According to Bielaczyc and Collins (1999): “The defining quality of a learning community is that there is a culture of learning in which everyone is involved in a collective effort of understanding. There are four characteristics that such a culture must have: (1) diversity of expertise among its members who are valued for their contributions and given support to develop, (2) a shared objective of continually advancing the collective knowledge and skills, (3) an emphasis on learning how to learn, and (4) mechanisms for sharing what is learned.” In what ways do the networked communities you examined represent this characterization of learning communities? What implications does this have for your practice and the design of learning activities?
After investigating the platforms in this module including Globe and Exploratorium, I have a couple thoughts about learning communities in the current context of educational technology.
(4) Mechanisms for sharing what is learned should be open
There is a noticeable difference in the ability for teachers/students/experts to (1) create an account, and (2) participate in the learning community. For GLOBE the pathway to create an account is relatively obvious; click on GLOBE Teachers and the information is readily available. In contrast, the pathway for students is not obvious; although, students can click on GLOBE Observer and participate directly by downloading the GLOBE Observer app (this requires an Android or Apple phone which is somewhat limiting). In contrast, joining and participating at the Exploratorium is difficult to find for all parties. Ultimately, organizations need to create clear pathways for people to join the learning community and make significant collaborative contributions. In addition, access should be device agnostic and include mechanisms and security for younger students to participate freely, and teachers to observe progress.
(2) The shared objective of continually advancing the collective knowledge and skills should be focused
GLOBE has a primary mandate to build a learning community to develop knowledge on environmental issues. This creates a place for like-minded individuals with similar goals; newcomers immediately know what they are getting into and how they can contribute. In contrasts sites like Exploratorium, PBS, and Discovery Education have such a wide variety of topics that members can easily get lost. These sites may have higher Internet traffic due to their strong brands, but the majority are transient visitors rather than actual contributors to the learning communities. In relation, informal communities of practice including the Scratch community for coding, and the Thingiverse community for 3D design, have very narrow objectives which create vibrant learning communities.
The implications for my current practice in a K-12 school is primarily with point (1). We have made a concerted effort to create small learning communities between our current students, industry experts, and distinguished alumni who have been successful in various fields including math and science. We have used various platforms including webconferencing (Skype/Google Hangouts) and video/file sharing (YouTube and Google Drive), to enable mentorship and collaboration on culminating problem-based projects. It would be fantastic if the technology-based environment was more seamless and less make shift. It is possible that environments like Slack could accommodate these interactions but I am not sure. If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them!
Driver, R., Asoko, H., each, J., Scott, P., & Mortimer, E. (1994). Constructing scientific knowledge in the classroom. Educational researcher, 23(7), 5-12.
Jessup‐Anger, J. E. (2015). Theoretical foundations of learning communities. New Directions for Student Services, 2015(149), 17-27.
Hi Gordon!
Your post has given me a lot to think about. My job involves supporting learning communities and it is something, for many reasons, I feel we have failed. One of the reasons, as you point out, is a lack of focus. My question is, who gets to decide the focus? I think our planning is in a constant tug of war between two lines of thinking. A) The focus needs to be organic and meaningful to each group. B) Our PLCs don’t have enough information to determine an appropriate focus related to our Continuous Improvement Plan so there needs to be a directed focus at the start. As a planning and leadership group we really struggle with this.
I was looking through my notes from a PD I attended a couple of years ago with Anthony Muhammed. He said that people are not compelled to follow someone to nowhere. If people don’t have a clear vision or purpose set before them, as a collective, community, and as individuals, we can never gather momentum to make progress.
Thank you for bringing me to these ideas! 🙂
Hi Allison,
Thanks for your thoughtful reply! My school has certainly had some similar challenges with PD and PLCs; in the past, they were very sterile, unfocused, and had transient participation. Currently, teachers at my school have their own 3-year individualized improvement plans that are facilitated by mentors. In addition, each teacher takes on a lead role to facilitate growth of a strategically aligned topic of interest (i.e. robotics, coding, public speaking, math, etc.); they become the “go-to” person and collaborate organically with other teachers that want to improve their skills. So far these initiatives have been noticeably more effective and teachers have improved in technology integration and pedagogy at a faster rate. The strategies are certainly not perfect and would not be possible in certain schools or organizations. Anyhow, I wish you all the best and feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Cheers!
Gordon
Hey Gordon,
Those are really cool ideas! How were these go-to people chosen? Do some people never collaborate or become “go-to”?
We have a small Junior School (K-5) with 6 core teachers and 4-5 itinerants. Initially, teachers volunteered to take on priorities identified and aligned to our Vision and Mission; some teachers volunteered with no experience so it became an important part of their own professional development plan. I do not think this structure could have been possible 5-10 years ago; we had to change as an organization and become more purposeful and open to making mistakes (design thinking).
All teachers either collaborate and/or become go to people as the priorities are discussed at every Junior School Meeting. Best practices are presented and implementation plans are made on the spot. It would be very obvious if you are doing nothing.
Hello Gordon and Allison,
A very capitvating conversation! I found Anthony Muhanned’s quote to be SPOT ON! Kinda reminds me of Spartan Movie, where the Clan has a clear vision and mission to make a collective decision to fight together!
I believe all educators do have the same collective mission, to educate young minds, on the other hand, there is a lack the confidence to use the tools to enhance the learning. Teachers have a reputation of working in isolation, of keeping their learning to themselves and on their own islands. They are also known for generously sharing resources with one another. It is this latter trait that is becoming increasingly important as the role of the educator continues to expand. As educational technology research specialist Stephen Downes observes, the expectations on teachers have grown from ?being expert in the discipline of teaching and pedagogy?[to needing to have] up-to-date and relevant knowledge and experience in it. Once teachers, see themselves as an expert, they could become that “go-to” person.
Peeragogy!
http://peeragogy.github.io/Peeragogy.io-3/articles/11-k12.html
Stephen Downes: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-downes/the-role-of-the-educator_b_790937.html
~Mary