Impact of Professional Learning Community (PLC): Approach to improving teachers’ effectiveness in raising students’ learning achievement

Abstract

Bhutanese schools have struggled to implement effective Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to help teachers improve students' performance. PLCs have been established in certain schools as a mandate for addressing teacher professional development, while others are yet to do so. The purpose of this action research was to examine school teachers' experiences in Bhutanese schools as a result of their participation in a PLC, as well as the influence of PLC in boosting teachers' effectiveness in raising student achievement, based on Dufour's three big ideas of PLC. This research used an online survey and a learning assessment instrument after the intervention period. Respondents were all the teachers involved in PLC throughout the year and were asked to answer a survey questionnaire based on PLC's 6 Essential Characteristics devised to determine teachers' effectiveness in terms of the main elements that make up a professional learning community. A learning assessment tool (class test) to measure student performance was administered during the spring and autumn unit tests to measure the effectiveness of PLC in student achievement. The findings were aligned with Richard Dufour's conceptual framework for defining important elements of professional learning communities. These findings suggest that teachers' professional networks and collaboration among themselves have a positive impact on student progress.