A small set of mathematics-only studies gives existence proof that teacher participation in a mathematics PLC can enhance student learning, but evidence is insufficient to link formal assessment results to PLC participation¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2010 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Only a few studies examined student impacts, all of them in mathematics, where more assessment data are commonly available. → Fulton 2010 q2 i? The small set of studies gives existence proof that mathematics PLC participation can enhance what students learn, but sufficient evidence to clearly link formal student assessment results to PLC participation does not yet exist. → Fulton 2010 (2)

Evidence¶

Fulton 2010¶

Fulton, K., Doerr, H., & Britton, T. (2010). STEM Teachers in Professional Learning Communities: A Knowledge Synthesis. National Commission on Teaching & America's Future / WestEd. https://www.nctaf.org/resources/events/STEMWingspreadConference.htm

q2 · i? · review · r3

Knowledge synthesis finding on student learning impacts, from the Overview of Key Findings. The review reports that "Onlya few studies were available, and all of them investigated student impacts in mathematics", attributing this partly to greater assessment data availability in mathematics.

"Onlya few studies were available, and all of them investigated student impacts in mathematics; this is likely, in part, because there commonly are more assessment data available in mathematics."

Fulton 2010 (2)¶

Fulton, K., Doerr, H., & Britton, T. (2010). STEM Teachers in Professional Learning Communities: A Knowledge Synthesis. National Commission on Teaching & America's Future / WestEd. https://www.nctaf.org/resources/events/STEMWingspreadConference.htm

q2 · i? · review · r3

The synthesis's overall judgment on the few mathematics studies: they give "some existence proof that teacher participation in a mathematics PLC can lead to an enhancement in what their students learn". No effect sizes are printed.

"Overall, this small set of studies gives some existence proof that teacher participation in a mathematics PLC can lead to an enhancement in what their students learn."

Studies bearing on this claim¶

Does teachers' community participation reach their students' achievement? This table gathers the studies behind this claim and the 4 narrower claims that bear on it: 3 distinct studies (2 causal, 1 review), q2, 1 of 3 with an effect size coded. One row per study, codes as each entry records them; no effect is averaged and no verdict is drawn. Built by scripts/synthesize_claim.py from eval/synthesis/; a row that looks wrong is fixed on the claim it comes from.

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Existing STEM PLC research is methodologically weak by Standards of Evidence review, with no studies rated adequate, but collectively builds a supportive case for valued PLC effects — related
• Participation in STEM PLCs positively impacts teachers' understanding of or preparedness to teach content and attitudes toward teaching methods — related
• PLC at Work has a statistically significant positive effect on state-administered ACT Aspire math achievement scores (effect size = +0.08) after less than two years of implementation — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• vPLC-augmented ASSISTments did not significantly improve overall middle school math achievement relative to a virtual comparison group — related
• Participation in mathematics PLC changed teachers' collaboration norms, understanding of mathematics and its teaching, and ability to design and carry out teaching — related