Files
Abstract
Professional development that sustains continuous improvement in teacher practice is a problem that schools face on an international level (Darling-Hammond, 2009; Elmore, 2014; Killion & Roy, 2009; Opfer & Pedder, 2011). In response to this problem, Georgia now requires professional learning to be primarily job-embedded and done within the schools community to support teachers professional learning goals (Rule 505-2-36, Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC), 2017). The purpose of this action research (AR) case study was to gain a deeper understanding of the multicausal factors that may influence the sustainability of teacher learning and change through a complex systems approach (Pedder & Opfer, 2010). This study further explored interventions to support job-embedded learning in an elementary school through the development of professional learning communities (PLCs). The following research questions framed this study: (1) How do organizational and individual factors influence the levels of teacher learning practice? (2) What can be learned from the experiences of members of a PLC team as a school seeks to improve its learning culture through job-embedded professional learning? (3) How do the learnings from an AR project affect the sustainability of teacher learning practices within a PLC? To answer the research questions, qualitative and quantitative data collection methods were used that consisted of interviews, surveys, a questionnaire, observations, and document analysis.The overall findings indicated: (1) teacher learning practices were influenced by school and teacher learning orientations; (2) by creating supportive conditions for collaborative learning, teacher learning practices improved and teacher agency increased; (3) members of the AR team became more aware of their own contributions to the schools learning culture and acted as agents of change. These results suggest that a complex model of teacher learning offers a new perspective for school leaders as they seek to create learning organizations by building collective capacity. There are limited studies of professional development that utilize a complex systems approach like that of Pedder and Opfer (2010). Therefore, ongoing research utilizing this approach for studying teacher learning is needed, particularly related to teacher dissonance.