When implemented effectively, competency-based education (CBE) promotes high levels of learning for every student. Further, the practices and structures of a professional learning community (PLC) support this work. Explore a variety of perspectives and examples from educators who have shifted to CBE with great results. The book details how to do…

The purpose of this case study was to explore the process of providing wraparound services and the community that supports facilitators working with students in a school setting in a southwestern state. Communities of practice (CoP) provided the theoretical framework for this study's design and analysis. The central research question for this…

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) have been identified nationwide and supported by many researchers as an effective way to reform schools. PLCs have proven to reduce the achievement gap and have a positive impact on student achievement and school culture. A school leader must be a strong instructional leader who creates a culture of…

Educators have many "meetings of the minds": Grade-level planning sessions, PLCs, coaching meetings--which together should allow teachers ample opportunities to create high-quality, rigorous lesson plans that deepen student learning. But do these meetings actually work? Frequent planning sessions often become a time for teachers to…

This paper calls for a global community of practice to support people to enact trauma-informed practice in the archival profession. Building on the literature around archives and affect, decolonising spaces, and centring communities, it proposes trauma-informed practice is implemented in archives, and a community of practice be established to…

Why does some professional development fall flat, while others resonate with teachers and make a real difference? How can professional learning be made better and lead to lasting changes in teacher practice? Schools and districts can get more out of their investment in professional learning for teachers (and principals) by creating PD systems,…

Purpose: The first-aid courses organized by the Youth Red Cross Carinthia (Austria) had a quality problem, necessitating a professionalization in teaching and time structure. This research aimed to enhance the quality and effectiveness of these courses by implementing modified lesson studies with non-professional trainers. The paper presents the…

Acknowledging that our professional development (or methods course) was not going as well as we had hoped was difficult. However, knowing what to do and correcting the problem was even more challenging. This article explains how we engaged teachers in helping us rethink our video club by listening to and acting on their ideas. Through "coffee…

Maintaining a commitment to social justice teaching can be especially challenging when navigating the bureaucratic systems and ever-spiraling responsibilities of the education system. To better understand how social-justice-oriented educators navigate these tensions, this paper uses qualitative methods to investigate the social justice problems of…

In this study, I explored professional learning community sustainability at the school, district, and state levels. Researchers have found that professional learning communities are a means of effective professional learning for teachers and a vital factor in increased student achievement. However, there is very little multi-case research…

University students can become overwhelmed and hopeless as they pursue their final capstone writing projects. They are also navigating trying times of overlapping crises such as poverty, environmental decay, and war. To address these challenges, our Capstone Writing Groups (CWG) are designed to develop students' writerly competence and enhance…

Socioscientific issues (SSI) have been found to improve scientific literacy skills among K-12 students. Existing literature shows, however, that elementary preservice teachers are reluctant to implement SSI due to a lack of confidence with subject matter knowledge and knowledge of instruction concerning SSI. Previous research has focused on…

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent responses affected students of all ages academically, mentally, and emotionally. As leadership educators, we felt compelled to respond by adjusting our programming and pedagogy for a post-pandemic era. This study aimed to explore the experiences of the thirty college of agricultural science students who engaged…

This article presents an action research project conducted in a Swedish compulsory school. In the project the participants explored ways of identifying actions to improve in the practices of a professional learning community in order to develop teaching. This is important for participants in such communities, since the outcome of developed…

Few existing research examines the relationship between transformational leadership and professional learning communities. This study aims to explore the relationship between transformational leadership and professional learning community components from the perspective of teachers in the Chinese context. A total of 385 primary school teachers…