values and Vision and Dimension 3, Collective Learning and Application had a positive correlation with teaching practices associated with educational equity. The study also found no statistically significant correlations between subgroup academic achievement in English Language Arts and Mathematics, and teachers' perception of the level of development in the five dimensions of a PLC.
Download or read book Implementing Professional Learning Communities in a High performing School District to Address Stagnating Student Performance written by Alan Addley and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Evaluation of the Implementation of Professional Learning Communities and the Impact on Student Achievement written by Cristi M. Bostic and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This dissertation evaluated the implementation of professional learning communities in a large suburban school district in North Carolina. The presence of shared and supportive leadership, shared values and vision, collective learning and application, shared personal practice, supportive conditions for relationships, and supportive conditions for structures are all attributes that were assessed to determine the degree of implementation. -- A quantitative and qualitative program evaluation was conducted using the CIPP evaluation model to determine the degree of implementation of professional learning communities and whether or not the implementation has had an impact on student achievement based on state end of course test results. The CIPP model of program evaluation is a systematic process to evaluate the context, input, process and product of a particular program to determine the effectiveness of the program. Teacher members of the Algebra I, English 9, and Biology professional learning communities at each of the six high schools were asked to complete the Professional Learning Communities Assessment - Revised survey. The researcher also requested to observe a sample of professional learning community meetings with these teachers to determine whether or not there is evidence that certain characteristics of the professional learning community concept exist. Interviews were conducted with each of the 6 principals, the assistant superintendent of secondary education and the facilitator of professional development.
