3. INTRODUCTION
Educationprepares the future generationsto play their
respective roles in the society and teachers play a pivotalrole
in this process.
The revision and developmentof curriculum
together with modern instructionalstrategies implies an
intensionto ensure a progressive change in education.The
motivationfor this change has not only been pedagogic but
social and politicalas well.
In the modern instructionalstrategy the
curriculum can be considered as unificationof aims, subject
matter and controls of learning. One among the modern
instructionalstrategy is circle learning model.
The use of circle as both the organizational
structure and descriptive metaphorfor a meeting of equalsis
like to have been a part of our history for as long as five has.
The learningcircle is a mechanism for organizing and
honouringthe collective wisdom of the group and is present
in many indigenouscultures. The term Learning Circle has
been used to describe group efforts with clear links to social
change.
Over time and across countries, civic
organizations, neighbourhood communities,trade unions,
4. churches and social justice groups have used the idea of
learning circles to empower their members to make choices
and take action. The web can help locate the many ways both
present that groups have used the term study circles or
learning circles as a form of adult education.For example,
educators for community engagement, find that learning
circles-with their principles of equal participation,reciprocity
and honouring of collective wisdom-embody the democratic
principles of effective service learning partnerships. They use
learning circles, rather than more traditionalforms of group
meetings, to structure their annualconferences. Primary
teachers use a form of learning circles when they gather the
students at the rug for circle time. Among the goals of this
activity are helping students to developthe trust and respect
for diversity of experience, and fostering both listening and
speaking skills among peers.
A learning circle is a highly interactive , participatory
structure for organizing group work. The goal is to build ,
share, and express knowledge through a process of
open dialogues and deep reflection around issues or
problems with a focus on a shared outcome.
A learning circle is not a community practice or a
professional learning but it can be a strategy used by
either.
Online learningcircles are teams of distance learners
who use technology to acquire a deeper understanding
of areas of shared interest. The structure balances
5. individualownership with collective responsibilityto
provide a setting which helpseveryone achieve their
learning objectives
The circle is managed by distributed leadershipand
suggests that each participantto be engaged in leading
one of the group projects.
They can be used to in a wide range of formal and
informal contexts.
Other examples of globallearning circles used to
connect in learners in different locationat all levels of
school from primary to graduate level work
Other examples include the use of learning professional
developmentin evaluationandaction research.
The learningcircle is a structure for collaborativework
that shares features with other community-based
learning groups,but also differs in specific ways.
Most importantly, it is a task based learning community
in context to a practice based or knowledge based
learning community.
Instead of one shared group tasks, learning circle focus
on smaller interacting group task, each lead by one of
the circle participant
Effective learning circle work involvebuildinga level of
trust and developing shared norms of trust, openness
and reciprocity
6.
7.
8. DESCRIPTION OF THE MODEL
The model is described by
1. Set of defining dimensions
2. Norms that support the interaction
3. The phase structure that aidsthe process
Many of these features also describes learning circles in
face to face setting.
1. Set of defining dimensions
This onlinelearning circle model is defined by six
characteristics.
Diversity of participants
Distributionleadership
Centrality of project base work
Phase structure for interaction
Knowledge buildingdialogue
Final group shared project
9. 2. Norms that support the interaction
Norms are implicit that develop among group of
people which guide behaviour.In setting up learning
circles, the facilitatorneeds to think about ways to
develop these norms. Talkingabout norms is one of
making them explicit but one of the most effective way
of setting norms is through modeling them. Where
circumstances allow, the first meeting of the circle
should be in person. It is much easier to developsuch
practices and habitswhen there is shared experiences in
a face to face setting. However , the best use of this
time might be to engage in activities that surfaces some
of the issues that result in norm setting by the group.
Trust
Respect
Open and flexible approachto thinking
Individual responsibility
Group reciprocity
10. 3. The phase structure that aidsthe process
Learning circles have a beginning, a set of steps
and an end, which distinguishes them from
other forms of community development.
The first phase begins with the organizationof
the circle
Circle size is determined by balancingthe need
for diversity of perspectives with oppurtunities
for interaction
11. The circle openswith activities to build trust
and cohesion, moves to framing the projects is
followed by shared work on the projects and
then exhibitionsor sharing of completed work
leadsto the end of the circle
At the end of a learning circle, the participants
often join a new circle if they choose to
continue and thus repeat the above cycle.
The timelineand headlinesare an important
part of the learning circle experience
Diversity of the participantsis such an
important part of the learning structure
A)Opening the circle
B) Defining the set of projects
C) Working in the project
D)Sharing outcomes
E) Closing of the circle
12. A)Opening the circle:
o It is concerned with setting the
culture and establishingthe practice
for learning circle interactions.
o Putting people in the room and
simply giving them time to talk, or
connecting them on a networks with
space for chat does not make them a
well functioning group ,much less a
community
o It is important to understand the
differences
o The goal in arranging people in
learning is to maximize diversity and
then use that diversity as a resource
o However for diversity to be a
resource , there needs to be a high
level of trust and respect.
o Activities described in this phases
work to ensure the developmentof
trust and respect
13. o Buildingcommunity : a central goal
of the first meeting is to create trust
and respect that underlies group
work and knowledge building
o Collaborative learning: Identify is a
closely tied to learning . Who we are
is shaped by who we associate with.
Each person makes a contributionto
the group identity. The group identity
will shape and forms and process of
learning
o Setting expectations: Dependingon
what happenedduring the getting
ready phase and the participants
experience with learningcircles, the
first meeting is also a time set
expectations
o Comfort with technology:Finallythe
opening session is a test run to make
sure that everyone can use the
14. software that will be used for
meetings and projects
B) Planning the projects
o Designing the project is the most
important phase of learning circles
and for sometime difficult to
understand. The reason is that we
are used to having defined projects
and clear project leaders. One of the
important dimensionsof learning
circles is distributed leadership
C) Sharing the outcomes
o Circle participantsorganize the
informationthey exchange for their
project into a part of the circle
presentation
D) Closing the circle
o The closing date of the learning circle
should be listed in the timeline
15. o Circle members may be needed to
be reminded of the timetableand
the ending date
o It is nice to planfor the end so that
circle partners have a chance to say
goodbye as the work is completed
16. CONCLUSION
These different forms of learning circles wisdom circles, circle
time, study circles and qualitycircles are all structures for
face to face dialogues.But learningcircles can also take place
over a networks in an onlineor virtualsetting. Thisspecific
use of the idea of learning circles refers to an onlinestructure
for linkingparticipantsfrom different countries to work
together using their diversity as a resource to achieve deeper
understandingsand henceforth it is an effective model as far
as teaching learning process is considered.
17. REFERENCE
1. David and Roger Johnson,EdytheJohnson
The new Circles of Learning
ASCD
2. MichelleCollay
Learning Circles
Corwin Press
