Abstract

Research on Professional Learning Communities has emerged as an international phenomenon with scholars and practitioners in Australia, Canada, China, Taiwan, United States, and United Kingdom engaging in longitudinal and cross-cultural studies. As defined by Hipp and Huffman (2010) PLCs involve “Professional educators working collectively and purposefully to create and sustain a culture of learning for all students and adults”. Utilizing the human relations literature, the 1990 Senge research on learning organizations, and the Newman and Wehlage and Shirley Hord groundbreaking work in the mid 1990’s, the PLC model provides a clear focus to not only improve student learning, but to also redesign schools to be learning centers for all. Based on five dimensions; Shared and Supportive Leadership, Shared Values and Vision, Collective Learning and Application, Shared Personal Practice, and Supportive Conditions (both Relational and Structural), Hipp and Huffman present definitions, tools, strategies, and case studies that clearly organize and explain the PLC process. This paper demystifies the concept of PLCs by examining each of the dimensions and offering examples of practice in schools. It also provides both formal and informal tools that serve to continually assess and diagnose PLC integration in the school. And, finally this paper suggests critical factors necessary for sustaining a culture of learning despite setbacks and ever present change.