Project #3: Community of Learners
Overview:
A community of learners is a group of educators who collaborate and support each other in their collective and individual learning. Although it consist of 5 co-facilitators and 9 new teachers (grades K-5 and special day) to the school or profession, all stakeholders are welcomed to attend our bi-monthly Wednesday meetings from 2:40pm-3:40pm.
Role of a Community of Learners Facilitator
At the beginning of the 2013-2014, my two colleagues and myself co-founded Community of Learners (COL) and use the community of practice and sociocultural theory as its foundation. This concept grew out of a need for new teachers to receive support in all of the great yet arduous work teachers were undertaking in the areas of language and mathematics. It provided a democratic space in which teachers as practitioners could engage in instructional conversations and obtain and share understandings of new knowledge as well as share best practices. The 2014-2015 school year was going to yield 9 new teachers spanned across all grade levels including Special Day. Collectively we’ve decided it was essential that we continue this process as it provided a space in which teachers engage in, collaborated, and supported each other in collective and individual learning.
As a founding teacher (member), I provided the guiding theories that would support our vision and promote sustainability of this important work. Collectively we viewed this space as a think tank where knowledge could safely be constructed and shared. As co-founders we want to create culture in which new teachers (and current teachers) knew their voice mattered. In addition, I recommended surveying new and current teacher to find what was important to them and incorporated their stated needs/wants into our workshops. Together, the other two cofounders and I analyzed, evaluated, and compiled data from the surveys and scheduled a succession of workshops based on the information collected. I co-facilitated workshops on understanding common core standards, bridging sdaie strategies with common core math, classroom management, MiSi online referrals and documentation, close reading known as the reading process, and end of the year closing bulletin.
Because the community of learners only met twice a month, my colleagues and I decided to offer on-going support throughout the year. We brought on two more colleagues as part of the COL facilitators to aide in the continuous meaningful support of all of the participants. We each took on two teachers with However, we didn’t confine ourselves to those two individuals; whoever needed support could seek out any of the co-facilitators.
Reflection
I truly believe in the idea of collaboration breeds innovation. It is through constructing and sharing knowledge that best practices evolve meeting the needs of our students. In order for this to occur we had cultivate a space of trust which evolved from authentic conversations built around beliefs, strategies, and best practices. The co-founders of COL did not possess all of the power. The power was shared. All participants voices were welcomed, heard, and valued. What I found most powerful in this process is COL became a space which authentically fostered meaning making processes that enhanced and challenged pedagogical skills as well as cultivated meaningful relationships amongst a group of amazing educators.
From a school leader’s perspective, two learnings emerge from engaging in this process. One was the importance of constructing spaces in which teachers could interact with each other, share and construct meaningful knowledge, and to share best practices. I would create a sustainable system in which teachers are given time to plan weekly within their own grade levels and then use some weekly staff meeting times for colleagues to meet across grade level to share their understandings of content and best practices.
The other learning that emerged was the fortifying of meaningful authentic relationships grounded in respect and trust. Because a space was created in which teachers could freely speak, share, and feel valued authentic relationships emerged across grade levels resulting in best practices shared. As a school leader, I realize providing opportunities for teachers to fortify authentic relationships around curriculum through the sharing of best practices and knowledge is essential as it yields optimum educational outcomes for all students.
CAPE’s Addressed
CAPE 3: Leading by Example to promote implementation of the vision by having as a guiding question "how do what we do impact student learning?" and understanding the Single Plan for Student Achievement.
CAPE 4: Sharing Leadership with Others in the School community to help accomplished the vision by creating a safe space where teachers can share best practices.
CAPES 5: Promoting Implementation of K-12 standards, pedagogical skills, effective instructional practices and student assessments for content instructions by using CCSS and Teaching and Learning Frameworks to plan and conduct professional development sessions that cultivates teachers' pedagogy skills and positively impact student learning.
CAPES 7: Demonstrating understanding of the school and community context, including the instructional implications of cultural/Linguistic, socioeconomic,and political factors by understanding the student population (marginalized) we serve when considering pedagogy and best practices that impacts their learning.
CAPES 13: Modeling life-long learning and job related professional growth by reviewing current literature, sharing, exchanging, and modeling best practices that best support the needs of our student population.
CAPES 14: Helping Teachers Improve their individual professional practice through professional growth activities by creating interactive PD's in which teachers' have an opportunity to engage in the practices that yields optimum educational outputs for our students.
