Networked Professional Learning Communities for Multilingual Family Engagement

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Abstract

Expanding professional learning communities (PLCs) beyond school boundaries provides opportunities for educators to engage in expansive learning through networked communities. In this study, we described a year-long networked PLC project including 26 educators across 11 school districts. The PLCs centered their discussions on multilingual learner literacy development through family engagement. Using activity theory as the framework, we examined the expansive learning process for educators through PLC engagement. Based on PLC meeting notes, reflections, final reports, and participants’ pre and post survey responses, we explored who are learning, why they learn, what they learn, and how they learn. The findings illustrated educators’ expansive learning process and revealed tensions rooted in traditional school-based practices.

Authors

• Ye He, University of North Carolina - Greensboro

• Ricardo A. Bernal De la Ossa, Melvin C. Swann Jr. Middle School