Increasingly, educational reform is linked to the concept of professional learning communities (PLCs). Definitions of PLCs vary, but generally the concept refers to a group of educators who "continuously seek and share learning, and act on their learning" (Hord 1997, 6). Stoll and her colleagues, concluding their review of the current state of…

Two kinds of efforts at instructional improvement in higher education, student evaluation of teachers and faculty development programs on campuses, fall short of reaching their theoretical goals. Student evaluations are neither reliable nor valid measures of a teacher's instructional effectiveness. Some of the items included in such questionnaires…