Networks for Learning : Effective Collaboration for Teacher, School and System Improvement

Educational researchers, policy-makers and practitioners are increasingly focusing their attention on Professional Learning Networks in order to facilitate teacher development and encourage school and school system improvement. However, despite the understanding that PLNs can contribute significantly to improving teaching practice and student achievement, there are key challenges regarding their use. These challenges include:

• ensuring PLNs can provide opportunities for generating and sharing knowledge within schools
• enabling teachers and professionals to direct their own development
• helping individuals change their practices through inquiry-led approaches
• facilitating partnerships which work across a variety of stakeholders

In this new edited volume, Brown and Poortman evaluate these challenges from both a theoretical and practical approach. A multitude of perspectives from a team of international contributors covers:

• the importance of Professional Learning Networks
• the use of evidence within PLNs
• the impact of inter-school networks
• international cases of networks and communities
• the promotion and sustainability of PLNs

Also featuring case studies and exemplars to contextualise sustainable learning networks, Networks For Learning is an accessible and thoroughly-researched book, which will be essential reading and a valuable resource for researchers, teachers and school leaders who are interested in developing professional learning networks.

Chris Brown is Professor of Education at the School of Education and Childhood Studies, University of Portsmouth (UK). Chris has extensive experience of leading a range of funded projects, many of which seek to help practitioners use networks to identify and scale up best practice, and was recently awarded a significant grant by the Education Endowment Foundation to work with 100+ primary schools in England to increase their use of research.

Cindy L. Poortman is Assistant Professor in the professional development of teachers in teams at the University of Twente, the Netherlands. She is also Project Leader of the Dutch national project ‘Pilots for the development of professional learning communities’, and Founder and Co-Project Leader of the Datateam Projects, the Netherlands.