Collaborative professional learning: cultivating science teacher leaders through vertical communities of practice

Teachers’ professional learning when building a research-based education: context-specific, collaborative and teacher-driven professional development

“…They emphasised the importance of the researcher in supporting their professional learning and engagement in the process. Trabona et al (2019), who studied teachers' development within prescriptive CoPs with structural protocols driven by task accomplishment, revealed that the processes resulted in superficial meaning-making rather than in-depth conversations on practice. Therefore, the authors argue for professional development initiatives based on teachers' authentic questions, their engagement in the process and belonging to a community of teachers.…”

“…These resources have been used on a regular basis, which has moved each project forward towards the goals. The teachers also experienced some of the challenges of CoPs that are described in the literature, for example, issues relating to time constraints (Trabona et al 2019). Based on the teachers' own reflections, stress and workload were problems they sometimes encountered, though these were not a significant issue since as a condition for participating in the action research, principals put aside time and space within the teachers' working hours.…”

“…This support may be needed in the beginning, when teachers first enter into action research, but in due time, the teachers can lead processes themselves. Here, the lead teachers could play a significant part by taking on the role of facilitators, as they could offer their support to colleagues, thereby strengthening teachers' professional learning (Trabona et al 2019). It is evident, based on the findings here, that an action research process can be demanding while requiring engagement from individuals on multiple levels of the educational system: the principals -who are creating the conditions for teachers' participation (time and other resources), the lead teachers-who support their colleagues and act as an intermediate for a researcher, the teachers -who incorporate the work into their teaching practice and the researcher -who facilitates the process.…”

“…In their review of literature, Trabona et al (2019) point to problems related to CoPs, for example, a lack of time and investment in the processes, a lack of ability among members to adjust to collective decisions of the CoP, the risk that such a community could be resistant to change and that learning outcomes are preserved within the group rather than being disseminated to others outside the group. Wenger et al (2002) add to the list of challenges: a CoP can become a clique when relationships between the members are so strong, which can exclude potential new members.…”

The Impact of Learning Organization Practices on Subjective Performance of Employees: The Case of Islamic Financial Institutions (IFIs) of Developing Countries

“…People get a chance to learn collaboratively through teamwork. It helps an organization to achieve the common goals (Marsick & Watkins, 1999;Trabona et al, 2019;Watkins & Marsick, 1997). Watkins and Marsick (1997) imply that through a continuous learning system, organizations find ways to secure learning practices and to use them in the future through high employee turnover and business culture changes (Levitt & March, 1988;Marsick & Watkins, 1999;Moore & Klein, 2020;Pokharel & Dudley, 2010).…”