Final Reflection Paper – EDAD 637
Holly Berger
Texas A&M – Commerce

Introduction The study of organizational behavior in education can be quite complex considering that it relates to individuals in a workplace. When people are factors in any equation, topics such as emotions, communication, management, and much more should be considered. Throughout this course, I have learned a great deal about theories, history, change, and influential people. For my final reflection, I have chosen professional learning communities, conflict, and motivation as the three topics that I will address. I chose these topics for many reasons, but the main reason for choosing was simply that I wanted to follow my heart. It was important to me to choose topics that I could relate to or that I had a vested interest in. These topics are also very relevant in my current working situation. Through this reflection, I hope to gain further insight to these topics and to build my capacity as an instructional leader.
Overview of Topics
Professional Learning Communities A Professional Learning Community (PLC) is a group of educational professionals who come together to work collaboratively with the ultimate goal of improving student achievement. According to DuFour (2004), in a PLC, educators engage in on-going dialogue and questioning about teaching and learning. Engaging in meaningful collaborative conversations encourages deep professional learning, and this teacher learning may result in higher levels of student achievement (Dufour, 2004). The research conducted by Ferguson (2013) explored the struggles faced by a school administration in implementing a PLC. The study found that in spite of all of the frustrations associated with implementation, creating a professional learning communities created a more collaborative culture in which teachers worked together to benefit all