How can I use Teacher Learning Communities for Professional Development?

Teacher Learning Communities are groups of teachers who “continually inquire into their practice and, as a result, discover, create, and negotiate new meanings that improve their practice.”

The emphasis of these communities is on learning. Members identify goals, often concerns or issues emerging from within a classroom and discuss them to explore practical and feasible solutions that would best address the issues. These communities also provide teachers with a platform to learn from others, as it includes veteran teachers, with more knowledge and experience, as well as novice teachers, who are more familiar with recent pedagogic training techniques and strategies. In this way, Teacher Learning Communities enhance professional development.

Traditional vs. Online Teacher Learning Communities

Traditional communities are convened at a common location, like a school, and can support teachers only from a particular school or locality. There is, therefore, a restriction to flow of ideas and thoughts. Some other limitations include a lack of space and difficulty in finding a time that is convenient for all.

Online communities, however, offer a convenient and inexpensive method of sharing pedagogic techniques and strategies. It can target a large number of people and encourages free flow of information, not restricted by time and space.

Both types of communities organize seminars, workshops and mentoring programs to bring about professional development. Online communities also have the option of building forums and blogs for discussions and to share personal experiences and anecdotes.

Though both are concerned with advancing the quality of teachers, online communities lack the personalized touch that only a traditional community can deliver.

Benefits of Teacher Learning Communities:

• Connecting research and practice

Often, there is a gap between research and practice, as research pertaining to the classroom scenario may not be relevant to the teaching community.  In order to bridge this gap, participants of Teacher Learning Communities will undertake research focusing on related concerns to find functional results that can be integrated into the classroom setting.

• Forum for addressing concerns

These communities provide a forum where teachers can address concerns and explore solutions. Brainstorming will help teachers arrive at various ideas, techniques or strategies that can be tried and tested for its effectiveness. It helps them to reflect on the challenges faced in practice, and better understand student learning.

• Fosters a sense of brotherhood

Like all communities, Teacher Learning Communities foster a sense of belonging. It helps develop cordial relationships, guides novice teachers on schools’  norms and revitalize experienced staff. The goal of the communities is to instill a sense of purpose that helps them stay committed to the school and profession.

• Unifies the instruction to the instructor

Issues raised within a classroom are related to both the content and method of instruction. These communities aim to strike a balance between the two. The learning ability of students depends largely on how the material is presented to them. Members confer and seek to use instructions to encourage learning within the classroom.

• Advancing student learning

Teachers who are a part of these learning communities are an example to students on the need for a lifelong learning process. They are able to encourage students to better understand the goals intended with learning and help them achieve the same. Participating in learning communities creates an awareness among teachers on the need for formative assessments instead of testing assessments. Thus, learning communities equip teachers with skills to shape up the student world.

How to get started?

There are many types of Teacher Learning Communities that you could join. You may even start your own. You could form a traditional type community with teachers you know where you may voice concerns or share information from a recently read educational blog, journal or magazine. The techno savvy can connect with likeminded teachers through Twitter chat, a Facebook page, a common blog or a Linkedin group. You can also form an online community that uses  Skype or a similar chat application to have instant discussions. It’s quite simple to start a community; all you need is to connect with teachers who have a continuous thirst to learn.

For a taste of a Teacher Learning Community, join the conversation at our Linkedin Group.

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