Collaborative Inquiry and the Shared Workspace of Professional Learning Communities

• In Event: Park Central Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: School Effectiveness and School Improvement SIG Roundtables

Abstract

Educators meet in collaborative groups to problem solve with the goal of improving teaching and learning. Professional learning communities provide a venue for problem solving through the collaborative inquiry process. In this process educators self-direct learning and transform pedagogical practices in the shared workspace. The shared workspace includes physical and intellectual interactions that shape educator learning. Findings from this ongoing case study point to positive collaborative physical interactions and intellectual discourse that lead to educator job-embedded professional learning through the collaborative inquiry process.

Authors

• Daniel Carpenter

• Blair O'Connor, Texas Tech University

• Margaret Colicchio, Texas Tech University

• Kimberly B. Myers, Lamar High School - Houston ISD

• qing gao