A Research Group as a Professional Learning Community: Collaborations Within and Across Institutions

Abstract

This chapter presents a professional learning community (PLC) that has served a dual-purpose in promoting collaboration among university colleagues, while simultaneously fostering a meaningful partnership with a local elementary school, bridging the research-to-practice gap. At the university level, this PLC has opened a space for scholars to collaborate on different research projects, and at the partnership level, the PLC has established valuable connections that allowed scholars from the university to work with teachers in order to promote language and literacy learning in their classrooms. Throughout this chapter, we explore this PLC, unique in both its contextual features and its approach to collaborative learning. Drawing from our experiences, successes, and challenges, we propose an optimal application for implementing a PLC that facilitates collaboration within and across institutions to enhance teaching practices and to promote positive student learning outcomes.