To guarantee students learn at complex levels, simply improve teaching. The big thought provoking-question is how? Some school districts choose to use mentor teachers or teacher supervisors to evaluate teachers. That idea is unsuccessful because it has very little impact on the quality of teaching. School systems need a powerful system that will promote continuous improvement overall. The systematic approach chosen is called Professional Learning Community or PLC. Professional Learning Community is a group of teachers, organized by grade level or course, that meet regularly to share expertise and work collaboratively to improve teaching skills and the academic performance of students. The reasons why PLCs are successfully implemented …show more content…
Some teachers feel intimidated when trying to teach science or any other subject well because they do not like it or was too difficult. This may also be due to teachers, lack of background knowledge to teach the subject properly. This leads to negative attitudes toward the subject which results in less time or no time being spent teaching it, relying on heavy recitation, worksheets, and textbooks (Mintzes, Marcum, Messerschmidt-Yates, & Mark, 2013). Often, the negative attitudes transfer to the students. PLCs are focusing on sharing ideas to build teacher knowledge and implementation of strategies. Some school districts collaborate with universities to create and develop partnerships in providing continuous support and learning reinforcement to core teachers in the application of theoretical concepts and best practices for the teacher and the student learning (Peppers, 2015). PLCs began to engage teachers in discussion about their understanding of science, advance teacher preparedness to teach and improve attitude toward science, and increase teachers’ focus on students’ thinking. As a result, teachers feel a sense of empowerment and confidence because students’ interests are increasing along with scores, therefore increasing their sense of …show more content…
It creates a bond between coworkers who can allow themselves to feel vulnerable without fear. Teachers can discuss issues being encountered and know coworkers will be very supportive and help find a solution. Given the opportunity to collaborate, work cooperatively with colleagues and receiving emotional reinforcement, teachers observe positive outcomes among coworkers and students. Actively engaging in PLCs contributes to an increase professional knowledge to improve and enhance student-learning outcomes that will lead to success (Peppers,