Special Interest Groups (SIGs) provide a forum within AERA for the involvement of individuals drawn together by a common interest in a field of study, teaching, or research when the existing divisional structure may not directly facilitate such activity. The Association provides SIGs program time at the Annual Meeting, publicity, scheduling, staff support, viability, and the prestige of AERA affiliation.
We are pleased to offer five webinars intended to familiarize you with the concept of a Networked Improvement Community, and each of the four important components and elements of a successful NIC. An introductory 30-minute webinar will feature one or two experts from out team providing key background information about the focal challenges of building a NIC. A facilitated discussion forum will continue for two weeks after the video is posted to this site. At the end of the two weeks, another live webinar with the same expert will be featured. This follow-up webinar will focus on the topics that have arisen through the online forum, as well as questions that are asked live during the webinar.
Daly, A. J., Moolenaar, N. M., Bolivar, J. M., & Burke, P. (2010). Relationships in Reform: The Role of Teachers’ Social Networks. Journal of Educational Administration, 48(3), 359–391. https://doi.org/10.1108/09578231011041062
Coburn, C. E. (2001). Collective Sensemaking about Reading: How Teachers Mediate Reading Policy in Their Professional Communities. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 23(2), 145–170. https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737023002145
Horn, I. S., Kane, B. D., & Wilson, J. (2015). Making Sense of Student Performance Data: Data Use Logics and Mathematics Teachers’ Learning Opportunities. American Educational Research Journal, 52(2), 208–242. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831215573773
Spillane, J. P., Hopkins, M., & Sweet, T. M. (2015). Intra- and Interschool Interactions about Instruction: Exploring the Conditions for Social Capital Development. American Journal of Education, 122(1), 71–110. https://doi.org/10.1086/683292
Woulfin, S. L., & Jones, B. (2017). Rooted in Relationships: An Analysis of Dimensions of Social Capital Enabling Instructional Coaching. Journal of Professional Capital and Community, 3(1), 25–38. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPCC-07-2017-0017
Gibbons, L. K., Kazemi, E., & Lewis, R. M. (2017). Developing Collective Capacity to Improve Mathematics Instruction: Coaching as a Lever for School-Wide Improvement. The Journal of Mathematical Behavior, 46, 231–250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmathb.2016.12.002
Professional community among teachers, the subject of a number of recent major studies, is regarded as an ingredient that may contribute to the improvement of schools. The research reported in this article is grounded in the assumption that how teachers interact with each other outside of their classrooms may be critical to the effects of restructuring on students. The analysis focuses on the type of professional community that occurs within a school and investigates both the organizational factors that facilitate its development and its consequences for teachers? sense of responsibility for student learning. The findings suggest that wide variation in professional community exists between schools, much of which is attributable to both structural features and human resources characteristics, as well as school level. Implications for current school reform efforts are discussed.
DuFour, R., & Eaker, R. E. (1998). Professional Learning Communities at Work: Best Practices for Enhancing Student Achievement. National Education Service.
Little, J. W. (1990). The Persistence of Privacy: Autonomy and Initiative in Teachers’ Professional Relations. Teachers College Record, 91(4), 509–536. https://doi.org/10.1177/016146819009100403
Gallimore, R., Ermeling, B., Saunders, W., & Goldenberg, C. (2009). Moving the Learning of Teaching Closer to Practice: Teacher Education Implications of School‐Based Inquiry Teams. The Elementary School Journal, 109(5), 537–553. https://doi.org/10.1086/597001
Kelchtermans, G. (2006). Teacher Collaboration and Collegiality as Workplace Conditions. A Review. Zeitschrift für Pädagogik, 52(2), 220–237. https://doi.org/10.25656/01:4454
Stoll, L., Bolam, R., McMahon, A., Wallace, M., & Thomas, S. (2006). Professional Learning Communities: A Review of the Literature. Journal of Educational Change, 7(4), 221–258. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-006-0001-8
Vangrieken, K., Dochy, F., Raes, E., & Kyndt, E. (2015). Teacher Collaboration: A Systematic Review. Educational Research Review, 15, 17–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2015.04.002
Vescio, V., Ross, D., & Adams, A. (2008). A Review of Research on the Impact of Professional Learning Communities on Teaching Practice and Student Learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(1), 80–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2007.01.004
Buttram, J. L., & Farley-Ripple, E. N. (2016). The Role of Principals in Professional Learning Communities. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 15(2), 192–220. https://doi.org/10.1080/15700763.2015.1039136
Hallam, P. R., Smith, H. R., Hite, J. M., Hite, S. J., & Wilcox, B. R. (2015). Trust and Collaboration in PLC Teams: Teacher Relationships, Principal Support, and Collaborative Benefits. NASSP Bulletin, 99(3), 193–216. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192636515602330
Lieberman, A., Campbell, C., & Yashkina, A. (2016). Teacher Learning and Leadership: Of, By, and For Teachers. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315673424
Scribner, J. P., Sawyer, R. K., Watson, S. T., & Myers, V. L. (2007). Teacher Teams and Distributed Leadership: A Study of Group Discourse and Collaboration. Educational Administration Quarterly, 43(1), 67–100. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X06293631
Szczesiul, S., & Huizenga, J. (2014). The Burden of Leadership: Exploring the Principal’s Role in Teacher Collaboration. Improving Schools, 17(2), 176–191. https://doi.org/10.1177/1365480214534545
Vanblaere, B., & Devos, G. (2018). The Role of Departmental Leadership for Professional Learning Communities. Educational Administration Quarterly, 54(1), 85–114. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X17718023
Clement, M., & Vandenberghe, R. (2000). Teachers’ Professional Development: A Solitary or Collegial (ad)venture? Teaching and Teacher Education, 16(1), 81–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(99)00051-7
Horn, I. S., & Kane, B. D. (2015). Opportunities for Professional Learning in Mathematics Teacher Workgroup Conversations: Relationships to Instructional Expertise. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 24(3), 373–418. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508406.2015.1034865
Louie, N. L. (2016). Tensions in Equity- and Reform-Oriented Learning in Teachers’ Collaborative Conversations. Teaching and Teacher Education, 53, 10–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2015.10.001
Parise, L. M., & Spillane, J. P. (2010). Teacher Learning and Instructional Change: How Formal and On-the-Job Learning Opportunities Predict Change in Elementary School Teachers’ Practice. The Elementary School Journal, 110(3), 323–346. https://doi.org/10.1086/648981
Stein, M. K., & Coburn, C. E. (2008). Architectures for Learning: A Comparative Analysis of Two Urban School Districts. American Journal of Education, 114(4), 583–626. https://doi.org/10.1086/589315
Sutton, P. S., & Shouse, A. W. (2019). Investigating the Role of Social Status in Teacher Collaborative Groups. Journal of Teacher Education, 70(4), 347–359. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487117751125
Windschitl, M., Thompson, J., & Braaten, M. (2011). Ambitious Pedagogy by Novice Teachers: Who Benefits from Tool-Supported Collaborative Inquiry into Practice and Why? Teachers College Record, 113(7), 1311–1360. https://doi.org/10.1177/016146811111300702
Datnow, A., & Park, V. (2018). Professional Collaboration with Purpose: Teacher Learning Towards Equitable and Excellent Schools. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351165884
Hargreaves, A. (2001). The Emotional Geographies of Teachers’ Relations with Colleagues. International Journal of Educational Research, 35(5), 503–527. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-0355(02)00006-X
Saunders, R. (2013). The Role of Teacher Emotions in Change: Experiences, Patterns and Implications for Professional Development. Journal of Educational Change, 14(3), 303–333. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-012-9195-0
Weddle, H., Lockton, M., & Datnow, A. (2019). Teacher collaboration, differing expectations, and emotions in school improvement: “It’s always take, take, take.” Journal of Professional Capital and Community, 4(4), 325–343. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPCC-03-2019-0005
Zembylas, M., & Barker, H. B. (2007). Teachers’ Spaces for Coping with Change in the Context of a Reform Effort. Journal of Educational Change, 8(3), 235–256. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-007-9025-y
Cosner, S. (2011). Teacher Learning, Instructional Considerations and Principal Communication: Lessons from a Longitudinal Study of Collaborative Data Use by Teachers. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 39(5), 568–589. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143211408453
Farley-Ripple, E., & Buttram, J. (2015). The Development of Capacity for Data Use: The Role of Teacher Networks in an Elementary School. Teachers College Record, 117(4), 1–34. https://doi.org/10.1177/016146811511700410
Jimerson, J. B., & Wayman, J. C. (2015). Professional Learning for Using Data: Examining Teacher Needs & Supports. Teachers College Record, 117(4), 1–36. https://doi.org/10.1177/016146811511700405
Lachat, M. A., & Smith, S. (2005). Practices That Support Data Use in Urban High Schools. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk (JESPAR), 10(3), 333–349. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327671espr1003_7
Little, J. W. (2012). Understanding Data Use Practice among Teachers: The Contribution of Micro-Process Studies. American Journal of Education, 118(2), 143–166. https://doi.org/10.1086/663271
Marsh, J. A., Bertrand, M., & Huguet, A. (2015). Using Data to Alter Instructional Practice: The Mediating Role of Coaches and Professional Learning Communities. Teachers College Record, 117(4), 1–40. https://doi.org/10.1177/016146811511700411
Schildkamp, K., & Poortman, C. (2015). Factors Influencing the Functioning of Data Teams. Teachers College Record, 117(4), 1–42. https://doi.org/10.1177/016146811511700403
Spillane, J. P. (2012). Data in Practice: Conceptualizing the Data-Based Decision-Making Phenomena. American Journal of Education, 118(2), 113–141. https://doi.org/10.1086/663283
Van Gasse, R., Vanlommel, K., Vanhoof, J., & Van Petegem, P. (2017). The Impact of Collaboration on Teachers’ Individual Data Use. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 28(3), 489–504. https://doi.org/10.1080/09243453.2017.1321555
Young, V. M. (2006). Teachers’ Use of Data: Loose Coupling, Agenda Setting, and Team Norms. American Journal of Education, 112(4), 521–548. https://doi.org/10.1086/505058
Goddard, R., Goddard, Y., Sook Kim, E., & Miller, R. (2015). A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis of the Roles of Instructional Leadership, Teacher Collaboration, and Collective Efficacy Beliefs in Support of Student Learning. American Journal of Education, 121(4), 501–530. https://doi.org/10.1086/681925
Goddard, Y. L., Goddard, R. D., & Tschannen-Moran, M. (2007). A Theoretical and Empirical Investigation of Teacher Collaboration for School Improvement and Student Achievement in Public Elementary Schools. Teachers College Record, 109(4), 877–896. https://doi.org/10.1177/016146810710900401
Louis, K. S., & Marks, H. M. (1998). Does Professional Community Affect the Classroom? Teachers’ Work and Student Experiences in Restructuring Schools. American Journal of Education, 106(4), 532–575. https://doi.org/10.1086/444197
