Professional Learning Communities: A Popular Reform of Little Consequence?
If you want to see academics and practitioners largely agree on a school reform, mention professional development–heads will nod vertically–and then mention professional learning communities (PLCs), and the nodding gets vigorous. Groups of teachers in a school or across the district who come together regularly to discuss and reflect on curricular, instructional, and organizational issues of great importance to them is a no-brainer for most educators. Both professional development and PLCs are often praised and funded.
So what have PLCs wrought thus far? Insofar as academic achievement, a few studies find modest correlations