UTILIZING A PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY IN A GRADUATE CLASSROOM TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE LESSON PLANS

Abstract

This research aimed to 1) study the effects of using a professional learning community in a graduate classroom to improve the quality of English lesson plans in three phases: before, during, and after implementation; and 2) explore students’ opinions regarding the use of a professional learning community in enhancing lesson plan quality. The research employed an action research approach. The study group consisted of 12 graduate students from the Curriculum and Instruction program, School of Educational Studies, Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, in the academic year 2023, and the informants were 181 students who attended the classes where the lesson plans were trialed. The research instruments included English language lesson plans, a lesson plan critique summary form, video recordings of teaching sessions, a teaching observation form, a teaching reflection form, a learning reflection form, and focus group discussion guidelines. Data were analyzed using qualitative methods. The research findings revealed that 1) before teaching, the professional learning community helped improve knowledge and understanding in designing and revising lesson plans; during teaching practice, it highlighted strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement in the teaching process; and after teaching, it helped tailor the plans to better align with the learners' context; and 2) students reported that the professional learning community improved their knowledge, understanding, and perspectives on teaching. It also supported lesson plan refinement and fostered inspiration for teaching development.