Hughes cohort i

The Lamar University Electronic Journal of Student Research
Volume 3, Spring 2006

THE IMPORTANCE OF LEARNING COMMUNITY
IDEOLOGY IN THE TRANSFORMATION OF
PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN THE UNITED STATES

Teresa A. Hughes William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
PhD Program Student in Educational Professor
Leadership PhD Program in Educational Leadership
Prairie View A & M University Prairie View A & M University
Klein Independent School District Distinguished Alumnus (2004)
Klein, Texas Central Washington University
College of Education and Professional Studies
Visiting Lecturer (2005)
Oxford Round Table
University of Oxford, Oxford, England
ACRL- Harvard Leadership Institute (2006)
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Harvard University, Cambridge MA

David Herrington, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Educational Leadership & Counseling
Prairie View A&M University
Member of the Texas A&M University System


ABSTRACT

A Nation at Risk, Goals 2000, and No Child Left Behind are examples of
external factors that compel educational leaders at local schools and districts to
explore reform initiatives in order to meet federally required results. Because of
political mandates to improve student learning and instruction, educational leaders
are searching for initiatives to ensure success for aU children. A number of
initiatives designed to improve student performance and the quality of teaching are
available for educational leaders. One such initiative is professional learning
communities.

The purpose of this article is to make a case, based on historical reform efforts,
for educational leaders to transform schools into professional learning communities.
Personal mastery is the first discipline. For the organization to learn, each
individual member of an organization must continue to learn. Without individual growth,
the organization will stand still. Of course, this does not assure the organization will
continue learning just because each member learns; however, the converse is true. An
organization will not continue learning if the individuals are not learning. Personal
mastery goes beyond competency and skills; it is about deepening our personal visions,
of focusing our energies, of developing patience, and of seeing reality objectively (Smith,
2001). Observing and trying to make sense of current realities is another aspect of
personal mastery. For example, educators might want to ponder why students are failing
or dropping out of school. Teachers might want to ponder the isolation or connectedness
they feel at work. According to Senge (1990), personal mastery "...is a process. It is a
lifelong discipline. People with a high level of personal mastery are acutely aware of their
ignorance, their incompetence, their growth areas" (p. 142). Looking within oneself is
not easy, but is necessary for personal growth.
Creating a shared vision is another discipline that will keep organizations
learning. Many people still have the misconception that it is the CEO's or principal's job
to create the vision. In other words, a person with authority creates the vision; however
Senge (2000) reminds us that a vision created by a leader will not be sustained. All
people have some idea or vision about what they want to accomplish each day. Such
as, teachers have a vision of the best practices they wish to implement in the classroom;
students have aspirations of what they want to learn; parents might have a vision that
their child be able to read, and educational leaders have a vision to meet state mandated
standards.
Professional learning communities empower the teaching staff to work together
with administrators and other teachers to provide quality instruction and improve student
learning. According to Shirley Hord, "As an organizational arrangement, the professional
learning community is seen as a powerful staff development approach and a potent
strategy for school change and improvement" (1997). There are five attributes of a
professional learning community: supportive and shared leadership, collective creativity,

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shared values and vision, supportive conditions, and shared personal practice. These five
attributes change the organizational arrangement of schools.

The Learning Organization

Peter Senge has positively impacted both the business world and the education
community. Senge was awarded the honor of being named a 'Strategist of the Century'
by the Journal of Business Strategy. Only 23 other men and women have held the
prestigious honor of having the greatest impact on the way business is conducted (Smith,
20Ot). Author of The Fifth Discipline, Senge popularized his vision of a learning
organization. In 2000, Senge wrote another book, Schools that Learn: A Fifth Discipline
Fieldbook for Educators, Parents, and Everyone Who Cares About Education,
transferring the concept of learning organizations into the world of education. Senge
created the vision of a learning organization defined by five disciplines: personal
mastery, mental models, shared vision, team learning and systems thinking. A discipline
is a series of principles and practices that we examine, master, and incorporate into our
lives (Smith, 2001). For these five disciplines to successfully work, there must be a
fundamental shift of mind among the members in the organization. Once this shift has
occurred, organizations are able to continually expand their capacity and become learners
for life.
Systems thinking is the fifth discipline that fuses and integrates the other
disciplines into one comprehensible body. One aspect of systems thinking is focusing on
the whole, as opposed to focusing on the individual parts - a practice not usually
practiced. For example, a principal's office is a fast-paced area where problem solving
occurs every minute. A parent calls, a teacher comes to the office, a student is in the
office, a counselor needs assistance, or another administrator is requesting help - each of
these situations requires an immediate response. The system that is in place is to
prioritize the problems and then begin "putting out the fires," so to speak. Instead of
searching for solutions to why the problems are occurring, the focus shifts to solving the
problem and then moves on to the next problem. Thus, a cycle of problem solving is set
in motion. Senge (2000), suggests that in the long run each quick fix will do more harm
than good: "Moreover, reacting to each event quickly, and solving problems as quickly as
they come up, helps develop a kind of "attention-deficit culture" in the school system" (p.
77). Instead of discovering methods for preventing each crisis, people become good at
reacting to a crisis. Senge has identified a number of systems thinking practices, each
with a different degree of rigor, approaches and views. Each systems thinking form can
be used for different purposes and in different circumstances.
Another discipline is mental models. Senge defines mental models as "deeply
ingrained assumptions, generalizations, or even pictures and images that influence how
we understand the world and how we take action" (1990, p. 8). Mental models can be
illustrated as two individuals observing the exact same scenario. When asked to account
what they observed, each will provide a different explanation. Mental models tend to
hinder a person's ability to change. Assumptions are often made because individuals
have a predefined notion of how things ought to be. For instance, a teacher might assume
that students do not care about their education because of their off task behavior during
class. A parent might assume the teacher does not care about his/her child because the

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teacher does not call home when the child is off task during class. The practical
application of mental models dispels the often misperceived notion, in both the world of
business and education that people will not ask questions unless they know the answers.
Senge (2000) explains, "People ask questions in the practice of this discipline because
they are trying to learn more about their own, and each other's, most deeply held attitudes
and beliefs" (p. 68).
Building on personal mastery and shared visions, team learning is a discipline
that will be good for both the individual and the organization. Senge (1990) states, "The
discipline of team learning starts with 'dialogue', the capacity of members of a team to
suspend assumptions and enter into a genuine 'thinking together' (p. 10). Teaching
teams should dialogue about student assessments and instructional best practices with the
hopes of improving student achievement and their own teaching methodologies.
Unfortunately, some teaching teams come together without an agenda and, at the
conclusion of the meeting, have not accomplished anything that will improve themselves
or their students. This is not to say that teachers must think alike to be a member of a
productive functioning team. Teachers who think differently from one another can
enhance the team learning process. In an interview with Jane Schultz (1999), Senge
discusses learning organizations as ".. .diversewebs of and teams who continuallyhelp
one another, rely on one another, and learn with and from one another, not individuals"
(p.3).
According to Senge (2000), "The discipline of shared vision is the set of tools
and techniques for bringing all of these disparate aspirations into alignment around the
things people have in common..." (p. 72). Individuals bring to the establishment
personal aspirations they wish to have fulfilled, but then individuals will always have one
thing in common: the school or the organization. Without a shared vision, the
organization will be challenged to communicate its purpose. Shared visions are uplifting
and tend to encourage experimentation and creativity, plus they can create enthusiasm
that spreads throughout the organization (Smith, 2001).
While learning organizations were created for the business sector, they easily
transfer to the world of education. Hord (1997) affirms Senge's book and its description
of learning organizations, which might serve to increase organizational capacity and
creativity in schools. As Senge's concept was shared with educators, the learning
organization name was changed to learning communities. In an interview with Schultz
(1999), Senge says,

To meet today's challenges of globalization, changing
work forces, evolving competition, and new technologies,
the only hope for building and sustaining momentum in a learning
organization requires a fundamental shift in thinking and actions (p. 1).

Creating an organization with an emphasis on developing personal mastery, creating
mental models, building shared vision, improving team learning, and understanding
systems thinking will have the potential of allowing organizations or schools to be more
convivial and creative.

Professional Learning Communities

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The school model currently in place is not sufficient enough to meet the national
education goals of today, where all children are expected to comprehend rigorous content
at a higher level. "Developing the capacity of individuals and staff members to engage in
meaningful reform and restructuring to benefit students continues to be the challenge for
school leaders" (Huffman, 2003, p. 21). When considering reform initiatives, researchers
offer educators several paths for reform, all having a common thread. Lezotte (as cited in
DuFour et al., 2005) "...concluded that school reform could be neither successful nor
sustainable unless it was embraced by the teachers, administrators, and support staff that
define the professional learning community" (p. 182). Senge (1990) suggests, "The most
successful corporation of the future will be a learning organization" (p. 4). DuFour
(2004) says, ".. .focus on learning rather than teaching, work collaboratively, and hold
yourself accountable for results" (p. 6). Darling-Hammond (1993) recommends,
"Teachers should have opportunities to engage in peer coaching, team planning, and
teaching, and collaborative research that enables them to construct new means for
inquiring into their practice. Participation in professional communities through school
and teacher networks also deepens teachers' understanding" (p. 758). Sparks (as cited in
DuFour et al., 2005) asserts, "Successful professional learning communities clearly
demonstrate what is possible when teachers learn and collaborate within their schools as
part of their daily work" (p. 156). According to Watkins and Marsick (1999), "A
centerpiece of reform recommendations is that parents, teachers, administrators, staff
members, and students join together to learn their way through change as communities of
inquiry and experimentation" (p. 78). The common thread of educators working together
collaboratively to improve both instructional practices and student performance can be
accomplished through professional learning communities
Today, in education, saying and agreeing that all students can learn is popular,
but the real question should be do you believe all children can learn. Hopefully, every
person affiliated with a school believes that all children can learn. In order for all
children to learn, teachers, when responding to the first question, must have a firm grasp
of the essential knowledge and skills within their areas of instruction. DuFour, DuFour,
Eaker, and Karhanek believe "...the premise of learning for all demands that each teacher
knows exactly what every student is to accomplish as a result of each unit of instruction"
(p. 22). Once teachers respond to the first question of what students are to learn, the next
question that follows is how teachers know whether or not students have actually learned.
Professional learning communities consist of three big ideas: Ensure that
students learn; create a culture of collaboration; focus on results (DuFour, 2004). It
seems obvious, ensuring that students learn should be the primary role of schools, but
many schools are not succeeding with this big idea. In a traditional school, what students
are taught seems to outweigh whether or not they learned. In a professional learning
community the educators shift their focus from what is taught to what is learned.
According to DuFour, the shift from a focus on teaching to a focus on learning will have
profound implications for schools (2004). Further, DuFour suggests once this shift
begins, educators will ask themselves three critical questions: (1) What do we want each
student to learn? (2) How will we know when each student has learned it? and (3) How
will we respond when a student experiences difficulty in learning? The third question is

5

. Volume3, Spring2006
the essence of a professional learning community and captures the meaning of the first
big idea.
Creating this culture of collaboration is the second big idea of a professional
learning community. The end result of student learning can be reached through the
avenue of educators collaborating. Dufour (2004) argues, "Despite compelling evidence
indicating that working collaboratively represents best practice, teachers in many schools
continue to work in isolation" (p. 9). Not only do teachers need to work collaboratively
with administration, the principal must create time for teachers to work together with
their own peers. Individuals in a school working collaboratively are more likely to
experience school improvement.
Any school functioning as a learning community will not only ask question three
but will aggressively respond to each student who is not learning. Working
collaboratively, educators would devise individual intervention plans for each student so
learning will take place. For a school to successfully transform into a professional
learning community all three questions will be answered and the school staff will begin to
respond to students as individuals as opposed to communally (Dufour et al" 2004).
Dufour et al. (2004) argue that if a school is functioning as a learning
community, frequent formative assessments will be given. They further state the
assessments should be analyzed and compared; and as a result, teachers should ask, "Are
the students learning and what steps must we take to address the needs of those who have
not learned?" (p. 24). Once educators have determined whether or not students have
learned, then the educators must decide what happens in their school when a student does
not learn.
In a professional learning community, there are six characteristics that make the
three big ideas come alive. Dufour and Eaker (1998) identify the characteristics as (1)
shared value mission, vision and values (2) collective inquiry, (3) collaborative teams, (4)
action orientation and experimentation, (5) continuous improvement, and (6) results
orientation. Senge's five disciplines for learning organizations work simultaneously with
the characteristics of learning communities. Shirley Hord (1997) at the Southwest
Educational Development Laboratory has been researching learning communities and has
developed a similar set of attributes which are as follows: (1) supportive and shared
leadership, (2) collective creativity, (3) shared values and vision, (4) supportive
conditions, (5) and shared personal practice.
In a professional learning community, focusing on results is the third big idea. A
team of teachers work together to improve student achievement and the end result
becomes a guide for future improvement. Dufour (2004) encourages, "Every teacher
team participates in an ongoing process of identifying the current level of student
achievement, establishing a goal to improve the current level, working together to
achieve that goal, and providing periodic evidence of progress" (p. 10). By working
together, teachers will have comparison data and can make informed decisions about
instructional practices to improve student achievement. Dufour (2004) concludes, "It
requires the school staff to focus on learning rather than teaching, work collaboratively
on matters related to learning, and hold itself accountable for the kind of results that fuel
continual improvement" (p. 11).

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Shared Mission, Vision, and Values

The sharing of mission, vision, and values is the first characteristics of a learning
community. Principals, who have a vision about a particular innovation, including
learning communities, might find difficulty in initiating the reform if the staff is not
collaboratively developed thus producing long term sustainability problems. Fullan
(1992) notes, "Rather than impose their individual visions, principals would do well to
develop collaborative work cultures to help staff deal with all these innovations" (p. 19).
As stated by Dufour and Eaker (1998), "What separates a learning community from an
ordinary school is its collective commitment to guiding principles that articulate what the
people in the school believe and what they seek to create" (p. 25). Each school staff
member has a personal vision and the leader should be able to guide collaborative
discussions so a common vision can be created for the school. Huffman (2003) suggests
the task of the educational leader is to share and combine the personal visions of the
faculty members into a single collective vision to be embraced by all. Further, Hord
(1997) recommends sharing a vision creates a mental image of what is important to an
individual and to the organization, and in addition staff sharing fuels school improvement
that has an undeviating focus on student learning. As noted above, lead researchers in
this area all agree that creating a collaborative vision for the school will more likely
produce long term results where all staff members are working towards the same goals.

Collective Inquiry

Senge (2000) describes the "deep learning cycle" where the domain of enduring
change is dependent on skills and capabilities, awareness and sensibilities, and attitudes
and beliefs. Learning takes place when each of these reinforces one another. Ross,
Smith, and Roberts (as cited in Dufour & Eaker, 1998) developed the "team learning
wheel" similar to the collective inquiry process. Ross et al. identified four steps in the
process: public reflection - members discuss and challenge one another; shared meaning
- members arrive at a common ground; joint planning - members create an action plan;
and coordinated action - members carry out the action plan. In order to effect change,
collective inquiry is a necessary step and it requires openness on the part of the
individuals to test their personal belief systems.
Individuals in learning communities are never satisfied with the current
education culture. Learning by seeking answers to questions, collaboratively researching
new ideas, discovering new methods, and testing and evaluating them are what drives
individuals in functioning learning communities. In addition, the above learning
strategies could change individual belief systems. Change in an organization is difficult
and sometimes changing individual personal beliefs is necessary. However, this can
prove to be more difficult. Changing personal beliefs is more likely to happen when the
individual is discovering and researching.

Collaborative Teams

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Students will benefit when teachers come together to share ideas about
instructional best practices and student assessments. In a report of the National
Associationof SecondarySchoolPrincipalson the high schoolof the 21st centurytitled,
Breaking Ranks: Changing an American Institution,

The success of a high school depends on its being more than a collection
of unconnected individuals. The word "community" implies a
commonality of interests and so it should be in any high school. The
building of community very much involves the members of the staff.
And, on a practical level, the synergy of cooperation ought to end up
enabling the educators in a high school to accomplish more for the
students than they could by acting on their own. School improvement
more readily succeeds in situations in which teachers work in a collegial
manner (p. 90).

Stiggins (as cited in Dufour et al., 2005) discusses teacher team work and assessment and
"the extent that we team to (1) analyze, understand, and deconstruct standards, (2)
transform them into high-quality classroom assessments, and (3) share and interpret
results together, we benefit from the union of our wisdom about how to help our students
continue to grow as learners" (p. 82). Students learn when teachers learn together and
share with one another.
Teaching in isolation has become the norm for schools, especially at the
secondary level. It is important for teachers to see a sharing of ideas as a valuable
practice. Too often, teachers (and schools for that matter) do not share their ideas.
Instead, they keep anything that works a secret. Dufour and Eaker (1998) note, "The
basic structure of the professional learning community is a group of collaborative teams
that share a common purpose" (p. 26). Much research has been done in the area of
collaborative teams indirectly linking teacher collaboration to student achievement.
Senge (2000) says, "A strong professional community encourages collective endeavor
rather than isolated individual efforts" (p. 327). According to Haberman (2004), an
attribute of a learning community is collaboration where, star teachers become involved
in team teaching and other collaborative efforts in program development, writing, and
research. Achinstein (2002) observes a renewed interest in fostering teacher community
or collaboration as a means to counter teacher isolation, improve teacher practice and
student learning, and build a common vision for schooling. Teachers engaging in
professional collaboration have a greater capacity to improve student learning.

Continuous Improvement

Transforming a school into a professional learning community becomes a way of
life for all individuals involved. Members of the organization realize the vision will
never be completely achieved, but is always something that is worked towards. Dufour
and Eaker (1998) suggest members of the learning organization always be engaged in
four key questions: (1) What is our fundamental purpose, (2) What do we hope to
achieve, (3) What are our strategies for becoming better, and (4) What criteria will we
use to assess our improvement efforts" (p. 28). Dufour, Dufour, Eaker, and Karhanek

8

(2004) talked to teachers who say, "...the PLC process is energizing rather than
fTustrating because month by month and year by year they see new evidence that their
collective efforts do indeed have an impact on student learning" (p. 140). Further,
teachers interviewed by Dufour et al. communicate that a PLC is a wonderful journey,
even if the journey has no final destination.

Action Orientation and Experimentation

Leaders and teachers who are members of learning organizations do not sit back
passively; rather they are always taking action. Having members in the learning
community who are inactive is unacceptable. One aspect of the action orientation
characteristic is the ability to experiment and test new ideas. Failure is an option in such
that the community learns from their mistakes and tries again. DuFour and Eaker (1998)
make the following comparison: "While traditional organizations tend to brand such
experiments as failures and then seek to assign blame, learning organizations consider
failed experiments to be an integral part of the learning process - opportunities to learn
and then begin again more intelligently" (p. 28). Action orientation and experimentation
is similar to Senge's mental model discipline in that humans tend to have preconceived
notions based on beliefs and experiences. Senge (2000) explains, "We live in a world of
self-generating beliefs that remain largely untested. We adopt those beliefs because they
are based on conclusions, which are inferred from what we observe, plus our past
experience" (p. 68). By experimenting and testing hypotheses we are able to dispel
preconceived notions and be open to new and original ideas.

Results of Orientation

The bottom line of any organization, either business or school, is results.
Constant assessments are critical in the process of reform along with creating a results-
oriented culture. In a PLC, all five characteristics are hollow unless they can be linked to
results. Dufour and Eaker (1998) state, "Unless initiatives are subject to ongoing
assessment on the basis of tangible results, they represent random groping in the dark
rather than purposeful improvement" (p. 29). Results orientation can be linked back to
the three questions within the first big idea of ensuring that students learn. Positive
results will be obtained if teachers are answering the three questions: (1) What do we
want each student to learn? (2) How will we know when each student has learned it? (3)
How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty in learning?

In conclusion, schools have traditionally been designed to ensure that children are
taught. This traditional design collides with the foundation of professional learning
communities that all children will learn and will learn at high levels. Fulton (2003)
passionately states,

The current factory-model school, while seemingly efficient, is, in fact,
grossly inefficient, inappropriate and ultimately inequitable, as it requires
that all children adapt to the mean. Those who do not lean at the speed

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of the assembly line lose out and/or drop out; those who could learn more,
do not. Individualizing instruction for each learner is no longer a dream -
it is an educational birthright for all children (p. 32).

According to Huffman and Jacobson (2003), "Past decades have seen many
educational reforms, all of which are supportive of advancing student interests and
providing the best possible educational experience" (p. 239). The reform era, the
excellence in education movement, and the business sector have led educational leaders
to explore the idea of schools as professional learning communities.
Finally, educational leaders who desire to create an environment of professional
learners will systemically transform the organizational culture of their schools so that
learning communities become "a way of life." The organizational structure will change
as leaders empower teachers to become an integral part of the decision making process.
Skilled leaders are needed for this kind of change to endure time. A call to action to
improve schools can be accomplished through professional learning communities with
strong sustainable leadership.

References

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collaboration. Teachers College Record, 104(3),421-455.
Darling-Hammond, L. (1993). Reframing the school reform agenda. Phi Delta Kappan,
74(10), 752-761.
Dufour, R. (2004). What is a "professional learning community"? Educational
Leadership, 61(8),6-11
Dufour, R., & Eaker, R. (1998). Professional learning communities at work: best
practices for enhancing student achievement. 1st ed. Alexandria, VA: National
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Dufour, R., Dufour, R., Eaker, R., & Karhanek, G. (2004). Whatever it takes: how
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Formatted by Dr. Mary Alice Kritsonis, National Research and Manuscript Preparation
Editor, NATIONAL FORUM JOURNALS, Houston, Texas. www.nationalforum.com

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