Author Year Title Journal

Levine, T. 2010
Tools for the study and design
of collaborative teacher
learning: the affordances of
different conceptions of
teacher community and activity
theory
Teacher Education
Quarterly
Objective
To improve the conceptual tools available for the design
and study of T edu, articles sets out diferent
distinctions among several popular notions of T
community
Theory traditions
Activity theory
Third space
method
Each conception analysed acc to
!"hat individuals do or create together
!the degree to "hich the construct speci#es a
mechanism of Lg
!limitations
!implicatinos for the $% of T dvpt
!illustrative suggestions for res using this
construct
theoretical argument
&i' conceptions
(n)uiry *ommunity
T $ro+ *omm
*omm of Learners
*omm of $ractice
, Activity Theory and Third -pace
notes
*an be used to refer to the proliferation of arrangements that can be
grouped under collaborativ teacher Lg
Author Year Title Journal
.avnes 200/
Tal0, planning and
decision ma0ing in
interdisciplinary teacher
teams
Teachers and
Teaching theory
and practice
Country
1or"ay
Objective/Unit of Analysis
This study e2plores the internal structure social meaning and potential
resources for learning and development inherent in the planning and coordination
of "or0 in (TT meetings.
!ocus on teacher team tal" the dynamics of the interaction and the object of
planning negotiation and decision#ma"ing.
3nit of analysis is the team and related interaction, not individuals4 article attempts to
say something about the relationship bt" the team!tal0 and the social practices the
team is engaged in as it "or0s.
5ain interest is to analyse the team!tal0 as 6conse)uential tal06 ! to identify its potential
implications for Ts6 $%.
Article contributes to the research literature by both focusing on the details fo the
interaction in team meetings and analysing the dynamics of group interaction in the
perspective of the situatedness and ob7ect!orientation of team!tal0.
$esearch %uestions
8hat is the ob7ect of team tal0 in (TTs9
.o" does the ob7ect of the interaction and the team dynamics
potentially propel or inhibit the accomplishment of the core goals
associated "ith the (TT structure9
To "hat e2tent to Ts interact and tal0 about an ob7ect or a collective
activity that motivates sharing of e2pertise and brings together the
team as an operative unit9
&ethod
'ideo observation of teacher team meetings.
Analysis focussed on patterns of tal0 three levels of interaction based on
Engestrom coordination, cooperation and communication
analysis of TT tal0 as 6conse)uential tal06 ! implications for Ts6 $%
3ofA the team and the participation of the individual teachers in 7oint
discussions and planning of their Tg practices. ... To identify patterns of team!
tal0, the focus has been primarily on teh communicative turns ! the thematic
continuitis and shifts in teh team!tal0 adn teh lin0age bet"een the individual
teachers6 utterances.
(evel
-econdary school
:lo"er;
Theory
activity theory<sociocultural tradition
learning = changing practice :Lave and 8enger;, focus on the establishing and
development fo the team!tal0 and the interaction in the team as a "hole.
The main mechanisms of learning and development are those that establish, maintain
and transform the social practice of a *>$ :L?8;, embedded in the ongoing social
practice of a team4 learning and development as the 7oing achievement of the team,
not as the individual6s learning mediated by a team structure.
Engestr@m's three levels of interaction: coordination :di'erent ob7ects. script
coordinates their actions "ithout being )uestioned or discussed;, cooperation :shared
ob7ect, $s go beyond con#nes of given script, but "ithout )uestioning it;,
communication :renegotiation of scripts, ob7ects, and participants6 roles and
responsibilites;.
!indings
!our patterns of team#tal" have been identi)ed !
i; preserving individualism: renegotiating individual autonomy and personal responsiblity - illustrates a recurrent pattern though a discussion
theme might have been introduced as a shared pro7ect, tas0 or event, the typical conclusion "as that it "as either up to the individual teachers to
do "hat they preferred, or the #nal decision "ould be made by the teacher team. (nstead of a transition from individual to collaborative modes of
"or0, both systems operate in parallel and in con+ict "ithin the same system.
ii; coordination: assuring the social organisation of work4 focus restricted to e.g. "ho is going to teach "hich part of a pro7ect curriculum, using the
team structure to deal "ith comple2 issues of coordination of their interrelatedness and division of labour.
iii; cooperation: creating a shared object or enterprise4 starting point the stablishment of a common ground for a 7oint enterprise, 7oint
renegotiation :and con+ict; over the ob7ect, team!tal0 situated in the activity of planning and underta0ing Tg
iv; sharing: clarifying pedagogical motives this points beyond the creation of a shared ob7ect, and in addition to the sharing of the pedagogical
script or premises that direct the "ay the Tg and Lg is being structured. This also brought out ne" forms of e2pertise from the Ts during
discussions.
...The coordination, collaboration and sharing perspective patterns can be interpreted as levels of interaction, referring to ho" diversities of T6s
responsibilities and tas0s are dealt "ith in team!tal0. The notion of 6level6 implies that a pattern can be at a higher or a lo"er level of interaction
and a'ord diverse resources for Lg.
The observations illustrate the the relationshiop bt" the ob7ect!orientation of team!tal0 and the dynamics of the (TT interaction. -ome patterns
implied the silencing of diversity and con+icts, "hile in other patterns diversity "as a presupposition and con+icts "ere to be e2pected and
accepted.
*otes
Author Year Title Journal
Aes0io et al 200B
-toll et al 200C
A revie" of res on the
impact of $L*s on Tg
$% and -- Lg
Teaching and
Teacher Education
$L*s A revie" of the
literature
Dournal of
Educational
*hange
1///
Eelchtermans, F. 200C
*ochran!-mith, 5. and
Lytle, -.
could also go in the
theoretical studies
section
%elationships of
0no"ledge and
$ractice Teacher
Learning in
*ommunities
%evie" of
%esearch in
Education
Teacher collaboration
and collegiality as
"or0place conditions
A revie"
Geitschrift fHr
$Idagogi0
Aoogt et al. 2011
200/
T learning in
collaborative
curriculum design
Teaching and
Teacher Education
-ee also 5cLaughlin
2011 i 6theoretical
studies6 section, this is
part revie", part theory
argument
&arling!.ammond, L
and %ichardson, 1.
Teacher Learning
8hat 5atters9
Educational
Leadership
Objective
+dentifying the impact of ,(Cs as re-ected in the title.
Questions
(n "hat "ays does teaching practice change as a result of participation in a $L*9 And, "hat
aspects of the $L*s support these changes9 &oes the literature support the assumption that
student learning increases "hen teachers participate in a $L*9 And, "hat aspects of the $L*s
support increased student learning9
!ive broad /uestions structure this revie01
1. 8hat are professional learning communities9
2. 8hat ma0es professional learning communities e'ective9
J. 8hat processes are used to create and develop an e'ective professional learning community9
K. 8hat other factors help or hinder the creation and development of e'ective professional
learning communities9
L. Are e'ective professional learning communities sustainable9
Article provides a frame0or" for considering various initiatives related to T learning
that, in spite of appearing similar, are very di'erent in purpose and hence have di'erent
conse)uences for Ts.
inquiry as stance :based on E of $%; authors put this forth as permitting closer understanding of
E!$% relationships as "ell as ho" in)uiry produces E, ho" in)uiry relates to $%, and "hat Ts learn
from in)uiry "ithin communities. The intention is to o'er a "ay of rethin0ing T Lg that is not based
on particular strategies or methods, but on the images and assumptions that underlie methods
and on the educational pruposes that drive T Lg initiatives, i.e. a fram"or0 for theorising T Lg on
the basis of fundamental ideas about ho" E and $% are rlated and ho" Ts learn "ithin
communitise and other conte2ts.
Unit of analysis 2 underlying conception of T (g.
$evie0 focussed on 3collaboration and collegiality as meaningful organisational
realities6, :and e2cludes the pedagogy of cooperation4 formal relationships of supervision,
coaching or mentoring4 forms of collaborative action research4 teacher leadership and
participatory decision ma0ing;.
Article argues for the relevance of organisational conte4t and that the cultural and
structural "or0ing conditions in schools determine and mediate actual teacher collaboration, as
"ell as ho" 6collegiality6 is e2perienced.
Mocus on Ts6 collaborative :re!;design of curriculum materials. %ationale research on T
collaborative curriculum design tends to focus on measuring e'ects on T learning and on
curriculum implementation, rather than on the processes of collaborative design that
promote T learning. Aim of the study is to better understand the T learning that ta0es place in
T&Ts during collaborative design activities and during classroom implementation of the design.
$esearch /uestions1
1 ! 8hich changes in Ts "ere observed during collaborative curriculum design and classroom
implementation respectively9
2 ! 8hich change se)uences, mediated by re+ection or enactment processes, "ere encouraged
during the T&T intervention9
J! &id participation in the T&T contribute to long!lasting change9
K ! 8hich factors in the environment in+uenced the intervention9
Contains &ethod
An overvie" of the characteristics of $L*s ,
revie" , implications and suggested ne2t
setps.
A revie" of 10 American studies and
one English study on the title topic.
>vervie" of the concepts and its development4
the characteristics of $L*s, discussion of
"hether they are supportive of Lg, processes
used to develop $L*s, "hat factors help or
hinder them being e'ective.
-ources are not clari#ed but build on
previous "or0 references in
introduction. $resentation structured
thematically. :( thin0 the method
aspect here is "ea0;.
&istinctions 0no"ledge for<in<of practice.
Table "ith overvie" of conceptual frame"or0,
p. 2L2 E<$ relationships4 images of E4 images
of Ts, Tg, and professional $%4 current
initiatives.
Table "ith overvie" of conceptual
frame"or0, p. 2L2, serves as structure
for discussing E for<in<of $%.
&e#nition and discussion of 6collaboration6 and
6collegiality6, and the relationship bet"een the
t"o.
&iscussion of shift to"ards interest in
collaborative "or0.
&iscussion of a; di'erent forms of T
collaboration, b; development of a balanced
vie" on Ts6 collaboration and autonomy, c; ta0e
into account the agenda ! 6collaboration for
"hat6
-election approach not made e2plicit,
appears thematically based.
-ystematic revie" of literature about
teacher design teams :search criteria
outlined on page 12JN;4 nine articles
included in the #nal revie" :see page
12JB;.
The empirical data in each article then
considered in the light of the 5odel of
$rofessional Fro"th, "ith four
domains e2ternal domain, personal
domain, domain of practice, domain of
conse)uences.
Theory
5odel of $rofessional
Fro"th :*lar0e ?
.ollings"orth; used for
analysing processes of
collaborative design in
teacher design teams
:T&Ts;.
!indings
The collective results of the studies suggest that "ell!developed $L*s have positive impact on both Tg $% and -- achieement.
Loo0ing across the sample four characteristics that appeared to promote changes in Tg cultures collaboration a focus on -- Lg, T authority and continuous T Lg.
(n gen, the res tells us that successful collaborative eforts include strategies that 5open5 ,$ in 0ays that encourage sharing re-ecting and ta"ing the ris"s necessary to
change.
To summariOe the #ndings across the revie"ed literature in terms of our t"o initial research )uestions :1; participation in learning communities impacts teaching practice as teachers become
more student centered. (n addition, teaching culture is improved because the learning communities increase collaboration, a focus on student learning, teacher authority or empo"erment, and
continuous learning4 :2; "hen teachers participate in a learning community, students bene#t as "ell, as indicated by improved achievement scores over time. All si2 studies reporting student
learning outcomes indicated that an intense focus on student learning and achievement "as the aspect of learning communities that impacted student learning. Together these )ndings from
the literature provide preliminary evidence of the bene)t of learning communities for teachers and their students.
$%61 Appears to be consensus on a group of people sharing and critically interrogating their practice in an ongoing, re+ective, collaborative, inclusive, laerning!oriented, gro"th!promoting "ay,
operating as a collective enterprise4 communities of continuous in)uiry and improvement. At the heart of the $L* concept is the notion of community, and the notion of collective learning.
*ommunity here typically implies shared beliefs and understandings, interaction and participation, interdependence, concern for individual and minority vie"s, and meaningful relationships. The
community focus emphasises mutually supportive relationships and developign shared norms and values, "hereas the focus on professionals and professionalism is to"ards the ac)uisition of E
and s0ills, orientation to clients and pro#essional autonomy.
$%71 Mive characteristics of $L*s highlighted in the literature shared values and vision, collective responsiblity, re+ective personal in)uiry, collaboration, promotion of group as "ell as individual
learning. (n addition, authors6 research emphasises mutual trust, respect and support among sta' members, inclusive membership. Impact %esearch is converging on the claim that professional
community is an important contributor to instructional improvement and school reform :ho"ever this path is not necessarily 6direct6;, and there are indications of a lin0 bet"een $L*s and
enhanced student outcomes.
$%81 Mour 6headings6 of di'erent 0inds of processes "rt creating and developing $L*s focussing on learning processes4 ma0ing the best of human and social resources managing structural
resources4 interacting "ith and dra"ing on e2ternal agents.
$%91 individuals6 orientations to change, group dynamics, school conte2t
$%: Little longitudinal research yet.
Argument1 the construct inquiry as stanceinherent in "no0ledge#of#practice is intended to o'er a closer understanding of the E generated in in)uiry communities, ho" in)uiry relates to $%,
and "hat Ts learn from in)uiry. Ts "ho ta0e an in)uiry stance "or0 "ithin in"uiry communities to generate local E, envision and theorise their $%, and interpret and interrogate the theory and
research of others. Munamental to this notion is that the "or0 of in)uiry communities is both social and political. The notion of E is non!dualist, and also moves beyond the idea that practice is
practical. T lg is about forming and reforming frame"or0s for understanding $%. The conception also moves beyond the novice!e2pert distinction.
Empirical research illustrates bene#ts as "ell as comple2ities of T collaboration, and bene#ts do not automatically follo" from collaboration.
;iferent forms of collaboration and collegiality PLittle 1//0, four types storytelling ? scanning for ideas, aid ?assistance, sharing, 7oint "or0Q4 PE"a0man 200J providing structural and
organisational support is important but not suRcientQ, Pinformal e2change can be as important as formal structures, Leonard and Leonard 1///Q
On collaboration and autonomy1 P.argreaves constrained, strategic and elective individualismQ, P*lement and Aandenberghe 2000 added 6ascribed autonomy, also argue that the balance
bt" autonomy and collegiality in a school constitutes a "or0ing condition that strongly in+uences "hether and to "hat e2tent formal and informal learning opportunities "ill ta0e place,
speci#cally "hether it is 6polar6 or 6circular6Q, conclusion 6for the goals of school improvement and teachers6 professional development a proper balancing of both autonomy and collegiality seems
to provide the most promising "ay ahead6, p. 22N.
The content or agenda of collaboration and collegiality <3for 0hat3=1 Ts seem to value most agendas oriented to"ards the pupils6 learning or "ell being4 teacher collaboration often
con#nes itself to solving problems that arise in the day!to!day classroom practice< #nding practical solutions4 another important aspect is developing, improving or aRrming pedagogical s0ills,
5unthe lesson collaboration "hich does not necessarily enhance professional development ! 5unthe ? *lement<Aandenberghe collaboration and collegiality that only address the 6ho" to6
)uestions seem to contribute more to the status )uo than to change or improvement4 some bene#ts are primarily social!emotional :Dohnson 200J;, de Lima close ties bet"een teachers can
inhibit collaboration and professional learning4 in other "ords, collaboration can be conformist and bloc0 initiatives of change.
De'rey increased performativity ! led to T collaboration focussed on see0ing reassurance on "hat is the right thing to do< meeting e2ternally imposed criteria.
T collaboration can also imply a higher "or0 load and contribute to burn out and stress.
Collaboration is not positive per se> content impact personalities organisational cultures processes of sense ma"ing have to be included in the analysis.
Collaborative culture and community1 1ias et al four areas in "hich collaborative culture in+uence teaching practice again emphasise comple2 relationships surroundings collaborative
initiatives4 the role of con+ict ! collaboration often appears only to the e2tent it does not threaten cultural norms or the relationships of po"er "ithin the team4 ho"ever, communities that engage
in con+ict appear to have a greater potential for continual gro"th and rene"al, hence the challenge is to #nd a balance bet"een trust< caring community and constructive controversy.
Article discusses each revie"ed article "ith reference to each %Q4 #ndings are relatively diverse.
SThe T&Ts analysed complies "ith most of the characteristics previously identi#ed in the literature as being conducive to improving or changing classroom practice :see lit revie" section for a list;
SThe studies main described T change as a result of the collaborative "or0 in the T&Ts, and there "ere only a fe" indications of long!lasting change.
S -tudies sho"ed that the stimuli and support o'ered in the e2ternal domain "ere crucial in directing the learning paths of the Ts.
SMe" environmental factors "ere reported that in+uenced the "or0 of T&Ts.
List of practical implications on page 12KJ. among others i; #ndings point to the importance of appropriate stimuli and support, preferably by an e2ternal facilitator, to guide T learning in T&T,
and ii; clarity among team members about the goals and the design tas0 is crucial.
?an bru"es til@
-om generell henvisning til ve0sten i 0ollaborative arbeidsformer og team "or0 som en form for
professional development
3seful for a more detailed reference on ho" the concept evolved< "hat it entails.
;e)nition of professional learning communities Appears to be consensus on a group of people
sharing and critically interrogating their practice in an ongoing, re+ective, collaborative, inclusive,
laerning!oriented, gro"th!promoting "ay, operating as a collective enterprise4 communities of
continuous in)uiry and improvement. At the heart of the $L* concept is the notion of community, and the
notion of collective learning. *ommunity here typically implies shared beliefs and understandings,
interaction and participation, interdependence, concern for individual and minority vie"s, and
meaningful relationships. The community focus emphasises mutually supportive relationships and
developign shared norms and values, "hereas the focus on proifessionals and professionalism is to"ards
the ac)uisition of E and s0ills, orientation to clients and pro#essional autonomy.
;e)nisjon av 3collaboration3
Mirst page
concise
summary
of 0ey
#ndings in
research
on T
profession
al
developm
ent
publication
de#nition