Creating Professional Learning Communities

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Creating Professional Learning Communities

• Gwyn Edwards
• Associate Professor
  Faculty of Education, HKU

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Biographical Details

• London University, BSC (Geography) University
  of Wales (Cardiff), PGCE Mount Grace High School,
  Hinckley, Leicestershire
  Meopham School, Meopham, Kent
  London University, MA Curriculum Studies
  University of London, Goldsmith College
  The University of Hong Kong

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The Challenge

• The key to a successful curriculum reform is
  to develop a new culture of teaching and learning
  that can bring about real changes in school life.
  
• Education Commission (2000)
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The Answer

• The most promising strategy for sustained,
  substantive school improvement is developing the
  ability of school personnel to function as
  professional learning communities.
• Dufour and Easker (1998)

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The Genesis

• Preferred organizations in the future will
  be learning organizations ..It has been said
  that people who stop learning stop living. This
  is also true of organizations.
• Handy (1995)

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• The new problem of change . is what would it
  takes to make the educational system a learning
  organization - expert at dealing with change as a
  normal part of its work, not just in relation to
  the latest policy, but as a way of life.
• Fullan (1993)

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• The Commission recommends that schools be
  restructured to become genuine learning
  organizations for both students and teachers
  organizations that respect learning, honor
  teaching, and teach for understanding.
• Darling-Hammond (1996)

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• We have come to realize over the years that
  the development of a learning community of
  educators is itself a major cultural change that
  will spawn many others.
• Joyce and Showers (1995)

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• If schools want to enhance . their capacity
  to boost student learning, they should work on
  building a professional community that is
  characterized by shared purpose, collaborative
  activity and collective responsibility.
• Newmann and Wehlage (1995)

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The Characteristics

• Shared mission, vision and values
• Collective inquiry
• Collaborative teams
• Action, orientation and experimentation
• Continuous improvement
• DuFour and Eaker (1998)
• Dispersed leadership

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The Building Blocks

• Mission Why do we exist?
• Vision What do we hope to become?
• Values How should we behave in order to make
  
  our shared vision
  a reality?
• Goals Which steps will we take first, and
  when?

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The Choices

• incremental change v systematic change
• peripheral change v core change
• superficial change v substantive change
• quick fix change v sustainable change
• structural change v cultural change

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The Obstacles and Dangers

• Fragmented Individualism
• Balkanization (collaboration that divides)
• Contrived Collegiality (groupthink)
• Conflict Avoidance
• False Prophets
• Innovation Overload

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• With change forces abounding, it is easy to
  experience overload, fragmentation and
  incoherence. Policies get passed independent of
  each other, innovations are introduced before
  previous ones are adequately implemented, the
  sheer presence of problems and multiple
  unconnected solutions are overwhelming. Many
  schools and school systems make matters worse by
  indiscriminately taking on ever innovation that
  comes along - the so called Christmas tree
  schools - so many innovations as decorations,
  superficially adorned.
• Fullan (1999)

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• Diolch yn fawr!