December 2008 Volume 12, Number 3
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Impact of Professional Learning Community Participation on Teachers' Thinking about Classroom Problems

Amol Padwad
J. M. Patel College, Bhandara, India
<amolpadwadgmail.com>

Krishna K. Dixit
Yashvant Arts College, Seloo, India
<krishnakdixitgmail.com>

Abstract

Teacher education seems to exhibit a shift from product-oriented mode to social constructivist, process-oriented mode of working. The emergence of professional learning communities (PLCs) of teachers may be seen as one manifestation of this shift. PLCs are increasingly seen as an effective channel for teacher learning and professional development. This article presents the findings of a small-scale research into the impact of the participation in a PLC called English Teachers’ Clubs (ETCs) on teachers’ thinking about and attitudes towards classroom problems in a central Indian context. It has been found that the participation in ETCs has led to better performance among the members in terms of contextualisation of the problems, critical approach to the problems, belief in Self agency and pragmatic approach to finding solut

Keywords: EFL, ESL, India, professional development, teacher training, online communities, constructivism

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