Strengthening Teacher Development through Professional Learning Communities

(VVOB) What distinguishes professional learning communities from traditional professional development workshops or trainings? 

(Paul) For VVOB in South Africa, professional learning communities are a teacher-led professional development initiative that is based on the needs identified by the teachers themselves. In PLCs, teachers can decide how to best approach their own learning. Traditional workshops, on the other hand, have usually been determined and led by other individuals or organisations who may not clearly understand teachers’ needs and how to address them. Teachers typically receive these workshops in a lecture-style format, highlighting the top-down approach behind them. Often, these workshops are one-time events that leave little to no time for practical application. Professional learning communities, on the other hand, offer teachers the opportunity to discuss and share different strategies that they use in their teaching. PLCs also let teachers think about new ideas and talk with peers about how to use them in class.  

(VVOB) How do you define an effective professional learning community? 

(Paul) An effective professional learning community is one that offers teachers the opportunity to reflect on their teaching and learning activities with their peers in a conducive environment where all the teachers get the chance to express their ideas freely. The PLC must foster collaboration where sharing, the use of data, and innovation can occur with improved classroom practice as the goal. Therefore, the number of teachers in a professional learning community, how often they meet, the topics they discuss, and the way their meetings are held ultimately contribute to its effectiveness. It is beneficial for a PLC member to take on a coordinating role, ensuring agreed-upon meeting dates, securing a venue, and overseeing logistics. Additionally, having a facilitator during the sessions helps engage all participants and maintain a smooth flow of activities. 

(VVOB) How can school management teams support the establishment and growth of professional learning communities in their schools?  

(Paul) The role of school management teams (SMTs) is to encourage teachers to meet in professional learning communities to discuss the critical issues of teaching and learning. The school management team must provide time for teachers to meet and offer them suitable venues. The SMT should also assist teachers with data that shows the patterns of learning in the school, revealing areas needing improvement and therefore pointing to what could be potential focus areas for professional learning communities. It is important that the school management team does all this in a supportive manner and that PLC meetings remain driven by teachers’ active desire to take learning into their own hands. 

(VVOB) How are professional learning communities formed and what role does VVOB and its partners play in this process? 

(Paul) Teachers form professional learning communities in various ways, depending on how they came upon the information to form PLCs. Many provincial education departments have gone on campaigns to roll out training on professional learning communities across their provinces. Non-profit organisations including VVOB, and civil society organisations, have been doing the same. Sometimes education stakeholders like district officials or non-profit organisations bring new and innovative teaching concepts to teachers. From there, professional learning communities encourage teachers to continue their learning independently. This strategy is one way in which active professional learning communities have grown in schools. VVOB, the Department of Basic Education and the provincial departments of education across the country have been encouraging teachers through training and advocacy to form professional learning communities to improve teaching practices. The driving force behind this push for PLCs is the policy that the department developed in 2011, the Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development (ISPFTED). This policy identified continuous professional teacher development (CPTD) and professional learning communities as a crucial factor for improving teachers’ capabilities and, therefore, teaching and learning in the country. 

Any teacher can call upon his or her colleagues to form a professional learning communities if they see a need and have a mutually appealing focus area for the PLC. 

(VVOB) How often should PLC members meet and how can schools ensure consistent participation? 

(Paul) There is no specified number of times for professional learning communities to meet, but it is important to emphasise that the meetings must be regular if the discussions taking place have an impact. School management teams, district officials, and other educational stakeholders must encourage teachers to meet through professional learning communities. They should show the benefits of PLCs instead of forcing them to attend. 

(VVOB) From your vast experience with professional learning communities what kinds of activities do teachers engage in within a PLC to enhance their professional practice? 

(Paul) Teachers engage in a variety of activities in professional learning communities and usually the focus determines the activities of the PLC. Often, when introducing a new concept to teachers, their focus shifts to the methods of teaching it. Thus, they will use their professional learning community to showcase different ways of delivering the content. In this case, different teachers might demonstrate to their colleagues what they consider to be the most effective methods for presenting content to learners. This will also happen when they are honing their skills on what they have always taught but are trying to improve. Occasionally, a teacher or even an external person might want to share information about something they have learnt or read. They may present to their professional learning community peers and discuss how it affects their teaching. If the presentation involves teaching methods or techniques, it could potentially lead to demonstrations. Other ways that teachers could share teaching methods include through videos; YouTube has multitudes of different teaching tutorials and audio lessons, which can also lead to discussions. One of the most potent ways that makes a professional learning community compelling is when teachers come back to the PLC having tried different things in class and share their reflections on the successes or otherwise of their trials.

(VVOB) What would you say are the common challenges that educators face when establishing professional learning communities and how can these be overcome? 

(Paul) The idea of teachers meeting on their own, in their own time and dealing with issues that affect them is still relatively new in South Africa. Where it has taken hold, the results are positive, but in other areas, teachers still express a lack of time to meet, as there are many other competing activities that require their time. Knowledge of PLCs has spread throughout the country; what is required is that the school management teams and other stakeholders allow teachers the space to hold their meetings. 

(VVOB) Can you describe specific challenges encountered by VVOB in implementing professional learning communities within Department of Basic Education and the KwaZulu Natal Department of Education programmes and how have these been addressed? 

(Paul) One of the greatest challenges is still getting the message across to the teachers, school management team and district officials about the professional learning communities and how they could operate. In some areas, teachers form professional learning communities with their peers in schools located far from each other. As a result, they need to travel long distances to attend a PLC session. This also requires financial resources to go to these places and eventually this affects the professional learning community. It is not an ideal situation, and it should not be difficult for teachers to attend a professional learning community session even if it involves teachers from different schools. Some school principals have been reluctant to allow teachers to participate in professional learning communities, viewing it as a distraction from their other responsibilities. This hesitation stems from a lack of clear understanding of the purpose and benefits of PLCs. To address this issue, we must provide principals with accurate information, enabling them to approve teachers' meetings. Continuing with education initiatives to inform school management teams and teachers is the only way to get professional learning communities to take root and function optimally in the schools. This also includes situations where many teachers convene in a single professional learning community. Such an arrangement does not promote the active participation of all teachers in discussions. We always encourage 5 to 15 as the ideal number of members for PLCs. 

(VVOB) Given the limitations of the frequency of meetings, what role does technology play in fostering collaboration and communication?

(Paul) Technology offers a viable solution to overcome many challenges that could confront PLCs. Since the emergence of COVID-19, technology has emerged as a crucial tool for facilitating in-person meetings. Technology allows people to meet at short notice and takes away the need to travel. Given that teachers have many competing priorities for their time, this provides good relief for the teachers using technologies from devices like laptops and cell phones. 

(VVOB) What kinds of technologies are being used to facilitate PLCs? 

(Paul) Professional learning communities utilise various technologies like Zoom, Teams, WhatsApp and others. By using these technologies participants can meet and have continuous engagement during and after the PLC meetings have been held. One of the most used technologies is WhatsApp where discussions on topical issues take place in a cost effective and sustainable way. WhatsApp is the most used technology for holding discussions which develop from face-to-face meetings, start new conversations and share information. 

(VVOB) How does VVOB support the sustainability of professional learning communities beyond the duration of specific programmes? 

(Paul) Since the establishment of the VVOB online learning platform, it has allowed us to place resources on the platform for all those who need them. Currently, the platform carries resources including three courses on professional learning communities. The content provides comprehensive information on PLCs and how to establish, support and sustain them. One of the main strategies for sustaining PLCs is making sure that these important resources are available and accessible. By placing them on the online learning platform, we’re ensuring they are spread far and wide, so people across the country can access what they need to start and sustain their professional learning communities. 

12. (VVOB) What are some innovative approaches to professional learning community implementation that can inspire and motivate educators? 

(Paul) The repository of professional learning community resources on the online learning platform has been the most innovative approach that will ensure that the word of PLCs spreads as far as possible in the country. We have also developed several posters and videos with messages to aid in understanding PLC approaches. These are also readily available online, including on YouTube. 

Professional learning communities are based on the vision that learning is enhanced when it takes place freely within a community of professionals. Schools can provide the structure and culture to facilitate such collective learning. The Department of Basic Education and the KwaZulu Natal Department of Education, together with VVOB, work collaboratively to ensure that educators and school management teams are supported to establish and facilitate PLCs in a manner that is not only effective but sustainable.  

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