Study of Professional Learning Teams Finds Increased Collaboration and Understanding
December 20, 2010 - A school system study looking at the implementation of professional learning teams in schools found that teachers are reporting that the team meetings have steadily increased collaboration, understanding of learning standards and understanding of assessments. Analyses based on 2008-09 professional learning team work show a positive correlation between high levels of professional learning team implementation and students’ academic achievement, attendance and their overall level of satisfaction with their schools.Wake County Public School System Professional Learning Teams:
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 Reedy Creek Elementary Principal Trent Evans and teachers Lauren Soignet and Christine Rahn discuss professional learning teams. |
AUDIO PODCASTS 19 minute mp3 file |
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14.5 minute mp3 file |
Dr. Andrew Jackl and Nancy Baenen of WCPSS Evaluation and Research evaluated the implementation of the professional learning team policy during the 2009-10 school year. The Wake County Board of Education approved Policy 3610 in July 2009 asking educators to take part in weekly professional learning team meetings for a minimum of one hour per week.
In the report entitled “Professional Learning Teams (PLTs): 2009-10 School-Based Policy Implementation Study,” Jackl and Baenen find that in 2009-10 nearly all professional learning teams met at least once a week, attendance was high across all grade levels and meetings lasted longer. The report was based on a variety of sources including High Five professional learning team surveys, WCPSS central databases, principals’ surveys, schools’ websites and artifacts, NC Teacher Working Conditions surveys and case studies of 10 high-performing professional learning teams.
The characteristics of a high performing professional learning team emphasized in WCPSS are:
- Shared vision and values
- Collaborative culture and collective inquiry
- Focus on results
- Supportive and shared leadership
- Supportive conditions
Jackl reported that the 10 observed professional learning teams exemplified a collaborative culture in terms of high participation among members and group decision making.
“Members valued their involvement in PLTs for a variety of reasons including camaraderie, guidance on effective lesson plans, sharing of educational resources and receiving feedback about their teaching strategies,” said Jackl.
Jackl said he found that teachers are steadily improving in their implementation of professional learning teams.
“The high performing teams were the ones that were using data effectively,” said Jackl. “They were giving benchmark assessments. They were looking at what students were getting right, what they were getting wrong, what they were doing right. They were using assessment data to evaluate the effectiveness of their own instructional practices to evaluate the things that were working and were not working.”
In their observations of the 10 teacher teams, the evaluators heard teachers state:
- “I am more efficient and organized. I enjoy teaching again.”
- “As a group, we are stronger than as individuals.”
- “Working in the PLT has made me a more thoughtful teacher. I enjoy listening to others’ problems and suggestions and know that I am not alone. It is a good sounding board.”
- “My students’ grades have increased overall. These increases can be seen in the overall grade and in their Blue Diamond grades as well. My relationship with my students has improved as well as I was given several classroom management strategies.”
The most recent High Five PLT survey provides strong evidence that PLT collaboration has contributed to increased job satisfaction.
Jackl and Baenen found widespread adoption by teachers in their professional learning teams of protocols such as prepared agendas, recorded minutes, the assignment of roles and responsibilities in the team and well established methods for conducting the work of the team. Specific ways these protocols were implemented varied considerably.
The study found that schools were sharing information about the work of professional learning teams in a variety of ways. Principals reported that their schools’ websites were the most common venue. Elementary principals reported communicating more information on a frequent basis than other grade level groups.
The study recommends that school professional learning teams increase their focus on enrichment, as well as remediation, and increase use of research-based strategies to guide efforts and document the success of intervention strategies. Educators can use the characteristics of high performing professional learning teams documented in the report and case study summaries to instill those strategies and characteristics into teams at their schools. The report encourages schools to provide parents information through school websites about the work of professional learning teams.
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