The Impact on Mathematics Teaching Environments Through Establishing, Developing, and Maintaining Professional Learning Communities
Although our data is only beginning to be analyzed, the project has seen positive results of supporting PLCs in each of the schools. For the most part, all of the PLCs have established some common agreements and assessments and abide by norms when meeting collaboratively. This is in stark contrast to the school environment observed in most schools before TASEL-M. Also, teachers find the PLC work to be valuable (e.g., it is a way to share curriculum development, instructional strategies, and offer a consistent program for all students). New teachers see the PLC as a "life-line" that helps them adapt to the new job. Thus, there are many indicators that support the goals of the project to make PLCs a mainstay for changing the mathematics teaching environment.
In addition, the experiences of the mathematics departments in many TASEL-M schools have spurred other departments to request the opportunity to be taught how to form their own PLCs, and we recommend this to principals as a way to bring consistency to the whole school program. Focused research needs to be conducted to consider the various aspects of professional learning communities and their impact on instruction and student achievement.
