A learning community is a group that shares common interests and goals around learning. Schools can function as learning communities by bringing together diverse groups focused on student learning. John Dewey's theories on student-centered and active learning laid the groundwork for modern learning communities. Professional learning communities (PLCs) in schools describe collaborative groups of educators committed to student success. Key aspects of effective PLCs include purposeful conversations, managing differences of opinions, and a shared commitment to student learning.
1. LIB604 Libraries in the School CurriculumSpring 2011 What is a Learning Community?
2. 2 What is a learning community? What is a Learning Community? A learning community is a group of people who share a common interest in a topic or area, a particular form of discourse about their phenomena, tools and sense-making approaches for building collaborative knowledge, and valued activities. Professional Development Through Learning Communitieshttp://www.edutopia.org/professional-development-through-learning-communities Kathleen P. Fulton and Margaret Riel
3. 3 Learning communities in higher ed A more specialized use of the term Learning Communities are groups of students who take two or three classes together. The classes may be designed around a unifying theme or, as in the case of courses in specialized majors, based on courses that reinforce the students’ special needs or requirements. Students who take two or three courses together often get to know each other and the professors better. This often enhances learning. Learning Communities - Frequently Asked Questions
4. 4 Can schools be learning communities? Schools as Learning Communities When people come together and work toward a common goal, a community is formed. In schools, that goal is learning. It seems almost trite to label schools as learning communities; of course schools bring groups of diverse people together with a common goal of student learning. Schools reflect the inherent characteristic of “community.” Professional Learning Communities Hold Promise for Schools
6. 6 It’s all in Dewey! John, not Melvil! Dewey’s scholarship emphasized the diverse aspirations and experiences of students, and he called for educators to be experimental and intentional in their efforts to “meet students where they are at.” A recent book on learning communities and reform of undergraduate education cites Dewey’s student-centered learning and active learning models as the roots of experiential and cooperative learning embedded in the learning communities of the twenty-first century.
7. 7 Maybe we need some PLC PLC? The term professional learning community describes a collegial group of administrators and school staff who are united in their commitment to student learning. They share a vision, work and learn collaboratively, visit and review other classrooms, and participate in decision making (Hord, 1997b). The benefits to the staff and students include a reduced isolation of teachers, better informed and committed teachers, and academic gains for students. Professional Learning Community
8. 8 3 Cs of a PLC 1 The First C: Conversation In a PLC, conversations become the lifeblood of organizational learning, and the nature of those conversations can differ markedly from the types of conversations typically found in “business as usual” schools. What distinguishes conversation in a professional learning community? Primarily two things: the purposeful nature of the conversations and the underlying structure within which they occur. A purposeful conversation, in this context, is a conversation that has some underlying goal related to teaching and learning. The Role of Conversation, Contention, and Commitment in a Professional Learning Community
9. 9 3 Cs of a PLC 2 The Difficult C: Contention When educators are asked to make collaborative decisions, there are bound to be differences of opinion. The kinds of organizational learning purported to result from building community among teachers are deeply linked to how they manage the difference amid their collaboration. The processes of conflict are critical to understanding what distinguishes a professional community that maintains stability and the status quo from a community engaged in ongoing inquiry and change. The Role of Conversation, Contention, and Commitment in a Professional Learning Community
10. 3 Cs of a PLC 3 The Ultimate C: Commitment Purposeful conversations will inevitably lead to some level of contention, but in a professional learning community the participants can ultimately deal with contention by relying on an underlying level of commitment to common goals. For a true professional learning community, these are likely to include a commitment to ensuring student learning, a belief in the power of true collaboration, a model of distributed leadership and decision-making, and an ongoing process of reflection and inquiry. The Role of Conversation, Contention, and Commitment in a Professional Learning Community 10
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12. The overall climate of acceptance, growth, and learning among teachers is another important facet of readiness. . . . This is not to say that all teachers must be enthusiastic about making changes; rather, it is an acknowledgment that such efforts will be more of a struggle, and will take more time, if a climate of distrust, disrespect, or disengagement exists.
