Professional learning communities (PLCs) have been used among educators in higher education as a way to address areas of concern, such as reform. One such area in higher education concerns inequities in education because they impact student learning and achievement. Faculty-driven PLCs in higher education have also been focused on ensuring that faculty continuously learn about and incorporate equity-centered practices in their classrooms to improve student outcomes. This case study examines an equity-focused, faculty-led PLC cohort that operated over one academic year in a community college. The cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) framework was applied to the PLC to better understand the elements in which dialogue and hands-on practice of the participants function to help them learn about equity. An emphasis was placed on examining the PLC using CHAT's expansive transformation lens, which focused on the presence of contradictions, learning actions, and potential object transformation of the PLC as an activity system. Observations and semi-structured interviews were conducted on the PLC. The discussions participants engaged in revealed that primary contradictions (dual identities, competing pressures, and course design decisions) emerged as a result of their dialogic exploration of equity-focused concerns as educators. The discussions also prompted follow-up actions from one participant, indicating the presence of object transformation of the activity system. The independent change idea project participants engaged in resulted in primary contradictions arising from participants contending with the impact of their own projects. The projects also resulted in secondary contradictions emerging as a result of forces external to the activity system characterizing participants' project implementation and improvement that participants must consider. Finally, the learning actions (questioning, analyzing, and modeling) resulting from the projects indicate potential for evolution of the activity system characterizing participants' approach in practice as they explore and learn about equity. The contributions of this study are that by applying a CHAT framework in examining the intersection of PLCs and equity in higher education, this illuminates the understanding for how elements of PLCs, specifically dialogue and hands-on practices, function in order to inform the development and refinement of PLCs. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]