The purpose of this lesson is for educators to reflect on the state of their current learning community. Teachers will consider learning communities from various perspectives, provide positive models and examples, take a school survey, write a school culture vision statement, celebrate their peers, and share their own learning.
According to the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, learning communities “provide a space and a structure for people to align around a shared goal.” However, these goals are not simply academic. In fact, academic goals are only possible when the environment and community are set up intentionally: safety, sense of community, shared responsibility, etc.
Learning communities include a variety of people (e.g., students, teachers, counselors, school staff, administrators, parents, community members), each with different needs and perspectives. When these stakeholders work together well, the positive environment that they create supports the goals and needs of both students and adults, resulting in improved academic outcomes.
Cultivating a learning community focuses more on helping each person experience personal success rather than hyper-fixating on impact and academic metrics. The funny thing is that when people are thriving within the learning community, outcomes soon follow.
Activity 1: (20 minutes) LEARNING COMMUNITY
As a group, brainstorm a list of people that make up a learning community. Pass out the Learning Community Perspectives handout to each teacher. Ask them to fill in 4 different perspectives of people within a learning community (e.g., students, counselors, administrators, parents, etc.), people that they would like to think deeply about during this lesson.
Watch the video, “Creating a Positive Learning Environment,” by Edutopia. This video highlights learning from a students’ perspective, but teachers can think about what is happening behind the scenes as well. As teachers watch, have them think about and take notes based on the 4 perspectives that they have chosen. They should be thinking about the needs, goals, and responsibilities of each party—basically, what helps each person thrive within the learning community.
Read some quotes about learning communities together from the slides. Discuss the questions together. Encourage teachers to add to their notes on the handout throughout the lesson.
Activity 2: (30 minutes) OUR TOP CHARACTERISTICS
Divide staff into 10 groups and pass out 1 InTASC Standard to each group. Each group will scan their assigned standard and look for 3 important characteristics that they believe every good learning environment should have.
Once they have identified these 3 characteristics, groups will search for a 1-minute video example that models their top idea. These will be shared with the whole group. If, after searching, groups cannot find a good video example, they can alternatively describe a positive example that they have witnessed personally.
Some great websites that include teaching videos include:
After sufficient time, invite each group to present their 3 characteristics and video or example that they found. As each group presents, list the 3 characteristics of good learning environments on the whiteboard. Acknowledge any repeated ideas.
Activity 3: (15 minutes) SCHOOL SURVEY
As a whole group, narrow down the list of characteristics from the board until you have 10 top ideas for your school. Pass out the Ideal Learning Community Survey to each teacher. Ask teachers to write down the 10 characteristics in the left column and fill out the rest of the survey.
After sufficient time, read each characteristic aloud and ask teachers to raise their hand if that characteristic was their top score.
Activity 4: (20 minutes) SCHOOL CULTURE
Prior to this activity, create a free account on Mentimeter.com and set up a word cloud with the prompt, “One word that describes our desired school culture is…”
Have teachers add 2–3 adjectives to the word cloud. The words that are submitted most often will appear the largest.
As a group, use the 2–3 most popular words to create a vision statement that is summarized in 1–3 sentences. Create a simple poster to display in the teacher’s lounge. Encourage staff to focus on contributing to this vision statement for the next month or so. Have a quick discussion:
Extension: Have teachers come up with a list of challenges or common
scenarios in relation to school culture. Choose a few scenarios to discuss
and problem-solve together in small groups. Then share it all together.
Activity 5: (20 minutes) CELEBRATIONS
Watch the video, “Why You Should Thank a Teacher,” by As/Is. Then read the quote:
“Professional learning communities find ways for all staff members to contribute toward the accomplishment of their stated goals. This means that office staff, custodians, part-time employees, educational assistants, and singleton teachers must all feel like their efforts are making a difference.” (Greg Kushnir)
Have educators get into small groups. Each group will select a teacher or other professional from your school community to celebrate.
Create a set of shared slides and send it to teachers. Each highlighted professional will be celebrated on 1 slide. Each slide should include text and pictures, if possible. Slides can include ideas such as:
Have each group present their slide to the group and end with a round of applause to celebrate and thank each person that is highlighted.
In addition or alternatively, have teachers write thank-you notes to another professional that makes up part of your learning community, highlighting the positive ways that they contribute. This is a great way to include more people.
Activity 6: (30–45 minutes) TEACHER TIPS
Prior to this activity, ask 3–5 teachers who have shown excellent innovation in any area to participate in a panel discussion. Begin the panel by asking each teacher to share their innovative idea or practice, how they make it work, and why it works for them. Then, open up a discussion where teachers in the audience can ask follow-up or additional questions to learn from the teachers.
Have a discussion:
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