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The increasing demands of high standards in our children's education sometimes result in drastic and complex educational policies, mandates, and school reforms, and teachers necessarily find themselves at the center of these changes (Cuban, 1990). This is not a bit surprising, considering that despite the continually changing efforts in transforming schools and classrooms to meet high standards, teachers are ultimately the ones who make the difference; they are the constant in the midst of these reforms (Anderson, Hiebert, Scott, &. Wilkinson, 1985; Duffy Sc Hoffmann, 1999; Langer, 2001; Shanahan & Neuman, 1997). Hence, research literature argues that the success of education reform initiatives hinges, in large part, on the qualifications and effectiveness of teachers (Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, & Suk Yoon, 2001).
Wilson and Berne (1999) note: "The calls for a commitment to teacher learning have increased exponentially.... Calls for higher standards for teachers inevitably erupted alongside calls for higher standards for students. If students needed their education served up differently in order to meet new assessments and standards, it followed that teachers would need something new as well" (p. 173). In their book, Schools That Work: Where AU Children Read and Write, Allington and Cunningham (2007) emphasize the need for supporting teacher professional growth as a first step toward creating schools where all children become readers and writers. Stakeholders in education seem to agree that professional development for teachers is the answer to this critical issue (e.g., Cohen oc Ball, 1990; Corcoran, Shields, & Zucker, 1998; Garet et al., 2001). Yet, the notion of effective professional development for teachers is rather puzzling. Some educators argue that much of the professional development opportunities are but a series of compartmentalized, unconnected activities that do not necessarily improve teachers' instructional practice (Allington & Cunningham, 2007; Hirsh & Sparks, 1999; Joyce & Showers, 1988); they contend that alternatives to the traditional workshop-by-anexpert approach to professional development - which are best characterized as sustained, coherent, take place during the school day and become part of a teacher's professional responsibilities, and focus on student results - are more successful in fostering positive change (Commeyras &DeGroff, 1988; Little, 1993).
Recently, much emphasis has been given to the concept of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to be influential in the active nurturing...