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Professional Learning Communities (PLC) and Communities of Practice (CoP)

are collaboration tools for learning. Educators, in a PLC, collectively focus onstudent learning and achievement. The professional learning community model

flows from the assumption that the core mission of formal education is not simply to

ensure that students are taught but to ensure that they learn (Dufour, R. 2004, p. 1).

CoP is a term coined by Wenger (n.d., p. 3) that describes a network formed by

individuals with a shared interest, typically in the business community. Communities

of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they

do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly (Wegner, n.d., p.1). The

group members share information, learn from each others skills and experiences and

collectively solve problems.

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PLCs and CoPs both have the ability to increase productivity and enhance the

effectiveness with the use of technology. According to Bonk:

The crucial point is that these technologies have vast education

applications that personalize, customize, and individualize learning in

many formats. Technology tools, systems, and resources encompassing

the Web 2.0tools for producing and sharing audio files, creating a live,

interactive talk show, uploading personally produced videos or new, or

posting ones daily or weekly thoughts and ideasfoster learning

exchange, collaboration and the design of new course content and

information (2009, p. 328).

Any community member with internet access can share information that would be

beneficial to either a PLC or a CoP.

Professional Learning Communities are visible all over the world but have

remained absent from the educational scene in the United Arab Emirates until

recently. With the implementation of the New School Model (NSM) in 2010, the Abu

Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) has undertaken the ambitious goal of reforming its

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educational system. Teach Away, a recruitment agency, was enlisted by ADEC to

recruit thousands of educators to fill positions in the public schools, from the USA,

Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the UK. ADEC also solicited private company

advisors to carry out professional development. There are consequences to a reformof this magnitude and speed. The advisors contracted by ADEC have their own

reform agendas which result in tensions, as school administrations often felt very

much caught in the middle of the various agendas (Dickson, 2012, p. 206). For

teachers, the assumption that all educators had the ability to incorporate the English

language requirement into the classroom has created stress. Couple this with the

situation of having foreign advisers in schools bringing with them different

educational ideologies and understanding, not to mention cultural and social

differences, and we begin to see the picture of a potentially challenging situation in

schools in Abu Dhabi (Dickson, 2012, p. 206). Another challenge is reintroducing

Emirates back into the classrooms as educators. Dickson conducted a survey of UAE

student teachers and received a concerning response to education reform, Yes, the

developments affected me. I changed my mind about becoming a teacher!!

(Dickson, 2012, p. 222). Dickson concludes that this response may be a form of

natural selection (2012, p. 222), but with a labor force made up of approximately

eighty percent foreign nationals, this response must be addressed.

PLCs address and challenge the practice of isolation. Gone were the days of

working in isolation, when asking for help branded a teacher as the weakest link

(Adams, 2009, p. 1). Another exciting benefit of PLCs is that they set up new

teachers for success by providing structure and continuity (Adams, 2009, p. 3). TheTeacher Guide (ADEC, 2012) for the New School Model lists ten items stating,

teachers will be expected to work together as a team (p.14). Prior to the installation

of the NSM, Al-Taneijis findings are that not all the characteristics of professional

learning community existed in the fifteen schools (2009, p. 26). The resistance of the

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seasoned Emirati teachers were a contributing factor that impeded the development

of PLCs (Dickson, 2012) prior to ADECs introduction of the NSM. The UAE still

faces challenges, but extensive efforts are in place to complete the task of reforming

education. The late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who initiated educationreform, is quoted as saying:

Union means strength. What makes us yearn for it patiently and give all

kinds of sacrifices for it is that we consider it as power. Surely, ten

fingers are stronger than five (Forty Golden Years of UAE, 2011)

Through a collaborative effort by the members of the PLC, teachers will

provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their formal education during

the structured learning experience of visiting themall. The mall? The Dubai

Mall; where the stores are an afterthought. Claiming recognition as the largest mall in

the world, stationed next to the tallest building in the world (Burj Khalifa), the Dubai

Mall is a destination unto itself. Students will have the opportunity to explore themall, while progressing through an ESL lesson plan. Equipped with iPads, students

will access the class assignment, speak English with the assistance of an Arabic-

English dictionary application and record their visit both written and audio-visually.

Once students have tunneled through the aquarium, maneuvered down the ski slopes

and figured their way onto the ice rink, a vote will unanimously decide whether to

have lunch at Outback Steakhouse, TGI Fridays or Texas Roadhouse.

In what part of the world would you like to have lunch and which iPad

applications would you use to get there?

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Adams, C. (2009). The power of collaboration. Instructor, 119(1),28-31. Retrieved

from https://post.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-1870605-dt-content-rid-

19160684_1/courses/EDU520.901238026230/Documents/The%20Power%2

0of%20Collaboration.pdf

ADEC. (2012). The foundation of the new school model: An introduction for teachers. Retrieved

from http://static.schoolrack.com/files/177601/542509/Teacher's_Guide.pdf

.

Al-Taneiji, S. (2009). Professional learning communities in the United Arab Emiratesschools: Realities and obstacles. International Journal of Applied Educational Studies,

6(1), 16-29. Retrieved from

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=c81e300b-617b-

4ab9-b502-14176e16d990%40sessionmgr4001&vid=6&hid=4103

Bonk, C. J. (2009). The world is open: How web technology is revolutionizing education. San

Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Daintellekt. (April 10, 2013) The Dubai MallWorldsLargest Shopping Mall *HD*

2013. [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XnYjReHyT0

Dickson, M. (2012). Wide-scale educational reform in Abu Dhabi, United Arab

Emirates: What do the teacher training students think? Journal of Teacher

Education and Educators, 1(2), 203-228. Retrieved from

http://www.jtee.org/document/issue2/3mak.pdf

Dufour, R. (2004, May). What is a professional learning community? Educational

Leadership 61(8),6-11. Retrieved from

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http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-

leadership/may04/vol61/num08/What-Is-a-Professional-Learning-

Community%C2%A2.aspx

Forty Golden Years of UAE. (2011).Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company.

Retrieved from http://www.adnec.ae/corporate/news/2011/11/30/forty-

golden-years-of-uae

Wenger, E. (n.d.). Communities of practice a brief introduction. [Website]. Retrieved from

http://wenger-trayner.com/theory/