This book traces the origins and activities of the longest-standing collaborative teacher group in education, the Portfolio Group. Each chapter documents, historically and conceptually, the main intellectual moments in the evolution of the idea of knowledge communities. Authors illuminate the expansive work, research, and the leading/learning influence that the Portfolio Group has had in the local education community as well as on the international education landscape. In doing so, they illustrate the journey of a school-based, cross-institutional knowledge community and provide the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel for so many novice and newly formed groups seeking sustainability. The book demonstrates through the shared experiences of five teachers/teacher educators the ways in which varied collaborations aimed at professional development lead to teacher growth in practice, leadership, and career.

Building on evidence that school-based teacher learning communities improve student outcomes, this book lays out an agenda to develop and sustain collaborative professional cultures. It provides an inside look at the processes, resources, and system strategies that are necessary to build vibrant school-based teacher learning communities.

This book explores the unique experiences of a sister school network in Canada and China contextualized through the lens of the Reciprocal Learning Project, which supports the relationship between a school network and teacher education exchange program of two countries. Huang uses theoretical viewpoints from teacher learning and comparative education research to analyse and interpret what has happened in the emerging cross-cultural school network. The book juxtaposes teacher learning and comparative education research from Shanghai and Ontario as teachers in the two places interact and provides detailed descriptions of teacher collaboration to show how these collaborations were initiated, developed, and sustained, as well as the impact brought about from these collaborations. The book offers a unique opportunity to examine how Canadian and Chinese teachers receive and react to opportunities of cross-cultural collaboration and learning.

This book discusses distinctive features of the professional learning community concept, practices and processes across six different education systems in the Asia-Pacific region, namely Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, and the United States. It provides a platform for an exchange of different perspectives and offers alternative possibilities of theorizing professional learning communities across different socio-cultural contexts. Contributors provide valuable insights for policy makers, education researchers and educators in the Asia-Pacific region and elsewhere to deal with critical questions about the improvement of teaching and learning and school improvement in a globalizing world. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Asia Pacific Journal of Education.

Based on six-month fieldwork in a junior secondary school in Shanghai, this book qualitatively investigates the implementation of Teaching Research Groups (TRGs), a form of school-based Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) in China, and teachers’ different professional learning experiences within the structure of TRGs. The author situates teacher professional learning in TRGs within broader historical, social, and cultural contexts and further suggests that the practice of TRGs reflects the Chinese approach of balancing the seemly complex dualities (e.g., commitment and control, collaboration and authority, and individual and collective approaches) in educational settings. This book supplements the present knowledge base on PLCs in the context of China and thus enriches the global discussion on constructing effective PLCs for teacher professional learning. Scholars and students studying teacher professional learning and development, PLCs, school improvement, and Chinese schooling would find this book helpful.

The book investigates how Chinese professional learning communities (PLCs) shape the professional practice of teachers and their psychological well-being. Adopting a mixed research approach, the author explores the influence of PLCs on teachers’ self-efficacy, commitment and job satisfaction in a number of schools in Shanghai, China. The study contributes to our understanding of PLC outcomes from the Chinese perspective, enriches our knowledge of how PLCs promote teachers’ psychological well-being, and also sheds light on how the practices of PLCs can be influenced by various institutional and socio-cultural forces. The book will be of interest to academics and students studying professional learning communities, teacher professional learning and professional development, school effectiveness and school improvement, and Chinese schooling.

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.

Academic scholars in the field of education face a pressing dilemma – the need for meaningful, transformative adult learning that can lead to equitable access and outcomes for all learners in P-20 classrooms. Despite over two decades of experience, the educational community still grapples with the challenge of creating an environment that fosters professional development with a lasting impact. This issue undermines the very foundation of our educational system, hindering both educators and students from reaching their full potential. Exploring Meaningful and Sustainable Intentional Learning Communities for P-20 Educators is a groundbreaking edited book that provides answers to this critical problem by offering an innovative approach to learning from more than 20 years of wisdom from P-20 educators. It presents a comprehensive exploration of intentional learning communities, demonstrating their historical significance, defining their principles, and outlining the incredible benefits they bring to the world of education.

Taking a personalized and global approach, this timely volume links theory with application in the context of continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers, exploring current scholarship on teachers’ CPD and charting the shift towards continuing professional learning (CPL). Chapters look at concepts such as motivation, expertise, career trajectory, life story and empowerment, as well as their influences and respective roles in the personalization of teachers’ professional growth during their career. Presenting the principles of personalization and their significance for teachers’ CPL, this book provides a global perspective and model that clarifies the practical implications of the move towards teachers’ personalized CPL, including the necessary changes in both teachers’ attitudes and teacher education frameworks. Offering a unique and innovative multidimensional ‘template’ model that works as a tool for teachers interested in structuring their professional learning, this book will be useful to practitioners and researchers involved with teachers’ professional development, school leadership, school management, as well as international and comparative education research more broadly.

Teachers Learning in Communities is about teacher educators by those brave enough to make their professional learning public. The authors reveal the complexities of their participation in school/university partnerships and their relationships with teachers. Here practice informs theory, greatly expanding our knowledge and understanding of these important communities. Ann Lieberman, Senior Scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Teachers Learning in Communities is full of exciting success stories about rare and exotic teacher education episodes played out on the marg.