Why Do Professional Learning Communities Fail to Develop?

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. John Norton: Why Do Professional Learning Communities Fail to Develop?, TLN Teacher Voices October 10, 2005

Good question, eh? And the answer is pretty simple - when they're imposed from the top (usually in a slap-dash duct-tape manner), they fail. And they poison any attempt that may follow. "That's the key. It has to belong to the teachers who are part of the community. If the community belongs to 'the administration' and teachers are merely invited to attend, things fall apart." Now the thing is - what is true for teachers, is also true for students. More...