scholarly journals Transformational leadership, professional learning communities, teacher learning and learner centred teaching practices; Evidence on their interrelations in Mozambican primary education

2019 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. 14-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Luyten ◽  
Manuel Bazo
Keyword(s):  
Transformational Leadership ◽  
Professional Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Teacher Learning ◽  
Primary Education ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teaching Practices

scholarly journals A case study of two teacher learning communities in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Free-Queen Bongiwe Zulu ◽  
Tabitha Grace Mukeredzi
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Teacher Learning ◽  
South African ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Education And Development ◽  
Teacher Learning Communities

In the Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development, a South African policy, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and the Department of Higher Education (DHET) call for the formation of professional learning communities and envisage support for teachers and access to enhanced professional development opportunities at the local level. However, the formation and operation of professional learning communities in a South African context is still unclear. In this article we use the concept of professional learning communities to examine the extent to which 2 teacher learning communities operate as professional learning communities. We used interviews, observations, survey questionnaires and document analysis to generate data. The findings of the study reveal that the 2 teacher learning communities were initiated by the DBE and not by teachers. However, the size of 1 teacher learning community and the nature of its functioning seemed to adhere to the characteristics of a professional learning community while the other did not. The findings indicate that professional learning communities that operate in developing contexts might be functional when all the stakeholders play a meaningful role in supporting professional learning communities.

scholarly journals Conversations in a professional learning community: An analysis of teacher learning opportunities in mathematics

Pythagoras ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Million Chauraya ◽  
Karin Brodie
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Teacher Learning ◽  
Professional Learning Community ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Opportunities For Learning

The growing perception of professional learning communities as an effective professional development approach needs to be supported with knowledge of how such communities create learning opportunities for teachers. Activities in professional learning communities are underpinned by collegial conversations that foster learning, and in this article we analysed such conversations for learning opportunities in one professional learning community of mathematics teachers. Data consisted of audio-recorded community conversations. The focus of the conversations was to understand the thinking behind learners’ errors, and teachers engaged in a number of activities related to learner errors and learner reasoning. Our analyses show how opportunities for learning were created in identifying the origins of learners’ errors as well as learners’ thinking underlying their errors. Results also showed that the teachers had opportunities for learning how to identify learners’ learning needs and in turn the teachers’ own learning needs. The teachers also had opportunities for deepening their own understanding of the conceptual meaning of ratio. The learning opportunities were supported by the following: having a learning focus, patterns of engagement that were characterised by facilitator questioning, teacher responses and explanations, and sharing knowledge. Such mutual engagement practices in professional learning communities resulted in new and shared meanings about teachers’ classroom practices. Our findings also show the critical role of a facilitator for teacher learning in professional learning communities.

scholarly journals Teacher Talk in Professional Learning Communities

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 118
Author(s):  
Karin Brodie ◽  
Tinoda Chimhande
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Teacher Learning ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Teacher Talk ◽  
Teacher Communities ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Over Time

Professional learning communities can be important sites for teacher learning depending on the quality of the conversations in these communities. This paper shows how different activities in teacher communities support different kinds of conversation at different levels of depth, through examining the conversations of four professional learning communities of mathematics teachers over two years. Our analysis suggests three key findings. First, there were strong relationships between different activities and the content of the conversations in the communities. Second, the depth of the conversation in the communities was constant across activities and over time. Third, conversations about learner thinking, a key goal of the project, did not increase over time, but there were increases in talk about mathematics and practice. We explore the implications of these findings for teacher learning.

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