Dr. William Allan Kritsonis, Dissertation Chair for Teresa Ann Huges, Dissertation Defense PPT

October 25, 2006 1:00 PM Teresa Ann Hughes Professional Learning Communities

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The Relationship Between Professional Learning

Communities and Student Achievement in High Schools

A Dissertation Defense by

Teresa Ann HughesMajor Professor: William Allan Kritsonis, PhD

PhD Program in Educational Leadership

Teresa Ann Hughes Professional Learning Communities

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Dissertation Defense Format

I. Theoretical FrameworkII. Purpose of the StudyIII. Research QuestionsIV. MethodV. Major FindingsVI. Review of LiteratureVII. Recommendations


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Theoretical Framework3 Big Ideas

Student PerformanceCollaborative Culture

Results

Richard and Rebecca DuFour and Robert Eaker

Student Learning


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Purpose of the Study

The purpose was two-fold:

1. Identify the degree to which each school was functioning as a professional learning community as rated by the principal.


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Purpose of the Study

2. Identify whether improved student achievement in Mathematics and Reading/English Language Arts Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) scores increased as a result of professional learning communities for the 2004, 2005, and 2006 school years.


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Research Questions

1. To what degree do principals rate their school as functioning as a professional learning community as measured by the School Professional Staff as Learning Community instrument?


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Research Questions

2. Is there a relationship between student achievement, based on change in Mathematics Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) scores, and the degree to which the principals report that the school is functioning as a professional learning community?


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Research Questions

3. Is there a relationship between student achievement, based on change in Reading/English Language Arts Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) scores, and the degree to which the principals report that the school is functioning as a professional learning community?


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Null Hypotheses

H01 - There is no statistically significant relationship between student achievement, as measured by Mathematics Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) scores, and the degree to which a school is functioning as a professional learning community.


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Null Hypotheses

H02 - There is no statistically significant relationship between student achievement, as measured by Reading/English Language Arts Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) scores, and the degree to which a school is functioning as a professional learning community.


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Method

Descriptive Statistics

Correlational StatisticsPearson’s Correlation

Stepwise Multiple Regression Analysis


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Method

Independent Variable – The degree to which a school functions as a professional learning community as rated by the principal.

Dependent Variable – Student achievement based on change in Mathematics and Reading/English Language Arts TAKS scores.


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Method

Subjects of the StudyAll accessible regular instruction public high

schools that functioned as a PLC in TexasGrades 9 through 12Total student enrollment greater than 1,00064 principals responded out of 142


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Method

InstrumentationSchool Professional Staff as Learning

Community Instrument five-point Likert-type instrument Pilot Test and Field Test for reliability and

validity conducted by Appalachia Educational Laboratories (AEL)

5 Indicators (17 total questions)


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MethodInstrumentation – 5 Indicators

1. School administrators participate democratically with teachers by sharing power, authority, and decision making.

2. There is a shared vision for school improvement in which the school has an undeviating focus on student learning.

3. Staff’s collective learning and application of the learning create high intellectual tasks and solutions to address student needs.


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Method

Instrumentation – 5 Indicators

4. Peers review and give feedback based on observing each other’s

classroom behaviors.

5. Conditions and capacities support the school’s arrangement as a

professional learning community.


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Major Findings Research Question 1

To what degree do principals rate their school as functioning as a professional learning community as measured by the School Professional Staff as Learning Community instrument?


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Major FindingsResearch Question 1

Mean PLC Score = 68.8

Possible Range: 17 to 85

Reported Range: 52 to 83

Mean Length of Time as a PLC = 2.5 years


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Correlation Between Total PLC Score on Instrument and Years as a PLC

r = .347, p = .005, (p < .01)


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Review of LiteratureResearch Question 1

Lezotte (1997) - The best way to build this broad-based commitment to the goals and strategies is through involvement of the staff and administrators.

Eaker, DuFour, & DuFour (2002) - In a professional learning community, collaboration is embedded into every aspect of the school culture. Every major decision related to the learning mission is made through collaborative processes.


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Gale (1997) - For change to be sustained, it is essential that those in authority support the change and those at the site of change must be involved in decisions regarding the change.

Twadell (2006) - The seeds of change in our departmental culture were planted when teachers worked together to develop a shared vision of the department they hoped to become and the students they hoped to shape.


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DuFour and Eaker (1998) - Teachers in professional learning communities recognize that teaching has not occurred until learning has occurred, and they act accordingly.

Hinman (2006) - Collaboration and collective inquiry are essential to the PLC concept, but only if teachers remain focused on the right issues.


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Muhammad (2006) - They recognize students cannot continually learn at higher levels unless educators are continually developing their capacity to meet the needs of students.

Eaker, DuFour & DuFour (2002), Members of a PLC are not ‘invited’ to work with colleagues: they are called upon to be contributing members of a collective effort to improve the school’s capacity to help all students learn at high levels.


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Major Findings Research Question 2

Is there a relationship between student achievement, based on change in Mathematics Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) scores, and the degree to which the principals report that the school is functioning as a professional learning community?


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Freq. % Freq. % Freq %

Decrease 9 14.1 38 59.4 6 9.4

Increase 55 85.9 26 40.6 58 90.6

2004-2005 2004-20062005-2006

Change in Mathematics TAKS Scores


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Pearson’s “r” for the total PLC score and each indicator as they relate to Mathematics TAKS scores were not significant for any of the school years.

The null hypotheses was not rejected.

Stepwise multiple regression analysis was not calculated.


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Is there a relationship between student achievement, based on change in Reading/English Language Arts Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) scores, and the degree to which the principals report that the school is functioning as a professional learning community?


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Freq. % Freq. % Freq %

Decrease 28 43.7 1 1.6 1 1.6

Increase 36 56.3 63 98.4 63 98.4

2004-2005 2004-20062005-2006

Change in Reading/English Language Arts TAKS Scores


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For the 2004 and 2005 school years,

Indicator 2 (Undeviating focus on student learning):r = .289, p = .021 (p < .05)

Indicator 5 (Conditions and capacities support the learning community school):

r = .252, p = .045 (p < .05)


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Stepwise Multiple Regression AnalysisExcluded Variables

Sig. Partial Correlation Total Score: .789 -.034Indicator 1: .629 -.062Indicator 3: .601 -.067Indicator 4: .301 -.132Indicator 5: .434 .100

The null hypotheses was not rejected.


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Review of LiteratureResearch Questions 2 & 3

Descriptive Statistics

Muhammad (2006) - A school that lagged far behind state averages had surpassed the state and eliminated the achievement gap. This transformation occurred, not because of an influx of better, brighter students, but because of the increased capacity, skill, and confidence of the staff.

Thompson, Gregg & Niska (2004) - In the area of student learning, every principal said that they felt students were learning in their school and they know this by looking at various assessments, i.e. test scores, student work, and portfolios.


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Correlational Statistics

Schools could be implementing other initiatives.

Hatch (2000) refers to this excess of initiatives as “multiple innovations colliding.”


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Correlational Statistics

Time as a PLC = 2.5 years

Fullan (2000) - It takes about three years to achieve successful change in student performance in an elementary school. Depending on size, it takes about six years to do so in a secondary school.


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Conclusion

It can be concluded that while there are significant increases in all TAKS scores, the results from the instrument can not be used to predict change in TAKS scores. Therefore, it cannot be concluded that professional learning communities impact student achievement and it cannot be concluded that they do not impact student achievement.


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Recommendations

Principals should follow professional learning communities over the next few years to document further progress.

Principals should continue participating democratically with teachers sharing power, authority, and decision making.

Principals should continue working to share visions for school improvement that have an undeviating focus on student learning and are consistently referenced for the staff’s work.


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Recommendations

Principals should continue to support the staff’s collective learning and application of the learning to address student needs.

Principals should implement peer reviews and peers providing feedback based on observing each other’s classrooms in order to increase individual and organizational capacity.

Principals should continue to support the school’s arrangement as a professional learning community.


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Recommendationsfor Further Study

A study could be conducted to compare schools functioning as professional learning communities with schools not functioning as professional learning communities to determine if student achievement is impacted.

A study could be conducted to determine if a relationship exists between the number of years schools are professional learning communities and student achievement.


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A study could be conducted to compare professional learning community schools with similar demographics to determine if student achievement is impacted. Schools could be identified by the campus group with which they are assigned.

A study could be conducted that includes both elementary and middle schools. This study only included high schools.

A study could be conducted where both principals and teachers are surveyed and interviewed to determine the perceptions of their schools as professional learning communities.


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A study could be conducted with a different instrument that addresses the differences in the respondent’s mind between what should be present for a professional learning community to exist and what actually is occurring on the respondent’s campus.

A study could be conducted with a different instrument that has a wider range of choices within a Likert-type scale. This would provide a greater potential variance for each variable so that true differences would emerge during inferential statistical analysis.

October 25, 2006 1:00 PM Teresa Ann Hughes Professional Learning Communities

40

The Relationship Between Professional Learning

Communities and Student Achievement in High Schools

A Dissertation Defense by

Teresa Ann Hughes