Resumen de Building professional learning communities of foreign language teachers in higher education
- español
In recent decades there has been increasing interest in identifying the critical features of effective professional learning communities (PLCs). This identification is useful for evaluating the quality of a PLC, but not for building one. This study aims at describing a conceptual model for developing a new PLC, illustrating its application with an example. The model is explained in terms of four constitutive elements (PARTICIPANTS, OBJECTIVES, MEDIATORS, and MECHANISM), and their interactive relations. The development of a PLC of foreign language teachers (PLC-FLTs) at Beijing Foreign Studies University is used to illustrate how the model can function successfully. The illustration is coupled with a discussion of the PLC’s decades of experience in collective leadership, management of the four elements, and tips for tackling various challenges in keeping the PLC going.
- 中文
近年来，诸多研究指出成功的专业学习共同体所具有的关键特征，然而，这些特征往往用于评估已有共同体的有效性，难以对构建新的共同体提供操作性指导。本研究尝试提出构建新共同体的理论框架，并运用北京外国语大学一个由多语种教师构成的专业学习共同体创建的实例进行阐释。该框架由成员、目标、中介和机制四个要素组成三角形，其中，成员位于三角形中心，是专业学习共同体的主体；目标位于三角形的顶端，决定整个共同体建设的方向，是专业学习共同体建设的起点，同时又是检验共同体建设的终点；中介和机制位于三角形底边的左右两端。中介是实现目标的载体；机制是载体能够完成目标的内驱力与制度保障。目标、中介、机制必须通过共同体成员发挥其作用，因此，这三要素都与成员形成互动关系，由双箭头相连。本研究是作者近十年校本和跨校外语教师专业学习共同体构建研究的延续。研究最后提出，集体领导力、四要素理论框架的合理运用等因素有助于克服共同体持续运行过程中遇到的挑战。
