The document outlines an agenda for a learning community meeting that includes presentations, activities, and discussions centered on professional learning communities (PLCs), communities of practice (CoPs), and personal learning networks (PLNs). It highlights underlying theories such as constructivism, social learning, and connectivism, emphasizing the importance of collaborative inquiry and real-world application in educational settings. The meeting involves social media engagement through Twitter and group discussions to explore supportive learning community models.

1. February 24, 2015
Learning Communities
Whitney Kilgore

2. Agenda
✤ 0. Pre-Assessment
✤ 1. Presentation: communities (CoP, PLC, PLN)
✤ 2. Activity: Live Twitter chat
✤ Use #CECS6220
✤ 3. Small Group Discussions
✤ Report back to the whole group
✤ 4.Post-Assessment

3. Underlying Theories
✤ Piaget 1967: Constructivism
✤ Bandura 1970: Social Learning
✤ Callon, Latour, & Law: Actor-Network Theory
✤ Senge 1990: Learning Organization
✤ Lave & Wenger 1991: Situated Learning
✤ Lave & Wenger 1991: Community of Practice
✤ Siemens 2005: Connectivism

4. The continuum
PLC, CoP, PLN

5. Why
Communities?
✤ We are stronger together
✤ Humans’ need to belong
✤ Social Learning as a part of our
DNA
✤ Collaborative Inquiry = higher
level of cognition

6. Learning Together
Real-world application of our knowledge is powerful learning practice

7. What is a PLC?
PLC = Professional Learning Community
A Professional Learning Community is a
collaboration of teachers, administrators,
parents and students, who work together to
seek out best practices, test them in the
classroom, continuously improve processes,
and focus on results.” (DuFour, 2002)

8. Professional Learning Communities
Theoretical Base: Learning Organization
✤ Senge (MIT) coined the term “learning organization”
and is the leading researcher on this theory
✤ “a place where people are continually discovering how
they create their reality and how they can change it”
(Senge, 1990, p. 13)

9. Dimensions
of a PLC
Adapted from DuFour, R. DuFour, R., Eaker, R., Karhanek, G. ,2004; Wells, C. & Feun, L. ,2007)

10. Characteristics of a PLC
As stated by members of my PLN

11. What is a CoP?
CoP = Communities of Practice
“groups of people who share a concern, a
set of problems, or a passion about a topic
and who deepen their knowledge and
expertise in this area by interacting on an
ongoing basis” (Wenger, McDermott &
Snyder, 2001, p. 4)

12. Elements of CoPs
Theoretical Base: Social Learning
✤ Bandura: learning is a cognitive process that takes place in a social
context.
✤ Wenger’s work has evolved over the years; originally noted naturally
forming groups of practitioners of craft and skill-based activities
✤ CoPs take various forms
vary in size
life span
location (face-to-face vs. virtual)
relationship to the organization

13. Henri and Pudelko (2003) assert that Wenger’s theory of
communities of practice is at the heart of communities
even virtual ones.
Photo Credit: BigStockPhoto

14. What is a PLN
✤ Simply stated, this type of
learning network is tailored to
the individual based on their
personal learning needs
(Downes, 2006).
✤ More prevalent in field of
education (professional
development)
✤ Learners enter with specific
goals, roles, and motivations
Image created with NodeXL

15. Personal Learning Networks
✤ Theoretical Base: Connectivism
“A learning theory for the digital age”
✤ This theory “asserts that knowledge - and therefore the
learning of knowledge – is distributive, that is, not located in
any given place (and therefore not 'transferred' or 'transacted'
per se) but rather consists of the network of connections
formed from experience and interactions with a knowing
community” (Downes, 2006, p. 1)
✤ Main Principles of Connectivism (Siemens)

16. cc licensed flickr photo by Will Lion: http://flickr.com/photos/will-lion/2595497078/

18. Social Media is Like Pandora’s Box – Grainne Conole
Who am I? What is personal, what is professional, and what is private?

19. Deeper Learning
✤ “The interconnected, interactive
nature of social learning
exponentially amplifies the rate
at which critical content can be
shared and questions can be
answered.”
✤ From: Collaborative Learning
for the Digital Age in The
Chronicle of Higher Education
Cathy Davidson: Director of the
Futures Initiative - CUNY

20. Big Thanks!!
✤ Thanks to Steve Wheeler,
Joyce Seitzinger and Sheryl
Nussbaum-Beach who
volunteered to share their
ideas with me for this talk
today.
✤ This is the power of the PLN!

21. Activity: Sketch your current PLN
(1 minute. Snap a picture and upload to Twitter using
#CECS6220 hashtag. )
cc licensed flickr photo by courosa: http://flickr.com/photos/courosa/344832659/

22. Activity: Twitter Chat
✤ We will use the Q1: A1: format for questions and
answers.
✤ I’ll be posting the Questions, please share your
thoughts or resources (URLs) on twitter using the
#CECS6220 hashtag.
✤ At the end of the class, I’ll archive the chat using
Storify and send the link to the archive to your twitter
account.

23. Small Group Discussions
✤ (15 mins): How many have a supportive learning community at
work? - Break into three groups to discuss. Each group takes
one model and discussed how they would make use of this
model to solve an existing issue. Come up with a design strategy
and support strategies for how they would implement the model.
✤ Choose a spokesperson to present your design strategy and
support strategy to the class at the end of the 15 mins.

24. Wrap up and Post Assessment
✤ https://unt.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/preview/SV_e9Banzgk
Jzx9gCF

25. ✤ Bandura, A. (1971). "Social Learning Theory". General Learning Corporation.
✤ Downes, S. (2006). Learning networks and connective knowledge. Retrieved from http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/paper92/paper92.html
✤ Dufour, R. & Eaker, R (1998). Professional learning communities at work: Best practices for enhancing student achievement. Alexandria,
VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
✤ Flanigan, R. (2011). Professional learning networks taking off. Education Week. Retrieved from
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/10/26/09edtechnetwork.h31.html?tkn=NXCFrTi53Q/RNUP7oI3Dyieu/9gskTJyoOc/
✤ Hord, S. M. (2004). Professional learning communities: An overview. In Learning together, leading together: Changing schools through
professional learning communities (Shirley Hord, Ed.). New York: Teacher College Press, 5-14.
✤ Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated Learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. New York: Cambridge University Press.
✤ Lewis, B., & Rush, D. (2013). Experience of developing Twitter-based communities of practice in higher education. Research in Learning
Technology, 21.
✤ Siemens, G. (2008). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. ITFORUM for Discussion, 1-26.
✤ Saint-Onge, H. & Wallace, D. (2003). Leveraging communities of practice for strategic advantage. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann.
✤ Veletsianos, G. (2012). Higher education scholars' participation and practices on Twitter. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 28(4),
336-349.
✤ Warlick, David (2009), “Grow Your Personal Learning Network,” Learning and Leading with Technology (March–April), 12–16.
✤ Wenger, E. (2000). Communities of practice and social learning systems. Sage Social Science Collection, 7(2), 225-246.
✤ Wenger, E., McDermott, R. & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
✤ Wesely, P. M. (2013). Investigating the community of practice of world language educators on Twitter. Journal of Teacher Education,
64(4), 305-318.
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