Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) OR Communities of Practice (COPs)

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) OR Communities of Practice (COPs)

Length: 3000 words TASK: This assignment requires you to: Undertake a small scale review of the literature on EITHER Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) OR Communities of Practice (COPs), whichever is most relevant for your organisational setting (approx. 2000 words) Consider the implications of this review for current and potential future practice (approx. 1000 words) Select a minimum of TEN scholarly articles, books and other sources relevant to your chosen topic. These should include diverse sources of information (e.g. seminal and current, theoretical and empirical, local/national and international, from settings common to and diverse from the one in which you are situated).

More than a simple reporting of the literature, this assignment requires critical analysis in which you: -Establish relevance to topic -Organise and synthesise key themes -Highlight strengths and/or limitations of the research/argument/author’s perspective -Identify trends/contradictions that emerge in the work of different authors -Raise important questions based on the literature reviewed -Evaluate contribution to theory and practice understandings -Consider the implications for current and potential future practice Questions to consider in preparing your literature review include: *How does the selected article/chapter/book/document inform theory and practice? *What assumptions does/do the author/s make? *What issues does/do the author/s raise or avoid? *How useful or applicable is this research to a New Zealand/my national context? To my particular setting? *How does the selected resource compare with exisiting theory and research? *What are its limitations (weaknesses, omissions/gaps)? Please note: These questions are intended as a guide only, not as a compulsory analytical framework. You may choose to address some or all of them, to a greater or lesser degree. Assignment Two Specific Marking Criteria -Exercises discernment in selecting ten sources for review -Situates and summarizes key points and supporting evidence -Synthesises literature in a concise and coherent manner, -Evaluates contribution of selected literature to theory and practice understandings -Considers implications for current and potential future practice -Writing conventions (structure and clarity of writing, grammar, spelling and punctuation) are adhered to -APA style is accurately and consistently used