C Poortman
Professional Learning Networks: a conceptual model and research opportunities
Poortman, C; Brown, C; Schildkamp, K
Authors
C Brown
K Schildkamp
Abstract
Background: Professional Learning Networks (PLNs) of educators represent a promising approach to achieving continuous school improvement. At the same time, a range of studies in this area, including several systematic reviews and meta-analyses, report multiple conceptual and methodological challenges, or, at best, mixed results. Purpose and sources: The aim of this theoretical discussion paper, therefore, is to seek, first, to synthesize and connect to previous studies focused on professional learning communities and networks by combining and reflecting on their findings and recommendations. Second, we aim to contribute to the methodological development of the field in order to propose research that can link what happens in PLNs to changes in outcomes for students. For the latter, we will also make use of new insights from the field with regard to the use of big data in education. Main argument: We propose a conceptual model of what defines PLNs, enactment process variables, and influencing factors, presenting our theory-of-action for how PLNs can be effective. Secondly, we discuss challenges and recommendations in studying PLN impact regarding research approach, research design and measurement. This discussion includes consideration of the use of big data to help to make the analysis of patterns in, and relations between, different types of PLN research data more efficient and reliable. Conclusion: We need to define and study the processes and effects of PLNs more efficiently and effectively, to support PLNs in fulfilling the promise of increased teacher learning, improved outcomes for students, and, ultimately, sustainable school improvement at scale.
Citation
Poortman, C., Brown, C., & Schildkamp, K. (2022). Professional Learning Networks: a conceptual model and research opportunities. Educational Research, 64(1), 95-112. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2021.1985398
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | Sep 22, 2021 |
Online Publication Date | Nov 10, 2021 |
Publication Date | 2022 |
Deposit Date | Sep 22, 2021 |
Publicly Available Date | Jan 28, 2022 |
Journal | Educational Research |
Print ISSN | 0013-1881 |
Electronic ISSN | 1469-5847 |
Publisher | Taylor and Francis Group |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 64 |
Issue | 1 |
Pages | 95-112 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2021.1985398 |
Files
Published Journal Article
(988 Kb)
PDF
Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Copyright Statement
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.
You might also like
Improving mathematical reasoning – the professional development challenge
(2022)
Journal Article
Facilitating the ideas-informed society: a systematic review
(2022)
Journal Article
Downloadable Citations
About Durham Research Online (DRO)
Administrator e-mail: dro.admin@durham.ac.uk
This application uses the following open-source libraries:
SheetJS Community Edition
Apache License Version 2.0 (http://www.apache.org/licenses/)
PDF.js
Apache License Version 2.0 (http://www.apache.org/licenses/)
Font Awesome
SIL OFL 1.1 (http://scripts.sil.org/OFL)
MIT License (http://opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.html)
CC BY 3.0 ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
Powered by Worktribe © 2024
Advanced Search