My school uses the learning community model as its primary mode of collaboration among teachers of same subjects. Specifically called professional learning communities after the Dufour model, the groups meet weekly or biweekly to discuss curriculum and student data and collaborate on future lesson planning. The groups do share the school’s vision of learning, and they “work toward common goals that enhance professional and personal development” (Zepeda, 2013, p. 83). Each group has a PLC leader that coordinates the groups, but the responsibilities attached to the title generally include administrative tasks such as setting the agenda, writing minutes, and sharing feedback from the school administration. Where my school occasionally differs from the model is in the role of the principal. Zepeda (2013) cites Marks & Printy (2003) as saying that a principal should be more of a facilitator than an inspector in a learning community. Administrators at my school, however, are often seen as looking to hold teachers accountable for doing the work rather than facilitating the work being done.
One model that I could see being implemented at my school is the lesson study process. It already contains elements of the learning community format (Zepeda, 2013). Both study curriculum and develop goals. Both involve planning lessons. Both demand reflection. The major difference is that lesson study conducts research, and there are certain groups at my school that would be advanced enough to engage in that component. The transition from a standard learning community to a lesson study group would not be difficult, but it would require commitment from the teachers involved and the administration. More time would be needed for the study and planning elements, but as our district has a teachers contract that encourages teachers to collaborate outside of the contract in exchange for hourly pay, this would be a strong incentive. The administration has already supported learning communities that have engaged in observation of other teachers, so having teachers conduct research through observing other teachers would not be hard to get approved.
Teachers tend to be strong lifelong learners, and the ability to work with colleagues on research into their own practice would be hard to pass up, especially if there’s extra pay involved. The obstructions are strong, however. Zepeda (2013) cites several. The argument that “this is the way I have always done it” (p. 228) gets in the way, but as teachers we ask our students every day to think differently; why can’t teachers change, too? The lack of time is another impediment, but again that extra pay component, if worked into the proposal, would provide the incentive. A team that is already effective would overcome the challenge of not having specific goals, as their effectiveness is already tied to having those goals. The challenges cited by Zepeda (pp. 228-229) would all be easily handled in my building, I believe.
The next step toward implementing lesson study would be for an established learning community to put forth a proposal to the administration. The proposal would have to be clear as to its goals, and it would have to align to the objectives already laid out for learning communities. The trust already established by administration with certain groups would come into play, and assuming the group carries out the objectives of the lesson study, effectiveness could lead to implementation by other groups.
I worked with professional learning communities at my previous school before moving to Washington state, and I never felt that they were fully implemented or effective. We had vocal support from administration, but added responsibilities reduced our effectiveness. Too often the focus was on data, and not on the reflection required to adequately use that data to influence instruction. At my current school, my experience is that PLCs are used more for planning units rather than looking at individual lessons. There is a movement toward more specific objectives, but as I no longer part of a content-specific PLC, I have not seen how that has been implemented. I feel lesson study would be more effective for certain, established groups of veteran teachers, and I look forward to suggesting the idea.
