Sarah Betzold
EDT 3470
2-2-12
Reading Reflection
#2:
Creating a
Professional Learning Community
Jeff
Whipple, a Canadian middle school teacher stated, “Having somebody to
brainstorm with about planning, having colleagues to reflect with about what
was going on in the classroom- that was great” when talking about his first
teaching job and the value of having teachers to collaborate with. Learning
communities are focused on allowing teachers to work together to come up with
best practices, improvements, ideas, projects, etc.
There
are many benefits of learning communities. A huge benefit is that teachers no
longer have to work on their own. Teachers can work together with other
teachers to come up with great ideas for lessons, classroom management, projects,
etc. Teachers overall are able to make improvements in their classrooms and as
a group focus on student learning.
Learning
communities affect teachers in positive ways because teachers are able to learn
new strategies for teaching and receive useful information from other
teachers. Teachers are able to
bounce ideas off each other and reflect on what has been working in the
classroom and what hasn’t been working. Teachers no longer have to work in
isolation. They share the responsibility with other teachers of bringing good
ideas into the classroom.
Learning
communities also have a good affect on students because learning communities
focus on student learning. The topic of discussion is always the students and
how to provide students with the best learning experiences. Teachers focus on
improving and doing their best to help students learn.
There
are many components of shared vision in learning communities. It’s always
important that teachers share the same focus on student learning, goals, improvements,
beliefs, values, etc. Teachers should be committed to working together and
sharing ideas.
The
concepts in chapter two relate to my project in this class because my partner
and I are working together and sharing ideas to come up with a good unit on
staying healthy. We are sharing the responsibility and bouncing ideas off of
each other. Great ideas come from working in with others. I can already tell
that my partner and I are benefitting by working together rather than alone
because we each have good ideas.
I enjoyed reading your reflection. I found myself agreeing with your statements about what teachers will do as a result of being a part of a learning community. They will make improvements in their teaching, they will no longer have to work in isolation, and they will share responsibility for the learning of their students. That, in a nutshell, is what being in a learning community is all about.
ReplyDeleteI really liked where you talked about teachers no longer working independently. So many times you see teachers struggling by themselves and don't ask for help. This can be due to many reasons, such as not feeling comfortable with other teachers to even ask for help. I think that because of this, it is important to establish good relationships with all staff members in the school to share ideas. With more teachers, comes more experiences with students, which ultimately means more learning.
ReplyDeleteI really felt like you grasped the concept of what learning communities are all about. I felt that a lot of the statements you made were great for teachers and students. I also really enjoyed reading about what you and your partner are going to do in order to make your project a learning community!
ReplyDelete