Exploring the evolution of a teacher professional learning community: a longitudinal case study at a Taiwanese high school

Abstract

This article presents findings of a longitudinal case study conducted at a Taiwanese high school from 2006 to 2010. This school participated in the ‘High Scope Programme’ (HSP), which was sponsored by the Taiwanese National Science Council to promote curricular innovation in science education. Utilising interview data with 11 participating teachers, the study investigated how a team of teachers shared, connected and collaborated to develop a professional learning community (PLC) by establishing a culture of collaboration and collective learning. The HSP team as a PLC evolved through the following four stages: non-initiated stage, initial stage, implementation stage and institutionalisation stage. Three themes emerged from a dynamic system of practice: team-building as an emergent property; individual professional development embedded in collective learning; and collective inquiry for achieving curricular innovation. This study illuminates the evolution of a teacher PLC and provides a nuanced understanding of teacher professional development in a Taiwanese context.