Formal and Informal Collaborations That Influence Teachers’ Take-Up of Mandated Early Literacy Practices

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Sunday 1:30 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Teacher Collaboration, Recruitment, and Innovation (Table 9)

Abstract

The study examines how teachers, under pressure to reform their literacy instruction used formal (e.g., professional learning communities) and informal spaces to collaborate. The research, based on a year-long analysis of PLC meetings and interviews, reveals that while formal PLCs primarily involved low-depth activities like scheduling and resource sharing, informal collaborations offered more meaningful exchanges. Teachers often turned to informal networks for guidance, leveraging close proximity and perceived expertise for effective problem-solving. The study highlights that formal PLCs did not fully support teacher development or collective efficacy, suggesting that enhancing PLC activities and fostering high-depth discussions might improve instructional practices and teacher collaboration

Author

• Erin K. Hogan, University of Louisville