Open AccessFrom Experience to Expertise: Professional Development through Collaborative Inquiry
Author(s) -
Lorenzo Cherubini,
Annie Gojmerac
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
teaching and learning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1703-2598
DOI - 10.26522/tl.v6i1.382
Subject(s) - professional development , context (archaeology) , professional learning community , pedagogy , faculty development , psychology , grounded theory , qualitative research , medical education , mathematics education , sociology , medicine , paleontology , social science , biology
This research paper presents the outcomes of a professional learning community (PLC) of teachers involved in a personal service approach to professional development. The PLC was conceptualized as an inquiry-based professional development intervention based on teachers’ specific needs. Participants represented 4 regions that encompassed a large Ontario school board district. Through a qualitative grounded theory research approach, two key outcomes emerged from the data, including, ‘Intrinsic motivation to improve teaching and learning’ and ‘Critical reflections in teaching.’ By critically reflecting on their teaching within the PLC model, the teacher-participants guided their own professional development in the context of self-affirming practice. Since the research project was contextualized in the literature, the paper further discusses how this professional development model is ideally suited to meet the needs of teachers and students of the 21st Century. Lastly, it is suggested that this PLC model can be replicated in similar contexts by schools and school boards across the Golden Horseshoe.