Learning Communities in Classrooms

Foreword Goals and preconditions. The primary goal of this theory is to advance the collective knowledge and skills and thereby to support the growth of individual knowledge and skills. Preconditions include a diversity of expertise among the members of the learning community and an emphasis on learning how to learn. Values. Some of the values upon which this theory is based include: learning how to learn, learning how to direct one’s own learning, learning how to deal with complex issues, learning how to work with people, a culture of learning as a collective effort and sharing of knowledge, a respect and appreciation for differences within the community, a respect and appreciation for all members of the community. Methods. These are the major methods this theory offers: Community growth: Overall goal is to expand the community’s knowledge and skills. Emergent goals: Goals should be co-constructed with the students and emerge from their activities. Articulation of goals: Teacher and students must articulate their goals and criteria for judging success. Metacognition: The community should keep asking itself what its goals are and whether it is progressing to meet them. It should also reflect back on what was learned and the processes that were used. Beyond the bounds: The community should try to go beyond the knowledge in the community and seek out new approaches and ideas that challenge what they believe. Respect for others: Students need to learn respect for other students’ contributions and differences. Clearly articulate and enforce the rules for respect. Failure-safe: The community should accept failures and not try to assess blame. There must be a sense that failure is O.K. and that taking risks fosters learning. Structural dependence: The community should be organized such that students are dependent on other students. This fosters respect for others and self-esteem. Depth over breadth: Students should have sufficient time to investigate topics in enough depth to gain real expertise on important, generative ideas. Diverse expertise: Students should develop the areas in which they are most interested and capable, with the responsibility to share their expertise with the community so that they not only learn by doing, but also learn from what others do. Multiple ways to participate: Students should have a range of activities—such as formulating questions, gathering knowledge, and sharing knowledge—and a variety of roles—such as researcher, expert, and moderator—and the community should value all roles. Sharing: There should be a mechanism for sharing individuals’ knowledge throughout the community, so that every student can give and receive. Negotiation: Ideas are improved by an argumentation process based on logic and evidence, and there should be modeling and coaching on how to depersonalize critiques of others’ ideas. Quality of products: The quality of the knowledge and products should be valued by the individuals, the community, and outsiders, based on community standards. Major contributions. The notion ofa group as the focusfor learning, rather than an individual. Methods to develop respect for, and understanding of, fellow students. Methods to encourage students to pursue their interests. The importance of the culture of the learning environment. 270 —C.M.R.