TEACHER PERCEPTIONS OF PARTICIPATING IN THE MISSOURI PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES (MPLC) PROJECT

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ self-reported perceptions regarding implementation of the Missouri Professional Learning Communities (MPLC) Project PD program and the three domains of the MPLC Project training from year one of implementation through year three of the program. This study examined the influence of PLC training as it was integrated into the K-12 educational school setting as demonstrated by the analysis of teacher’s perceptions utilizing the Benchmark Assessment Tool (BAT). The BAT’s intent was to measure the perceptions and behaviors of teachers in different stages of the MPLC Project PD program. This quantitative study found five key conclusions when studying teachers’ perceptions and behaviors during the implementation of a PLC initiative. First, the impact of time and experience was more significant when evaluating teachers’ progress towards changing their perceptions and behaviors to implement PLC goals than the type of training the teachers received. Second, elementary teachers are more adaptive to the goals of this PLC initiative than the middle school and high school teachers. Third, the collaborative relationship is a key to successful PLC implementation when it is considered that both experience and time matter. Next, the train-the-trainer model actually worked to administer the PLC frameworks in all K-12 settings. Finally, PLCs likely impact student performance due to the positive growth in teacher perceptions about both student learning and teacher learning over time.