South Carolina Partnership to Implement Professional Learning Community: Emergent Literacy Part 3

Bringing it All Together Through a Collaborative Research Partnership

The South Carolina Professional Learning Community: Emergent Literacy Partnership (SC PLC EL) is now in its third year, and the Professional Learning Community Emergent Literacy Collaboration Research Study is in full swing. In this blog post, we'll explore the value that collaborative research partnerships bring to large-scale studies and share some of the lessons learned along the way.

In Part 1 of this series, we provided background about the Professional Learning Community: Emergent Literacyⁱ (PLC-EL) materials, which were developed in collaboration with all six states in the Southeast region, including South Carolina, beginning in 2017. The blog introduced the catalyst for the partnership with South Carolina to explore implementation of the PLC-EL and learn about its impacts on teacher practice and child outcomes through two projects: intensive coaching with a small cohort of preschool sites to understand and address implementation and an applied research study to evaluate the implementation and impact of PLC-EL.

In Part 2, we shared key takeaways from the intensive coaching at preschool sites, including what our work to date taught us about the role of the PLC-EL facilitator and what they can do before, during, and after the 12 sessions to strengthen engagement and implementation. We also shared an "at-a-glance" resource highlighting Instructional Practices for Teaching Emergent Literacy at the Preschool Level from the PLC-EL materials that was developed based on recommendations from partners participating in the coaching project.

In this part of the series, we will focus on how the partnership and coaching at preschool sites played pivotal roles in setting up the applied research study for success. First, we'll reintroduce each of the partner groups and where they fit into the overall structure of the SC PLC EL.

All partners bring contextual knowledge and expertise to the projects, and the graphic below highlights the different roles each plays.

How the Partnership and Coaching at Preschool Sites Project Benefited the Research Study

One of the features of the SC PLC EL partnership structure was the phased approach, where the intensive coaching at preschool sites in Year 1 helped us prepare for the applied research study the following year when recruitment began. The intensive coaching at preschool sites that began the prior year allowed us to see the implementation of the PLC-EL in "real-time" and have discussions with leaders, facilitators, and teachers about their experiences, which was key in preparing for the study. This "practice run" revealed implementation challenges and solutions, provided opportunities to pilot and revise measures, and provided insight on supporting facilitators.

Implementation Challenges and Solutions

A hallmark of the PLC-EL is that each PLC group is made up of at least three teachers to foster collaborative learning. In the planning phase with SCDE, we recognized that most preschool sites in South Carolina would be small and may not meet the threshold. Anticipating this challenge, we designed the study so that study sites implementing the PLC-EL would be paired with at least one other study site to ensure each PLC group had at least three teachers. Since two of our coaching sites were grouped together in Year 1, we were well prepared to support facilitators participating in the study in implementing the PLC-EL across sites. For example, the coaching site facilitators provided ideas about communicating across sites; setting schedules for PLC-EL sessions early and sending reminders often; and connecting with both site leaders for logistical support. Another implementation challenge was scheduling the 12 PLC-EL sessions. However, we were able to learn from the coaching preschool sites the variety of ways in which to schedule the sessions. For example, some sites created the schedule with the teachers and decided to meet on a consistent day and time; another site shortened the length of the sessions but met more than 12 times to make sure all the content was covered; and a third site included teacher assistants in the PLC-EL and came up with creative ways to support their participation, such as comp time and providing lunch, to acknowledge their time commitment.

Piloting Study Measures

During the intensive coaching phase, we developed a PLC-EL session observation tool to determine fidelity of implementation of the PLC-EL sessions. The opportunity to pilot this observation measure, while watching PLC-EL sessions at our preschool coaching sites, was invaluable! Observing sessions in person allowed us to capture nuances about the way participants engage and communicate, such as body language, how facilitators presented the information, the depth of discussions, and how teachers used the PLC-EL materials. Based on these in-person observations, we revised the observation measure for use in the study to ensure we could systematically capture both fidelity of implementation and these other critical elements of the PLC-EL in action.

Coaching sites graciously allowed our team to film PLC-EL sessions. Having videos of the PLC-EL sessions allowed us to train study observers to understand how PLC-EL sessions look in action, provide study observers training with authentic experiences in using the observation tool, and establish reliability in using the tool.

Coaching preschool site visits provided so much rich information! We had opportunities to have in-person, informal conversations with district leaders, school leaders, PLC-EL facilitators, and teachers participating in the PLC-EL. The feedback provided by the partners at the coaching preschool sites helped guide the development of qualitative protocols, such as focus group and interview questions, for the study. As a bonus, after drafting the qualitative protocols, the coaching preschool site facilitators reviewed them and provided feedback, which allowed us to further refine our protocols.

Supporting Facilitators

Facilitators play a critical role in the successful implementation of the PLC-EL. The coaching facilitators participated in four trainings, one for each of the four modules of the PLC-EL. We learned from the coaching facilitators that they would benefit from more time to process the information and plan for implementation. So, to prepare the study facilitators, we adapted the training plan to include the four training sessions plus monthly office hour sessions in between.

For the study facilitators, office hours were virtual and voluntary and occurred five times across the implementation period in between the four original training sessions. The purpose of the office hours was to provide opportunities to become a community of practice, where facilitators learned from each other by sharing successes and challenges and how they overcame those challenges. They included discussions about PLC-EL module content, facilitation strategies, and teacher implementation.

During the office hours, we were able to refer to the infographic that was developed with the coaching facilitators. This infographic includes tips on what facilitators can do before, during, and after facilitating the PLC-EL to make the most of implementation. The hope was that the lessons learned from the coaching facilitators included in this infographic would support any facilitator interested in facilitating the PLC-EL. When we shared the ideas with the study facilitators, they confirmed that the tips and ideas were very useful!

How the Partnership Supported Study Recruitment and Recertification Opportunities

The partnership with the SCDE and the coaching preschool sites cannot be understated. While the state-level aspect of the partnership was highlighted in Parts 1 and 2 of this series, the commitment to ensuring a successful research study launch is notable. One of the strengths of this collaborative research model is that the members of the SC PLC EL have been involved in every aspect of the work leading up to the study.

The Partnership contributed to a successful recruitment process for the study in many ways. In several instances, study participants heard that other schools and sites in their local context (the coaching preschool sites) already implemented the PLC-EL and were excited about it. The Partnership also assisted us with understanding the local structures and provided points of contact at both the district and school levels. This made communication with potential study sites easier and more efficient. It is not easy to recruit for large-scale studies due to the demands placed on educators. When needed, the Partnership reached out to their contacts to encourage participation in hearing about the study. Partnership members also attended recruitment meetings, which provided potential participants with familiar faces and helped them understand what participation would entail.

Partners at the state level also helped set up certification opportunities to offer participants. They worked across departments in the state to secure professional development credits, regardless of preschool funding source. As a result, teachers participating in the PLC-EL sessions were eligible to receive 16 hours of SCDE Recertification Credit, 16 hours of SC Endeavors Credit, and credit for the Read to Succeed Instructional Practices course. This effort from the state level Partnership members exemplifies the state investment in professional learning for preschool teachers on evidence-based practices.

These are just a few of the ways this collaborative research partnership has been successful so far!

Next time, we'll share results from the study and the status of new professional learning under development--a PLC for effective leadership to support emergent literacy instruction.