Necc08 Spotlight on PLP

Slide 2: Define Community

Slide 3: A Definition of Community Communities are quite simply, collections of individuals who are bound together by natural will and a set of shared ideas and ideals. “A system in which people can enter into relations that are determined by problems or shared ambitions rather than by rules or structure.” (Heckscher, 1994, p. 24). The process of social learning that occurs when people who have a common interest in some subject or problem collaborate over an extended period to share ideas, find solutions, and build innovations. (Wikipedia)

Slide 4: While there are there many unique approaches and pedagogical frameworks for building and sustaining social networks and communities of practice, certain trends and patterns of best practice do exist.

Slide 5: Much of the learning currently happening on the Internet comes from self-motivated individuals with a common interest and a desire to interact with others who share the same interest (Wenger, 1998). Centralized, bureaucratic,risk averse, multi-leveled, limit access to data, Walled Garden Empowering, non bureaucratic, inward focused culture risk tolerant, fewer levels, distribute data widely, externally oriented. The focus is on interaction…

Slide 6: Emergent Design Model Conception and Emergent Design Engaged Active Adaptive Shift Launch • Focus groups and • Community begins to • Community begins to • Community leaders • Designers use needs surveys on build shared vision establish patterns of emerge participants' ideas and design and and design interactivity innovations to re- functionality • Community becomes conceptualize and • Simple framework of • Viral impact starts to more self-regulating redesign • Role out and collaborative tools be evident in and governing announcement introduced, including membership • Developers rethink profile tools for • Community (unlearn) structured • Assist in helping connecting • Design demonstrates benefits and programmatic educators find the improvements result in from the collective uses of community, community • Multiple options for changed processes work and collaboration challenging their own feedback on design assumptions about the and tools innovation • Sense of trust and • Community community develops sponsor/mentor the development of new communities around innovation

Slide 7: Social communities of practice need to be designed in such a way that they evolve over time. What develops is co-created and collaborative with multiple opportunities for member feedback and ownership.

Slide 8: Professional Learning Communities The driving engine of the collaborative culture of a PLC is the team. They work together in an ongoing effort to discover best practices and to expand their professional expertise. PLCs are our best hope for reculturing schools. We want to focus on shifting from a culture of teacher isolation to a culture of deep and meaningful collaboration.

Slide 9: Characteristics of a healthy community

Slide 10: Based on a Highly Successful Pilot in Alabama

Slide 11: Scaling your project http://www.microsoft.com/education/demos/scale/index.html

Slide 12: Powerful Learning Practice Delivery Model VLC Workshops Elluminate Where we Live meetings deepen Two all day where teams workshops that understanding, meet, listen network, share build capacity, and then community and resources and reflect in small grow as a develop 21st groups. Century skills. community of practice. Professional Learning Teams Job embedded teams who meet f2f and work towards scale and alignment of 21st C skills with school improvement goals

Slide 13: PLC- Conceptual Framework 1. A solid foundation of collaboratively developed and widely shared vision, mission, values and goals that align with the 21st Century learner’s needs. 2. Collaborative teams that work interdependently to achieve common goals 3. A focus on results as evidenced by a commitment to continuous improvement

Slide 14: Our basic experimental design is this… • Seek out schools willing to invest some time in exploring the challenge of 21st Century Learning. • Ask the schools to identify small teams of educators who are ready for this exploration. • With the support of the PLP Fellows, begin that exploration together. • …with the eventual goal of "scaling up" the exploration in each participating school.

Slide 15: Knowledge: An understanding of the transformative potential of Web 2.0 tools in a global perspective and context and how those potentials can be realized in schools. Pedagogy: An understanding of the shifting learning literacies that the 21st Century demands and how those literacies inform teacher practice. Connections: The development of sustained professional learning networks for team members to begin experimenting and sharing with other team members and online colleagues from around the world. (Within school, districts, global) Sustainability: The creation of long term plans to move the vision forward in participating districts at the end of the program. Capacity: An increase in the abilities and resources of individuals, teams and the community to manage change.