Reading Reflection 2

1. Discussion on the focus of Learning Communities.

 Professional learning communities focus on three big student-centered ideas which are to ensure that students learn, create a culture of collaboration for school improvement, and focus on the results. The difference between other ways of collaborating together is that you are not focused on what you teach but on what the students learn. The focus of learning communities is to have students and teachers engage in ongoing collaborative problem solving focused on making the students better. In this process the teachers individually and as a team expand their capacity to create the results they desire for their students. Students and teachers alike learn new patterns of thinking, they learn how capitalize on the group’s goal and they learn how to learn together, which is the goal of a community of learners.

2. Discussion on the benefits of Learning Communities.

Learning communities offer many benefits to not only the students but the teachers as well. Among professional learning communities some of the benefits are decreased teacher isolation, increased commitment to the mission, shared responsibility, more powerful learning, and a higher likelihood of fundamental, systematic change. A project-based learning collaboration among students is similar to professional learning communities among teachers. The learning is relevant and rigorous, and the students learn to learn together. As well as learning strategies needed in the classroom, the teachers and students also learn skills for the real world like communication, problem solving, project management, motivation, and persistence.

3. Discussion on how Learning Communities affect teachers.

Learning communities are a new context for learning that allows teachers the opportunity to work together and overcome the traditional isolation of the profession. The traditional circumstances of schools don’t foster a collaborative effort by the students or the teachers. Normally teachers may spend several hours together each week but most of their time is spent addressing scheduling, program coordination, handling individual student issues, planning school events and other “housekeeping” issues. Little time is available to actually talk about teaching but this is all changed when implementing learning communities. In learning communities teachers are encouraged to work together and collaborate on a regular basis.

4. Discussion on how Learning Communities affect students.

Students are also affected by learning communities but not as directly as the teachers. Since teachers are always collaborating and bouncing ideas off of each other it gives them an opportunity to present lessons to other teachers multiple times before they actually teach it to their students. When teachers work together they get a better idea of what level their students should be at and this affects the students because they get more work that is fit for their abilities. As well as the teachers collaborate they begin to share their ideas and learning strategies so the students will then be exposed to many types of learning. Students also participate in their own types of learning communities in the form of project-based learning. In this manner students learn through working with their peers on a project that allows the students to learn from doing hands on assignments that relate to their lives.

5. Discussion on the components for shared vision in Learning Communities.

In learning communities when collaborating with colleagues teachers need to start out with an open mind and respect for their peers. Teachers need to be able to be honest with one another and to do this they have to have trust and appreciate who they will be working with. Teachers in a learning community should share a passion for one critical element and focus a lot of their collaboration around this common goal. Even if the other teachers you collaborate with don’t have the same type of teaching style as you there is always one connecting factor, your goal is to teach children and have them learn. In order for the community to be effective the teachers must come in with an open mind and be willing to share their ideas together and be able to agree on a learning style that would best work for their students. Teachers should share a common end goal and keep this in mind throughout the process. 

6. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

The topic for my project is kitchen and catering. Being a part of a group for this project I must learn to work with my group members and even if we have different styles or attitudes we need to be open with each other to come up with a common goal or outcome. For our project we’re teaching students what project-based learning is by actually doing a project. In order for us to reach this goal we have to be able to discuss different ideas with each other and we have to have respect for everyone in the group and take into consideration the ideas that they come up with. We are creating are own learning community by doing this project so we also have to have a common goal, in this case what the children will learn is our common factor.