Professional Learning Communities - Research Proposal Example

(DuFour, 2004, pp.6-11). For Senge, the five key disciplines underlying the concept of PLC include organizational learning, shared vision, mental models, team learning and systems thinking whereas Hord believes these five key elements to be supportive and shared leadership, shared values and vision, collective learning and application of learning, supportive conditions and shared personal practice (Alberta Education, 2006, pp.8 & 9). Since teachers play a key role in the over all accomplishment of any educational institute, they have become the cynosure of professional learning communities where they are considered as learners who are in a constant process of mentoring and being mentored.

The reason behind bringing the teachers to the centre of attention is the fact that any kind of improvement happening in any classroom involves the participation of a teacher (Schwarz: 1998). Any development in teachers would not only improve students’ performance but would also motivate the teachers themselves. As a consequence of aggrandizing trend of professional learning communities, the education system has witnessed a considerable phase of amelioration. According to the studies of Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, as a result of professional development, the teachers do not confine their lessons to the conventional facts but keep updating their knowledge with latest developments in their fields.

Similarly, the teachers do not expect normative feedback but appreciate multiple perspectives from their students. They also design the curriculum in such a way that the knowledge inculcated to the students becomes more thought provoking. In order to elucidate various concepts, they try to extract examples from the real life situations instead to sticking to the text book instances. Through the practice of collegiality facilitated by PLCs, teachers are now able to work in groups in order to share different teaching strategies about