Research on communities of practice suggests that such groups can be used to support academic staff development, especially during times of crisis. We explore how a group of South African women academics and 'eLearning champions' engaged in a mobile community of practice under COVID-19 conditions. Our analysis of WhatsApp chat histories and focus…

The development of information technology and social networks has created new opportunities to access lifelong learning in the form of informal learning. In an informal learning environment, learning takes place via Communities of Practice (CoP). The learning success factors in online CoPs are learners' similarity in learning interests and…

The purpose of this paper was to give a demonstration of the primary materials and methods we used in learning communities (LCs) for biology students. The LCs were based on the performance pyramid theoretical structure. The objectives were to show the pedagogical links biological and mathematical concepts through cocurricular projects; assess…

The purpose of this article is to explore the potential for fostering transformative learning in an online environment. It provides an overview of transformative learning theory, including the variety of perspectives on the theory that have evolved as the theory matured. Strategies and practices for fostering transformative learning are described,…

This case study describes a pilot professional development project in which school leaders met regularly in a community of practice to clarify each other's identification of a problem of practice followed by development and implementation of a school improvement plan. Findings indicated positive perceptions of and engagement in the community of…

Operating across the 'marshy epistemological divide' created between schooling and academia, the role of pre-service teacher researchers presents a unique set of challenges and responsibilities. This paper reports on a follow-up study exploring the attitudes of a multi-disciplinary cohort of graduand teachers towards the use and conduct of…

In Thailand, in-service teachers' professional development has been implemented through the Professional Learning Community (PLC) program for more than four years to develop teachers' sustainably. The sustainable development program has spread across the country in the Thai Teacher Council network. The research goals are as follows: (1) to…

As faculty at a land-grant university, we wanted to better understand the complexity of and pathways toward critical literacy leadership among educators. Specifically, we asked: What forms of critical literacy leadership become visible when educators participate in a cohort model of literacy professional development? Thirty educators enrolled…

We describe a first-semester, integrated, introductory biology and chemistry course for undergraduates at Wellesley College in Wellesley, MA, USA. Our vision was to create a supportive learning community in which students could comfortably make connections between scientific disciplines as they learned necessary content for subsequent courses,…

This study investigates the perceived benefits to academics who assess HEA Fellowship applications in one institution. Results show that the assessors experience similar benefits from engaging with the continuing professional development (CPD) scheme as those reported by applicants. The data also indicate that the scheme nurtures a…

"Developing Knowledge Communities through Partnerships for Literacy" explores the development of knowledge communities--safe spaces on the educational landscape--where research and professional development with literacy teachers and writers can unfurl. This volume, inspired by an evaluation research partnership involving professional…

This report presents an approach to evaluating networked improvement communities (NICs) and describes the tools used to apply the approach to a formative evaluation of the Minnesota Alternative Learning Center Networked Improvement Community (Minnesota ALC NIC). In fall 2019 leaders at the Minnesota Department of Education requested support from…

This quantitative study examined school district leaders' engagement in a community of practice and reported the relationship between inter-district collaboration and school district leaders' learning and changes in professional learning efficacy. The theoretical framework involved Wenger's (1998) Community of Practice theory and the Standards for…

Those from marginalized populations, many of whom are first-generation college students (FGCS), often face barriers to accessing secondary education (Pitre & Pitre, 2009). Additionally, when students from such groups do successfully enroll in post-secondary educational opportunities, their graduation rates remain low (DeAngelo, Franke,…

Teacher quality is a perennially fertile field for education reformers. Among teacher quality policies, two of the more highly touted and widely adopted are state-mandated systems of teacher evaluation and formalized models of teacher collaborative teams, often known generally as professional learning communities (PLCs). Indeed, despite a…