Relations Among Resources in Professional Learning Communities and Learning Outcomes

• In Event: Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: Professional Learning Communities: Attributes, Status, and Resources

Abstract

This study examines the relations amongst four resources used in PLCs (readings, videos, colleagues, and facilitators) and outcomes (teachers’ learning, teachers’ application of this learning, and subsequent students’ learning). Participants were 18 teachers and the 21 children they taught. Data included 537 teacher reports of learning, 102 lesson plans, 195 teaching session videos, and 21 reader reports, which were used to identify outcomes and the resources that supported these. Data were analyzed using a multilevel structural equation model. Findings highlight the unique contributions of each resource for supporting specific PLC outcomes. For example, video was the most effective resource for supporting teachers’ application of learning to their teaching. Implications for strategically using resources in PLCs are discussed.

Authors

• Tanya M. Christ

• Poonam Arya, Wayne State University

• Ming Ming Chiu, Purdue University