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As teachers prepare lessons and materials for the fast-approaching 2013 school year, it is an opportune time to highlight the value of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) as a tool for the nation’s educators. Learning Forward explains PLCs as:  “Learning communities [consisting of education professionals that] convene regularly and frequently during the workday to engage in collaborative professional learning to strengthen their practice and increase student results.” PLCs are not a new phenomenon, but they are gaining increased attention as the national conversation around education focuses on improving teacher quality through effective professional development.

According to the July issue of The Principal’s Research Review, a publication from the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP): “PLCs are based on the premise that learning results from the varied perspectives and experiences that members share with one another as they work towards common goals.” The issue also outlines the five essential characteristics of PLCs, which include:

• Shared views and values about the ability of students to learn, the allocation of school resources and the role of educational staff and parents
• A clear focus on ensuring that students are not simply taught, but that they learn
• Reflective conversations about curriculum, instruction, and student development
• A move toward making practice public
• A focus on collaboration

Knowing the characteristics of PLCs is an important step in understanding them. But there are also two key questions to consider when deciding whether to dedicate the resources necessary to implementing them: First, does teaching change as a result of participation in a PLC? Second, is there evidence that student learning increased because of PLCs? To answer the first question,  in 2008 a group of researchers – Vescio, Ross & Adams 2008 - looked at 11 empirical studies (ten in the US and one in England) and found that PLCs shifted the professional culture within schools, leading to increased collaboration, the use of common protocols, more classroom observation and the use of critical friend groups. PLCs were most successful in shifting professional practices when they had a specific focus on student learning, increased teacher empowerment and authority in decision making and the promotion of continuous educator learning through the use of research literature.

PLCs obtain legitimacy through evidence that they have a positive influence on student achievement. An examination of the eight out of 11 studies that attempted to link PLCs to student learning also yielded a positive outcome. And in 2011, another group of researchers conducted a meta-analysis on three of the studies Vescio et al. examined, as well as two others, and found a small but significant impact. PLCs have also been found to have a positive influence on student achievement with improvement in classroom grades, on state achievement tests and for graduation rates.

In a reality where education reform is hardly guaranteed to be evidence based, proven gains and positive influences – of any magnitude – are worthy of recognition. Better yet, PLCs are a scalable model, indeed they can be implemented from a district level. For example, Stamford (CT) Public Schools formed a steering committee to lead implementation throughout the district, training central office staff and building leaders to ensure an understanding of PLC practices and then offering a framework that connected PLCs to the broader district improvement plan.

Although the influence on student outcomes is arguably their most important contribution to the education reform conversation, PLCs are also a valuable resource for educators on all levels and offer a key resource for younger teachers as they learn from their more experienced peers.

While they are becoming more common-place, PLCs don’t happen in a vacuum. Principals, The Review notes, “exert considerable influence over the successful implementation and continued functioning of PLCs.” Indeed, implementation varies from school building to school building. For example, PLCs require finding blocks of time where multiple teachers can gather together outside of the classroom. Schools can create this time in several ways, but it is an intentional effort that requires administration support.

Oftentimes, in our quest to prepare children for the world beyond the classroom, we forget that we are lifelong learners, both in our professions as well as in life. We may all benefit from professional development to increase our skill set and capacity, and many of us can also benefit from opportunities that allow for collaboration and the sharing of best practices. Like so many actions, PLCs require a commitment of time and energy, both of which are in short supply. In the end, professionals know their practice best and educators should be praised for working together to improve as a collective; ultimately, it is the students who stand to benefit from this intentional effort.