The Story of Digital Collaboration: Developing a Teacher Learning Community (TLC) Using a Technology Tool

• In Event: Supporting teachers through digital tools and frameworks

Proposal

As we envision education in a digital society, leveraging technology for professional development and collaboration to transcend geographical and logistical barriers, becomes crucial. This paper examines how a large private school system in Pakistan, with over 200 branches within the country and operating across eight countries, established and successfully implemented a digital Teacher Learning Community (TLC) using Google Classroom to address key challenges in professional collaboration, instructional support, and resource sharing. Their initiative aligns with the theme of CIES 2025 by illustrating how technology can be used to foster international and cross-institutional collaboration in education, particularly in resource-constrained environments.

Context, Guiding Framework and Implementation

Historically, this private school system operated through a centralized, hierarchical structure, with policy decisions passed down to individual schools through layers; from the Head Office to the regional offices to school group offices. However, a system-wide realignment in January 2019 changed the organizational structure, shifting decision-making power to the schools and enabling direct communication between individual schools and the Head Office. While this realignment empowered school-level decision-making, it presented the challenge of communicating to provide effective and timely support in teaching and learning to such a large and dispersed school network through only 12 curriculum specialists at the central head office. Since it was realized that support networks are an integral component of effective teaching and learning environments (Rincón-Gallardo & Fullan, 2016), to meet this need, a digital support community called Teacher Learning Community (TLC) was developed using Google Classrooms. The intervention was guided by the Professional Learning Community (PLC) framework, which emphasizes collaboration, shared responsibility, and a focus on improving student outcomes through teacher development (DuFour, 2007). This framework was adapted to create a digital space where school heads, middle managers, and teachers from all around the country could associate directly with not only the 12 curriculum specialists mentioned above but also with each other to share best practices, give timely feedback, ask questions, and access resources, allowing for a more interactive and collaborative professional development experience. This particular technology platform, i.e., Google Classroom, was chosen for its simplicity of use, availability, and robust ability to connect all participants to engage in real-time discussions to collectively solve instructional challenges. All stakeholders were conveniently enrolled in subject and grade-specific Google Classrooms using existing employee profile databases. This use of digital technology was, hence, critical in addressing and robustly overcoming the logistical and geographical challenges of supporting such a large number of widely dispersed school-based staff.

Impact Analysis

After six months of implementation impact of the TLC was assessed using a variety of tools for holistic evaluation. This included:
- Surveys which were sent to all participants of TLC to gauge their satisfaction with the platform and with the resources and support provided.
- Interviews conducted with selected school heads and middle managers to gain deeper insights into the platform’s effectiveness and identify areas for improvement.
- Content analysis of the discussions and feedback provided on the platform within Google Classrooms, to assess the quality and relevance of interactions among educators and their level of satisfaction with this platform.

An analysis of this data accentuated the success of TLC in several key areas. Teachers reported prompt access to a vast variety of instructional resources and timely and direct communication with curriculum specialists. They felt that this served to improve their teaching practices and ultimately enhanced student learning. The participants also believed that this shared digital space facilitated and enriched peer-to-peer learning, strengthened professional support networks, and provided customized solutions for diverse problems in teaching and learning in schools. It assisted in the mitigation of hierarchical barriers between stakeholders and served to develop their reflective skills through discussion and agency. Curriculum specialists found the TLC very effective in standardizing and monitoring curriculum implementation across all the branches of the school system. It was extremely cost-effective, too, as existing IT infrastructure like the Internet, Google Suite, and employee databases were utilized. A notable and humongous success of the initiative was the school system’s ability to seamlessly transition to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, which surfaced soon after its implementation. And so, TLC helped schools adapt quickly to the challenges of lockdown and ensured unbroken communication. In fact, the initiative was expanded to develop Classrooms for students too, to maintain connections with them during COVID.

However, several challenges also emerged during the implementation phase. Technological literacy and skills varied among teachers, particularly those in remote areas, which led to some initial resistance and hindrance in using the platform. Additionally, while most teachers embraced the opportunity for collaboration, engagement levels varied, suggesting that more work was needed to incentivize participation across the board. Changing the culture of compliance and encouraging a two-way flow of information and ideas by breaking hierarchical mindsets completely also required a conscious and consistent effort.

Way Forward

This research showcases how a digital platform like Google Classroom, when aligned with the Professional Learning Community framework (DuFour, 2007), can foster collaboration and professional development at scale, even within large, complex school systems. By addressing the need for consistent teacher support, facilitating resource sharing, and enhancing professional networks, the TLC initiative in Pakistan provides a powerful model for envisioning education in a digital society. Going forward, these insights can inform similar interventions in other educational systems, particularly those facing challenges related to geographic dispersion or limited access to professional development resources. With minor adjustments, such as enhanced training and more structured engagement strategies, the model can be replicated to support schools in various contexts, from rural to urban, medium to large, decentralized systems worldwide.
As the global community increasingly adopts digital methods in education, this project addresses critical themes, such as fostering international partnerships, enhancing access to professional learning, and integrating digital tools in education systems. The focus on equity, accessibility, and collaborative learning, makes it a relevant study for CIES 2025, offering valuable insights into how digital tools can transform professional learning in education.

Author

• Amber Noor Mustafa, Florida State University