One of the big changes that came to the world of education in recent years is teachers participating in more Professional Learning Communities (PLC) virtually. As a K-12 English language learner (ELL) teacher, amongst all the PLC options I have been offered, it has always been a priority to attend the ones that apply to me. In a recent study about teachers’ perceptions of virtual professional development, educators “valued professional development opportunities that had an immediate application of knowledge gained. The educators in this study appreciated learning about topics that had real-life applications in their classrooms” (Montauredes-Kakalos, 2023, p. 16).
With the conveniences of the virtual world, this led me to become interested in reading a book about virtual PLCs. Amongst the topics discussed, one of the biggest highlights to me was viewing “The Three Big Ideas” that drive PLCs specifically from the lens of an ELL teacher. The more I read, the more I thought about the potential challenges we would need to overcome in order to implement these big ideas effectively in my context. Before continuing, here is the Amazon link to the book!
Virtual PLCs at Work by Paul Farmer and Dennis King
Moving on, the first big idea is that “a virtual PLC should not focus on how teachers teach in a virtual setting; it should focus on what students learn in that setting” (Farmer & King, 2022, p. 15). Indeed, student learning is everything, but I anticipated some challenges when I read that “the essential learning must be consistent from teacher to teacher in the same courses or grade levels” (Farmer & King, 2022, p. 15). Specifically, the first challenge is that in cases like the big school district where I worked for a long time, there is no set ELL curriculum. That causes inconsistencies when ELL teachers participate in ELL PLCs. Another challenge is that unfortunately, there are school personnel (including some teachers) who view ELLs from a deficits-based perspective. Whether the virtual PLC is with ELL teachers from other schools or with teachers from our individual school, these challenges can be harder to address virtually. This can sometimes result in ELL teachers working in isolation, which Farmer and King (2022) noted that “working independently and without collaboration in a virtual environment can cause a sense of isolation” (p. 20). It can be challenging for some to become familiar with their virtual teammates. Hence, I wanted to share this short video I found about virtual team building activities to encourage participants to engage with others, which applies to virtual PLCs!
In relation to collaboration, “the second big idea of a PLC at Work is a collaborative culture” (p. 15). The nature of PLCs means it is obvious that collaboration is required for it to work. It was pleasing to read that Farmer and King (2022) emphasized that there should be set schedules for collaboration teams to meet, which should not be interrupted to be used for other purposes so that teachers do not receive mixed messages about the value of that time. Virtual collaboration time is just as important as in-person collaboration. Nevertheless, the first challenge I see here is some teachers perceiving this as yet another team they have to join on top of everything else they do. Additionally, another challenge is the potential for the virtual PLC schedule to not be followed due to some other last-minute fire that needs to be put out. As a bilingual ELL teacher, this can look like being asked to translate something for a parent, attend another meeting, cover a class for a teacher who is absent, etc.
Next, “the third big idea is that educators in a PLC focus on results–evidence of student learning” (Farmer & King, 2022, p. 26). This can sound overwhelming, which is why “just as collaborative teams need to narrow the curriculum to target the most important parts to learn, a school must narrow results to what the school has the greatest impact effecting, school improvement and student learning” (Farmer & King, 2022, p. 26). In our state, ELLs are to be taught by taking into account the WIDA standards as well as each ELL’s ACCESS (the annual English language proficiency test) results. The challenge I anticipate here is that there are still teachers who do not understand or consider these for student learning. In virtual settings, it might be easier to blame it on language barriers or the ELL teacher if students are not making progress.
After this analysis, I will share where I stand today, which was partly reflected in a recent study. According to Montauredes-Kakalos (2023), every participant in their study agreed that learning in person with other adults was important for their professional growth, career satisfaction, advancement, when being coached, and when learning about topics that have direct relevance to their classrooms. Besides, participants agreed that asynchronous virtual professional development would be a better fit for teachers to meet general requirements for the district and/or state at their own pace and in a location of their choice.
For now, I would like to have both in-person as well as virtual PLC meetings, depending on the topic. Also, I think it would be more effective if each ELL teacher is part of two teams. The first team would be with ELL teachers from other schools with similar contexts. The second team would be with specific teachers from the individual school to discuss what happens locally. We know that “virtual platforms represent uncharted territory for many who plan educational PD, whether organizing opportunities for professional learning through in-service training or an educational conference” (Murrill et al., 2021, p. 145). Personally, I would like to see more research regarding solutions to these challenges because virtual PLCs have many advantages. In the meantime, a combination of both in-person and virtual PLCs gives us the opportunity to make the latter better, especially when there is the possibility that they may become the only way of doing PLCs in the future. I will close with this podcast on simple steps to improve virtual meetings!
References
Farmer, P. C., & King, D. (2022). Virtual PLCs at work: A guide to effectively implementing online and hybrid teaching and learning. Solution Tree Press.
Montauredes-Kakalos, M. E. (2023). A phenomenological study exploring teachers’ perceptions of virtual professional development through the lens of adult learning theory. Journal for Leadership and Instruction, 22(2), 13-17. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1419954.pdf
Murrill, L., Thomas, T. G., & Earp, L. (2021). Cultivating community in virtual professional development: A familiar goal/a new frontier. Teacher Educators' Journal, 14, 126-148. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1296523.pdf
Your blog post really resonated with me as a gifted specialist. We too have to write our own curriculum and can often feel isolated as most schools only have one gifted teacher. I think virtual PLCs can help to connect teachers from different schools or even school systems. I know that when the gifted specialists in my district have virtual meetings, I feel more supported and affirmed. "Among the many benefits of PLC’s articulated by the faculty members in both the interviews and surveys are an increased sense of community among the participants and an appreciation of the diversity of the groups specifically in terms of the different disciplines, and the way it facilitated learning" (Clark et al., 2023, p. 9). I also think that changing the dynamic of professional development can be good to keep teachers engaged. Professional learning communities help to convert teachers from knowledge recipients to active participants in their learning. "More recently, the availability of training through online environments has allowed for the sharing of professional knowledge and resources" (Yu & Chao, 2023, p. 5780). I especially like the use of social media to connect educators worldwide. I have recently discovered Twitter to be a treasure trove of educational chats and resources. I enjoy reading about ideas from all different types of teachers. I have gotten so many great ideas from gifted teacher blogs, Facebook groups, and Twitter feeds. These online communities help combat the feelings of isolation in many educational positions. "Social media-based online communities has enabled teachers to participate in even more self-directed learning opportunities depending on their personal interests, unhindered by spatiotemporal limitation" (Yu & Chao, 2023, p. 5780).
ReplyDeleteexpressing opinions, and connecting with colleagues.
References
Clark, A. M., Zhan, M., Dellinger, J. T., & Semingson, P. L. (2023). Innovating teaching practice
through professional learning communities: Determining knowledge sharing and program
value. Sage Open, 13(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231200983
Yu, T., & Chao, C. (2023). Encouraging teacher participation in professional learning
communities: exploring the facilitating or restricting factors that influence collaborative
activities. Educ Inf Technol (Dordr), 28(5), p. 5779-5804. doi: 10.1007/s10639-022-11376-
y. Epub 2022 Nov 4. PMID: 36373046; PMCID: PMC9638355.
Gia, I have mixed feelings about Virtual PLCs. The fact that I can participate in one that occurs in a different part of the country without having to worry about lodging or travel is great. Although, I will admit that when I attend some of them virtually, I tend to get distracted by other things going on around me instead of being fully engaged. According to Anderson and Williams (2023), "Teachers have reportedly missed the in-depth discussions that happen through F2F interactions." (para. 13). This is true. Depending on the platform the person uses for the virtual PLC, will depend on how much interaction you get to have with other participants. Whereas, face-to-face allows you to make those more personal connections and have conversations you may not get otherwise.
ReplyDeleteReference:
Anderson, R. K., & Williams, M. (2023). Mathematics teachers’ participatory patterns between face-to-face and virtual professional learning environments. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 23(1). https://citejournal.org/volume-23/issue-1-23/mathematics/mathematics-teachers-participatory-patterns-between-face-to-face-and-virtual-professional-learning-environments