American Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

The Learning Action Cell (LAC) program of the Department of Education serves as a professional learning community aimed at enhancing teachers’ instructional practices, collaboration, and continuous professional growth. This study explored the lived experiences of 10 purposively selected public-school teachers in Calamba District, Misamis Occidental, Northern Mindanao, as they participated in LAC sessions. The study utilized Moustakas’ (1994) Existential Learning framework. Five emerging themes were identified in the study, namely: living collaborative relationships in professional learning, navigating supportive leadership to learner success, experiencing a holistic and empowering professional space, encountering time as a structuring force for professional growth, and engaging in embodied and emotional professional learning.Collaborative relationships, supportive leadership, holistic professional spaces, structured time, and embodied and emotional engagement collectively facilitated teachers’ instructional competence, professional growth, reflective practice, sustained engagement, and effective classroom performance. The study recommends .that school administrators, leaders, program designers, and professional development coordinators intentionally create collaborative, supportive, and holistic LAC environments, allocate time for planning and reflection, and design engaging activities, while future research should examine the long-term impact of such professional learning on teacher effectiveness and student outcomes