Abstract

This studys purpose is to illuminate how teacher personality and Professional

Learning Community (PLC) quality contribute to teacher effectiveness. Fifty-seven
(N=57) K-3 teachers in approximately 30 PLCs participated. The study used survey
instruments, teacher observations, and interviews. Study instruments included a
demographic survey, the NEO Personality FFI-3 personality measure, a PLC Quality
survey, and the Classroom Assessment Scoring System. Interviews were conducted
with two highly effective teachers to explore teacher beliefs about factors that
support their teaching effectiveness and about what constitutes a high-quality PLC.
Hierarchical linear modeling and hierarchical multiple regression were used to
analyze connections among personality, PLC quality (Collegiality, Cohesiveness,
Learning Orientation), and teacher effectiveness variables whereas etic coding was
used to analyze qualitative data. Key findings include the predictive value of PLC
membership to teacher effectiveness in providing students with emotional support.
PLC mean Agreeableness and PLC collegiality predicted teachers emotional support
effectiveness. Individual teacher Agreeableness and Extraversion predicted teacher
effectiveness in providing instructional support. PLC mean scores of Openness to
Experience and Agreeableness predicted PLC cohesion. Similarly to quantitative
findings, teacher interview findings stressed the importance of PLC structure,
autonomy, and collegiality to teacher effectiveness. This studys results fill gaps in
the literature about predictors of teacher effectiveness and PLC quality. Implications
for administrators are discussed, including suggestions for implementing enabling
conditions and distributed leadership to facilitate PLC quality.

Predicting Teacher Effectiveness Using Personality and Professional Learning

Community Quality
Nicole M. Jones, Anastasia Kitsantas, Timothy W. Curby, Scott Bauer, & Michelle D. VanLare

Introduction
Measuring and predicting teacher effectiveness is extremely difficult and contentious
better predictors are needed (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 2013; Ferguson
& Brown, 2000).
Traditional teacher effectiveness predictors (academic/intellectual ability, education,
experience, student test scores, teacher classroom behaviors) vary widely in their
validity and reliability (Darling-Hammond, 1999; Ferguson & Brown, 2000).
Professional Learning Communities (PLC) have spread, with the purpose of
increasing teacher effectiveness (DuFour, 2004; Hargreaves & Fullan, 2012).
Clarifying the influence of teacher personality on teacher effectiveness and PLC
quality will increase schools ability to hire best candidates and to develop their
existing teachers performance (Kristof-Brown, Zimmerman, & Johnson, 2005;
Roberts, 2006).
The studys main purpose is to aid school improvement efforts by illuminating how
personality and PLC quality relate to teacher effectiveness.

Research Questions
The present study examines four research questions:
1. How much variance in teacher effectiveness is accounted for by the PLCs the
teachers are in?
2. Do teacher background characteristics (education and experience), personality
factors (Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness,
Neuroticism), and/or PLC quality (cohesion, collegiality, learning orientation)
predict teacher effectiveness (Classroom Assessment scoring SystemCLASSs
emotional support (ES), classroom organization (CO), instructional support (IS)
domains)?
3. Does PLC personality composition (both individually and as a group) predict PLC
quality and teacher effectiveness (CLASS domains)?
4. What do highly effective teachers believe constitutes: 1) effective teaching
(particularly emotionally supportive teaching) and 2) high-quality PLCs?

Method
Participants
57 KindergartenGrade 3 teachers from two medium-sized urban public school
districts in southern California. Each of these teachers work in one of 30 grade-level
PLCs.
Instruments
Demographics survey
NEO Five-Factor Inventory-3 (NEO FFI-3): 60-item personality measure of the
Five Factor Model (FFM) of personality (McCrae & Costa, 2010).
PLC Quality Survey: 54-item survey assessing subscales of collegiality (=.92),
cohesion (=.92), and learning orientation (=.94).
Semi-structured interview protocol
Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS): Measures 10 dimensions of
teacher effectiveness, grouped into three domains (emotional support, classroom
organization, and instructional support) (Pianta, LaParo, & Hamre, 2008).
Poster presented at the American Psychological Association Annual Convention, August 2016, Denver, CO.

George Mason University, USA

Results

Discussion

For Research Question #1:

Results of the unconditional model showed significant variance in emotional support on
PLC, p = .03. Substituting variance estimates into the ICC equation showed that 25.08%
of the variance in emotional support effectiveness can be explained by differences
between PLCs. Neither of the unconditional models for classroom organization or
instructional support domains was significan t.
For Research Question #2:
Predicting emotional support effectiveness:
A two-level hierarchical model was created, with individual personality predictors at
level 1 and PLC subscales as predictors at level 2. In the conditional model for
emotional support effectiveness, the only significant predictor was collegiality, ( = .5, t
= 2.08, p = .05).
Predicting classroom organization effectiveness:
The results of the omnibus F-test for multiple regression showed that the p-value of the
regression coefficient for PLC learning orientation (though not the other PLC
subscales) in predicting classroom organization was statistically significant, p = .05. The
squared part correlation for PLC learning orientation is (-.28) 2 =.08, which means 8% of
the variance in classroom organization is uniquely explained by the variance in PLC
learning orientation.
Predicting instructional support effectiveness:
Summary of Hierarchical Regression Analysis for Personality Predicting Instructional
Support
Variable

SE B
B
R2
Model 1
.14
Openness to Experience
-.007
.023
-.055
Conscientiousness
.012
.024
.086
Extraversion
.019
.024
.126
Agreeableness
-.044
.022
-.336*
Neuroticism
.016
.018
.145
Model 2
.26*
Openness to Experience
-.005
.021
-.035
Conscientiousness
.014
.022
.096
Extraversion
.487
.179
3.168**
Agreeableness
-.043
.020
-.323*
Neuroticism
.015
.017
.129
Extraversion2
-.008
.003
-3.065*
Note. R2change = .12 for Model 2 (p = .01).
** p < .01. *Question
p < .05. #3:
For Research

Conclusions & Implications

Results from the HLM Analyses Examining the Contribution of Teacher Personality and PLC Quality to
Teacher Effectiveness and PLC Cohesion
Variance Type
Emotional Support Effectiveness
PLC Cohesion
PLC variance
Teacher variance

.15
.45

.32
1.14

Total variance
ICC
p
Fixed Effects
Intercept
Mean PLC
Agreeableness
Mean PLC Openness

.60
.25
.03
df
27
22

1.46
.22
.04
df
28
23

t-ratio
27.54**
2.34*

23

2.67*

5.89
-.04

Not significant

t-ratio
48.94**
-2.28*

4.97
.09
.09

The PLC teachers were in predicted teachers emotional support effectiveness. This
domain of the CLASS captures students working collaboratively, demonstrating
responsibility and autonomy over their learning, and expressing their ideas and
perspectives. These classroom behaviors reflect 21 st Century Skills that schools currently
try to emphasize and about which teachers receive ongoing PD.
PLC Collegiality predicted teachers emotional support effectiveness, suggesting that open
communication and functional team discourse support teamand individual teacher
effectiveness.
Individual Extraversion predicted teacher instructional support effectiveness, with the
relation being curvilinear. Although some work performance literature shows positive
predictive value of Extraversion, recently, some researchers have theorized that some traits
historically viewed as positive may have a breaking point (Carter & colleagues, 2014).
Conceivably, teachers demonstrating too little Extraversion might run a less-engaging
classroom, while too much Extraversion might be overwhelming for students.
Agreeableness predicted teacher instructional effectiveness, with the relation being
negative. This coincides with some researchers findings that Agreeableness relates to less
work success (Judge, Higgins, Thoresen, & Barrick, 1999). In the classroom, instructional
effectiveness includes teachers persistence in following up on student misconceptions and
correcting them. If a teacher is too tender-minded, she might not be comfortable holding
students to rigorous standards.
Similarly, mean PLC Agreeableness negatively related to teacher emotional support
effectiveness. Teachers might overemphasize their group harmony and cohesion at the
expense of group productivity and effectiveness.
Mean PLC Agreeableness and mean PLC Openness to Experience related to PLC
Cohesion. Although cohesion was not predictive of teacher quality, it might have other
positive denotations, such as acting as a buffer again job burnout. This is an area of
research that would be interesting to flesh out.
Research on group work performance shows that groups task orientation (emphasis on
accountability, mutual monitoring, and establishing control systems for modifying
performance) may be useful to group performance (Anderson & West, 1998). Thus,
interviewees views on the importance of structured PLC meetings might be in this same
vein. Similarly, post hoc analyses showed highly collegial PLCs were also cohesive. When
groups are cohesive, they spend informal time together, which frees up formal PLC time
for focused, on-task work.

Collegiality
.50
24
2.08*
Not applicable
Note. HLM = hierarchical linear modeling; ICC = intraclass correlation
The table represents information from the three conditional models described in above sections.

p < .10, *p < .05, **p < .01.

For Research Question #4:

Both teachers interviewed strongly believed in the power of PLCs to improve

teaching and learning. Two themes emerged: 1) PLC meetings should be structured
and focused, and 2) teachers should have autonomy over PLC agendas,. Post hoc
analyses showed that the top 10% of collegial PLCs (which related to effectiveness),
were also highly cohesive.

The newly developed PLC Quality measure is useful and reliable. Further research testing its
predictive value would be interesting.
The connection between PLC membership and teachers emotional support effectiveness
supports national reform efforts around PLC implementation.
Overall, when interpreting research on PLCs relation to instructional effectiveness,
construct validity is paramount. In the course of this study, I found studies that purported to
measure PLC quality when the measures included only a few questions. Something as
dynamic and complex as team relationships must be carefully measured.
A PLC with highly agreeable members would likely be too permitting of teachers ramblings
and digressions. Instead, PLC collegialityeffective communication, ability to disagree
respectfully, openness to members ideaspredicts emotional support effectiveness.
Principals should consider PLC personality make-up when composing their grade-level
teams.
Hackman (2012) makes a brilliant point that organizations should stop emphasizing group
interventions and instead focus on establishing enabling conditions. To ensure school
improvement, the best plan for administrators is to establish conditions in schools for PLCs
to succeed and then to monitor how PLCs function.
This study informs: 1) school hiring practicesalthough it may be tempting to hire very
agreeable people, that is not recommended, 2) professional developmentPLC collegiality
should be fostered, most likely, PLC Cohesion as well; and 3) principal leadership
compose PLCs with an eye towards establishing average levels of Agreeableness, establish
enabling conditions for PLCs to be productive and autonomous, and alter school structures
to enable sufficient formal PLC interaction, perhaps one hour per week, as well as time for
informal interaction (e.g., shared lunch times).
For further information, contact Nicole Jones (nmorgan2@gmu.edu)