Professional development of teachers is one of the significant factors for school effectiveness. It requires to create a culture of continuous professional learning that becomes helpful for teachers for their capacity building on a regular basis. Though schools in Pakistan are in a process of providing a professional learning environment for the teachers on a frequent basis, there is a dearth of studies that tell the factors and processes involved for developing continuous professional learning environment in a practice sense.
Therefore, this research study could support to create professional learning community by examining the factors in the school context specifically in ECD through which collaborative environment will be developed. This study is significant as it reviews the factors and processes that are required for developing PLC. This study would be beneficial for school management to establish a PLC culture in the school. Simultaneously, the findings of this study would be helpful for teachers for gauging their improvement in their teaching and learning process through working in a collaborative environment. In addition, appreciative inquiry approach would become the value added tool for this study in terms of exploring the best practices of schools as well as executing the factors and processes that requires for PLC in an appreciative and positive way. In short, this study provides a practical approach for creating PLC in ECD context through the use of appreciative inquiry approach.
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT OF STUDY
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY
SHARED VISION AND VALUES
COLLECTIVE FOCUS ON LEARNING
COLLABORATION
REFLECTIVE DIALOGUE
DE-PRIVATIZED PRACTICES
APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY
DISCOVER
DREAM
DESIGN
DESTINY OR DELIVERY
STRENGTH AND LIMITATIONS OF APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY APPROACH
EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT (ECD) CONTEXT FOR CREATING PLC
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
STUDY DESIGN
POPULATION AND SAMPLE
SAMPLING PROCEDURE
DATA GENERATION PROCESS AND TOOLS
STAGE ONE: DISCOVERY
PHASE TWO: DREAMING
PHASE THREE: DESIGNING
PHASE FOUR: DESTINY
DATA ANALYSIS PROCEDURES
ETHICAL CONSIDERATION
LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS
FINDINGS IN STAGE ONE: DISCOVER
BEST PRACTICES OF SCHOOL
CONTRIBUTIONS BY TEACHERS
FINDING IN STAGE TWO: DREAM
BEST PRACTICES OF SCHOOL
CONTRIBUTION BY TEACHERS
STAGE THREE: DESIGN
STAGE FOUR: DESTINY
LESSON PLANNING
CLASSROOM TEACHING, OBSERVATIONS AND FEEDBACK
CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK
REFLECTIVE DIALOGUE SESSION(S)
ACHIEVEMENTS OF THIS STAGE
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSIONS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
FACTORS INVOLVED IN CREATING PLC
TRUST
COLLABORATIVE LEARNING
REFLECTIVE DIALOGUE
PROCESSES TO INITIATE AND CREATE PLC
CLASSROOM TEACHING AND OBSERVATION
CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK
REFLECTIVE DIALOGUE
APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY METHOD FOR PLC
CONCLUSION
RECOMMENDATIONS
REFERENCES
Research Objectives and Themes
This study aims to investigate how a Professional Learning Community (PLC) can be effectively initiated and sustained within an Early Childhood Development (ECD) context using the Appreciative Inquiry approach to foster teacher capacity building and collaborative growth.
- Implementation of a collaborative culture through Professional Learning Communities.
- The use of Appreciative Inquiry (4-Ds cycle) for school-based organizational change.
- Identification of factors influencing PLC formation, such as trust and reflective dialogue.
- Practical processes for professional development, including shared lesson planning and peer observation.
Excerpt from the Book
Classroom Teaching, Observations and Feedback
At this level, participants worked in two groups that are sun and moon as mentioned in methodology and made their pairs within groups. In this regard, classroom teaching, observations and feedbacks were conducted in the respective group. However, sessions for reflective dialogue were conducted at the end in which all participants and researcher was involved.
Researcher, at this level was played a role of observer with research participants and also involved in lesson planning, feedback sharing and in reflective dialogue sessions. Participants at this level delivered the lesson in pairs which was observed by other pairs accordingly. This process of teaching and observing the lesson allowed us to open the classroom for all. As endorsed by Fatima that earlier we did not enter in each other’s class during teaching time but through this process, we became able to learn from each other’s teaching and observation skills. Zara further stated that “this action actually has broken the boundaries between classrooms and allowed us to enter in the classroom”(Zara, Classroom observation notes, January 27, 2015.
Therefore, the opening of classroom for observing the lesson actually deprivatized the practices of individual learning and brought a shift from individual to collaborative learning. This opening of classroom also helped participants to bring improvement in their teaching skills. Farah shared that, “while observing the teaching of my colleagues, I learnt how to involve children in the activities by giving them clear instructions” (Farah, classroom observation notes, January 30, 2015), Sara added that “I really enjoyed to do teaching with my colleague. I learnt so many things like using the learning resources effectively, responding the queries of children and maintain the discipline of class through observations” (Sara, classroom observation notes, January 28, 2015).
Summary of Chapters
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION: This chapter introduces the research context, the problem statement regarding teacher professional development in an ECD setting, and the study's significance and research questions.
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW: This chapter provides an intensive review of Professional Learning Communities (PLC), the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) method, and the specific requirements of the ECD context.
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY: This chapter outlines the qualitative research design, the selection of participants via purposive sampling, and the 4-D stages of the Appreciative Inquiry approach used for data generation.
CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS: This chapter presents the data gathered through the 4-D stages (Discover, Dream, Design, Destiny), detailing teacher contributions and best practices observed.
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSIONS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS: This chapter synthesizes the research findings, discusses the factors and processes identified for PLC creation, and offers recommendations for future study.
Keywords
Professional Learning Community, PLC, Appreciative Inquiry, Early Childhood Development, ECD, Teacher Capacity Building, Collaborative Learning, Reflective Dialogue, Best Practices, School Improvement, Qualitative Research, Educational Change, Pedagogical Skills, Professional Development.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this research?
The research focuses on initiating and sustaining a Professional Learning Community (PLC) within an Early Childhood Development (ECD) school setting to improve teacher professional development and teaching practices.
What are the core thematic areas explored?
The core themes include the dynamics of professional collaboration, the application of the 4-D Appreciative Inquiry cycle, the role of reflective practice, and the importance of fostering a culture of trust among educators.
What is the primary objective of this study?
The primary goal is to examine how Appreciative Inquiry can serve as a catalyst for creating a continuous, collaborative learning environment where teachers can share expertise and enhance their pedagogical skills.
Which methodology is employed in the research?
The study adopts a qualitative research design, utilizing the Appreciative Inquiry approach characterized by four phases: Discovery, Dreaming, Designing, and Destiny.
What does the main body of the work cover?
The main body covers the literature on PLCs, the detailed methodology for implementing the 4-D approach, the specific findings regarding classroom teaching observations and feedback sessions, and a final discussion on the reliability of these processes.
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key terms include Professional Learning Community (PLC), Appreciative Inquiry, Early Childhood Development (ECD), teacher capacity building, and collaborative learning.
How does the Appreciative Inquiry approach differ from traditional problem-solving?
Appreciative Inquiry focuses on identifying existing strengths and best practices to envision the future, rather than focusing solely on problems or deficits, thereby fostering a positive environment for change.
Why is de-privatized practice significant in this study?
De-privatized practice is crucial because it breaks down the isolation of individual classrooms, allowing teachers to observe, reflect, and learn from one another, which is a fundamental shift toward collaborative professional growth.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Hina Amin (Autor:in), 2016, Creating professional learning community through appreciative inquiry in early childhood context, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/368973
