RSA 4: Building an Online Learning Environment: Communication, Cooperation and Collaboration.

http://frank.mtsu.edu/~itconf/proceed01/19.html

The readings in Module 7 discuss the necessary requirements for developing an online learning community. The needs of an online learning community differ from the needs of a face-to-face classroom environment in that norms must be established for effective communication. There are responsibilities on behalf of both the instructor and the students, in that they must establish effective modes of communication that will be carried out throughout the course. Paloff and Pratt (2007) write, “the ability to remain flexible and open and to relinquish control are characteristics that make not only for successful instructors in this medium but for successful learners as well” (p.124). Before beginning the course, the authors suggest making these norms known so that there is an established protocol for communication.

Building and Online Learning Environment also addresses the need for norms within the online learning communities. The authors suggest that in addition to creating norms, there should be a sense of personal community in order to facilitate greater online learning. Misanchuk and Anderson (2002) write, “we feel that one of the most important indicators of a learning community is the first: when students communicate not only on an academic level but on a personal level”. They argue that until the personal relationships are in place, there will be a lack of community present.

The readings in Module 7 relate to the article in that one of the key elements in creating a learning community online is the formation of personal relationships. There must be a level of understanding and personal respect before communication and relationships in the online classroom can form. With the move to have more online discussions in the classroom environments, these factors must be taken into consideration and should be addressed at the beginning of each course.

References

Misanchuk, M. & Anderson, T. (2002). Building community in an online learning environment: Communication, cooperation and collaboration. Proceedings of the Teaching Learning and Technology Conference, Middle Tennessee State University, April 7-9. Retrieved from http://frank.mtsu.edu/~itconf/proceed01/19.html

Palloff, R. & Pratt, K. (2007). Building Online Learning Communities: Effective strategies for the virtual classroom, (2nd ed.). San Franciso: Jossey-Bass. ISBN: 978-0-7879-8825-8, pages 157-204.

RSA 3: Interconnecting Networks of Practice for Professional Learning

http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/EJ920740.pdf

The readings and module 5 discuss the positive and negative implications of online learning, and further address the impact that community has on online learning. Paloff and Pratt (2007) indicate many positive results of learning online, but also show the need of human contact within the learning process. They write, “textual communication is a great equalizer, promotes a sense of relative anonymity, and can prompt us to be more thoughtful about what we say online…but the risk of isolating ourselves from face to face contact in the process does exist” (p.48).

The article Interconnecting Networks of Practice for Professional Learning reports on a study of teachers in New Zealand who are in an online graduate degree program. Through this study, the author found that interpersonal connections were not forged because of this online relationship. Mackey and Evans write, “There was evidence of sharing practices and understandings in the networked environment, but generally these were limited to the assessment and practicalities of completing the course” (p. 11). Mackey and Evans further present the conclusion that to achieve the potential of online learning communities, they must “encourage the often invisible interactions that learners have with those outside the formal course structure” (p. 13).

The passages in Building Online Learning Communities can be closely connected with the article. The study gives a first-hand account of the complications that can form in community with online learning, and discusses what can be done to avoid them. Paloff and Pratt outline the benefits and potential downfalls of online learning which correlates with the New Zealand study.

References

Mackey, J., & Evans, T. (2011). Interconnecting Networks of Practice for Professional Learning. International Review Of Research In Open And Distance Learning, 12(3), 1-18.

Paloff, R. & Pratt, K. (2007). Building Online Learning Communities: Effective Strategies for the Virtual Classroom, (2^nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISBN: 978-0-7879-8825-8, pages 3-65.

RSA 2: Successful Educational Leadership at High Performing Schools

http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED520457.pdf

The readings for Module 3 address the need for a professional learning community to have a results oriented structure. Dufour, Dufour, Eaker and Many (2010) believe that the SMART goal acronym can and should be used to align the goals of the learning community. They write “Goals are SMART when they are strategic (aligned with the organization’s goals) and specific, measurable, attainable, results oriented, and time bound” (p. 158). The authors also believe that in conjunction with these SMART goals, that organizations should also have stretch goals that “are intended to inspire, to capture the imagination of people within the organization, to stimulate creativity and innovation, and to serve as a unifying focal point of effort” (p. 160). These goals, when used in conjunction, allow for a clear structure and provide the PLC to achieve.

In Successful Educational Leadership at High Performing Schools, the author sets forth the idea that high achieving schools have six elements in common that help lead to this success. According to Wilson (2011), these include an agreed upon vision, instructional leadership, a safe, orderly and respectful environment, timely monitoring of student progress, professional learning communities, and school and family partnerships (p. 394-396). Within monitoring of student progress, Wilson believes that to have success, “Students’ achievement data were analyzed and openly shared among teachers to facilitate the improvement of individual and collective performance” (p. 395).

The readings in Module 3 and the article above are closely related in that goals are essential for creating and maintaining a successful professional learning community. In Learning by Doing: A Handbook for Professional Learning Communities at Work the authors believe that achievable (SMART) and stretch goals are necessary to have success, and according to Wilson, (2011) in successful PLCs, “school wide goals and specific goals for individual students are set” (p. 396). Both readings address this need for PLCs to have goals to drive instruction and learning.

References

DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., Many, T. (2010). Learning by doing: A handbook for professional learning communities at work (2nd ed., pp. 155-204, 247-266). Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Wilson, D. L. (2011). Successful Educational Leadership at High Performing Schools. US-China Education Review, Volume 8, n3 p 393-398. Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED520457.pdf

RSA 1: Learning Communities: The Starting Point for Professional Communities is in Schools and Classrooms

http://www.learningforward.org/news/getDocument.cfm?articleID=2311

The readings for Module 2 describe the importance of a PLC having a focus of learning for students, embedding systematic interventions to respond to student learning, and creating a collaborative culture within the team of teachers. Within this, Dufour, Dufour, Eaker & Many (2010) present the idea that teachers must “engage in a systematic process in which they work together, interdependently, to analyze and impact their professional practice in order to improve individual and collective results”(p. 120). In this process, teachers must work towards a collaborative goal and must rely on each other to “accomplish a goal that none could achieve individually” (Dufour, et al., 120).

Learning Communities: The Starting Point for Professional Communities is in Schools and Classrooms was published in the August 2011 Journal of Staff Development. Within this article, the authors took five research studies that touch on the validity of learning communities, and narrowed down eight key practices relative to the successful learning communities. Based on their research, Lieberman and Miller (2011) also address the challenges associated with learning communities, and give ways to prevent these challenges from occurring.

The ideas that Lieberman and Miller set forth relate closely to the ideas within the Module Two readings. Lieberman and Miller (2011) write that successful learning communities “work hard to develop a clear purpose and collective focus on problems of practice” (p.19). It is within a learning community that this purpose should be thoughtfully created and then should be addressed in the work of the learning community. This correlates with the ideas presented by Dufour, Dufour, Eaker & Many in that the goals and purposes of a learning community should be held up by the teachers or members of the learning community.

References

DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., Many, T. (2010). Learning by doing: A handbook for professional learning communities at work (2nd ed., pp. 59-154). Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Lieberman, A., & Miller, L. (2011). Learning Communities: The Starting Point for Professional Learning Is in Schools and Classrooms. Journal Of Staff Development, 32(4), 16-20.

Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL). (2003). Sustaining school improvement: Professional learning community, 1–4. Retrieved from http://www.mcrel.org/PDF/LeadershipOrganizationDevelopment/5031TG_proflrncommfolio.pdf

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