RSA#4 Professional Learning Community

Toward ‘hybridised’ faculty development for the twenty-first
century: blending online communities of practice and face-to-face
meetings in instructional and professional support programmes

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Palloff and Pratt discussed the collaboration that takes place within a professional learning community in this week’s reading in chapter 8.  The article “Toward ‘hybridised’ faculty development for the twenty-first century: blending online communities of practice and face-to-face meetings in instructional and professional support programmes”, takes an in-depth look into the functionality of “communities, communities of practice (CoPs), and the potential for their development in online forums, while specifically discussing the value of virtual CoPs for educational professionals in higher education.”

Palloff and Pratt address the necessity to have “students learn to work with and depend on each other to reach their learning objectives and enhance the outcomes of the process” (Palloff & Pratt 180).  Catherine F. Brooks offers an approach to address the ever present issues of teachers needing to have the support of their colleagues, but not necessarily having the not have the time or opportunity to make important social connections. With the approach of a ‘hybridised’ faculty development, this may be a possible approach that may help to fuse the gap.

  

Brooks states, community-building is thus beneficial for people who are working collaboratively because it develops a personal sense of connection with fellow group members. With our ever revolving society, I agree that innovative technologies require new kinds of communities. Brooks’s states, that once an online forums for collegial interaction among faculty are implemented, researching the enactment of community online will bring about enhanced understandings of what it means to be a faculty member in contemporary times of the 21st century.
 
Brooks, C. F. (2010). Toward 'hybridised' faculty development for the twenty-first century:

blending online communities of practice and face-to-face meetings in instructional and professional support programmes. Innovations In Education & Teaching International, 47(3), 261-270. doi:10.1080/14703297.2010.498177

Palloff, R., Pratt, K. (2007). Building Online Learning Communities: Effective Strategies for the Virtual Classroom (2^nd ed., pp. 157-204). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

 

RSA#3 Interconnecting Networks of Practice for Professional Learning

This week’s reading focused on learning communities. The article Interconnecting Networks of Practice for Professional Learning, explores the complementary connections between communities of practice and the ways in which individuals orchestrate their engagement with others to further their professional learning. It does so by reporting on part of a research project conducted in New Zealand on teachers' online professional learning in a university graduate diploma program on ICT education. Evolving from social constructivist pedagogy for online professional development, the research describes how teachers create their own networks of practice as they blend online and offline interactions with fellow learners and workplace colleagues. Teachers' perspectives of their professional learning activities challenge the way universities design formal online learning communities and highlight the potential for networked learning in the zones and intersections between professional practice and study.

Research focusing on the intersections between work and study, and particularly the role of online learning for professional development, represents an area of growing interest, not only in teacher education but also in other professional learning, development, and support. There appears to be a connection between professional learning communities and school culture. Based on findings related to collective responsibility, deprivatization, reflective dialogue, and faculty influence, Supovitz (2002) reported a clear relationship between team-based school initiatives and school culture. However, developing a learning community that is strong enough to sustain meaningful change requires commitment, time, and a focused effort. This article demonstrated the cohesiveness that it shares with the readings this week. The dedication and time shared between the students, teachers and building are all shared as a collective responsibility at one level or another.

 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.

Supovitz, J.A. (2002). Developing communities of instructional practice. Teachers College Record, 104(8), p. 1591-1626.