Professional Learning Communities

Sustained peer learning networks for continuous professional growth

The most effective professional development happens through ongoing peer exchange and collaborative problem-solving. Our Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) create structures for teachers to learn from each other, share challenges, develop solutions, and sustain improvement over time.

Structure and Organisation

PLCs are district-based networks of EPPS graduates, typically meeting five times per year. Each meeting follows a two-part structure:

First hour: Focused pedagogical topic presented by the PLC leader or guest facilitator

Second hour: Open space for teachers to share experiences, solve problems together, and support each other’s ongoing development

CPD Delivery Mechanism

Critically, PLCs serve as the delivery mechanism for continuing professional development. As we scale from training 2,000 teachers annually to 10,000, centralised CPD delivery becomes impossible. Instead, PLCs manage and coordinate professional development activities for their members.

CPD Topics Delivered Through PLCs:

  • One-day and multi-day workshops on advanced teaching techniques
  • Subject-specific methodology sessions
  • Differentiation and inclusive pedagogy training
  • Assessment design and evaluation practices
  • Educational technology and AI in education
  • Cross-curricular approaches (CLIL, play-based learning, constructivism)
  • Higher levels of English for Teachers (EFT)

PLC Leadership

PLC leaders are experienced teachers selected from programme graduates. They receive ongoing coaching and management support from TDSO, developing skills in:

  • Facilitating adult learning
  • Managing group dynamics
  • Coordinating CPD activities
  • Supporting peer professional growth

This creates distributed leadership capacity within the teaching profession itself, reducing dependence on external trainers whilst building networks of teachers who sustain each other’s growth.

Sustainability Impact

PLCs represent the sustainability mechanism for continuous improvement. They create professional structures that outlast formal training programmes, embedding collaborative learning into the fabric of Cambodia’s education system.

Unlike one-off training events, PLCs provide ongoing support that helps teachers maintain and develop their skills over time. They create accountability structures that help teachers support one another in implementing what they’ve learned, and they provide spaces for addressing emerging challenges collaboratively.

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