Class 1 Homework - Ch 2- Professional Learning Communities

[Jane Krauss]

In what ways can you imagine mobilizing or expanding your professional learning community? What could be the benefit to you? Your students? Your school?

[Sarah B. Jones]

I suppose it is difficult to expand my professional learning community. The ways in which I try to expand it are by taking classes and talking to others who have some sort of expertise. Regardless, of my attempts of expanding my professional learning community, I think the most difficult aspect is maintaining communication between a large professional learning community. My teaching partners and other school members are no doubt easy to communicate and share ideas and knowledge with. It is seeking and maintaining communication and collaboration with people and professionals outside that realm that is difficult. The best way I have found so far, it to continue in my own education and learning.

I can imaging mobilizing and expanding through the use of technology (blogs, wikis, e-mail, chat rooms, etc.) However, it is easier put the priority of that sort of professional learning community at the bottom, especially when there are so many things that have to be done in order to maintain function alone in the classroom.

The benefits of being able to establish and maintain that sort of technologically accessed professional learning community would be enormous. The more people you have together the more experience and ideas are brought into the mixing bowl. The benefits trickle down.

Time is of the essence in education. The only difficulty it I find is that although this sort of technologically accessed professional learning community would be more convenient, it takes more time in that there is not an immediate response and it is sort of a cat and mouse tag game. It does not provide the same interaction and stimulation as a traditional conversation.

I guess I have mixed feelings.

[DJ Ellis]

DJ Ellis

1. Where are you starting in your pbl journey, and what might you expect to learn from others?

I would say that I’m still in the brainstorming process of pbl. I have lots of ideas and need more time to implement them in my curriculum. In the past two years, I have been saying to myself that this year I plan to implement a CSI project for my science students. However, I just get swap in the middle of the year and do not have time to work on it. It gets pushed aside and we do not do it. I hope in this class I will be able to discuss these ideas with other teachers and get feedback. Maybe someone has had experience implementing a similar project and can give me more insight on planning for is lesson.



2. In what ways can you mobilize or expand your professional learning community?

I am very interested in sharing and brainstorming with other professional teachers. It is exciting. One way I can expand my plc is to actively become apart of online communities. I never knew that these types of communities existed until I read our classroom book. It is interesting to know that there are groups online discussing and sharing pbl ideas. This can help me in the future to plan for pbl such as a CSI project.

3. Why does it matter that you do?

Expanding my plc is important to me because I want to continue to become a better teacher, and I want my students to get the best education experience from my class. I can become a better teacher from plc because I can get feedback on projects and ideas that I want to use or are currently doing. Furthermore, I can learn about their difficulties in a certain project, which will help me more aware.

[Susan]

I'm hoping to begin expanding my professional learning community by enouraging my fourth grade team to try Digital Storytelling. My idea is begin the school year with a PBL geography activity that gets their interest and creates a conversation about PBL and then segway into Digital Storytelling. Then, we can begin to include other grade levels and teachers.
The benefit to me is that I get feedback and input to help create something better than just my ideas by themselves. The benefit to my students is a better, more improved, project, and the benefit to my school is that we are providing the correct instruction that engages our students.

[Brian Holte]

I can see myself reaching out online to fellow teachers of 5th, 6th, and 7th graders regarding PBL in the content area of ancient civilizations (per our state standards and our building agreements). Specifically, I want to know how others struggle—and succeed!!—in doing rich PBL while daily dealing with (enough) kids who are NOT self-managers (and have never been given the chance), who do NOT do homework, who cannot come early or stay late to get help or just put in more time as needed . . . AND are seriously deficient in basic reading, writing, and organization skills. I love projects, and I have and communicate high expectations for my students, but that isn't enough for a number of students. In my gut I know there are gaps (and work sample and test results confirm them). Maybe I simply want to hear an "OK number," a percentage of kids who just aren't going to leave my classroom at the end of the year with a significant change in their basic skills, but will have experienced the projects. 10%? 15, 20%?? Is the project experience enough? No, but it seems the best that can be done . . . . . so that's why I see value in reaching out to other teachers and to the researchers.

P.S. I really need to communicate locally, too, as in 4J 6th grade teachers, many of whom also deal with the ancient civ content.

[Crista Lawson]

I already collaborate with teachers at my school, especially my teaching partner, as well as with teachers from other schools in the district. I am very excited to expand my plc by using online communities. I have used online communities for other things but never for educational purposes. I have been involved in critical friends groups in the past but I think the online communities give teachers an opportunity to interact in their own time line. I could benefit from plcs because I work and learn better in a group talking and creating with others. There is a richer knowledge base, more support, and create energy that happens in a plc. Not only is is beneficial to teachers but whatever we learned we have to opportunity to share with our student and our school.

[Peggy Karotko]

I have a great local professional learning community. The teachers both at my current school and my last school are an ongoing source of creative inspiration and I work with them as often as I can. It would be great through this class to learn to add a plc that extend beyond Eugene or even the United States. How fun to email students in Egypt, for example, when we student Ancient Egypt. The possibilities are endless. If two heads are better than one imagine how great 10, 20 or more could be. While international professionals do not take the place of a great colleague to work with on a day-to-day basis, I am super lucky to have a great in house colleague so the more professional learners I can work with the merrier life will be. This is not just a benefit to me, my students and school can benefit from new people and ideas as well. But as important, is the example I will give to my students of learning to work with all kinds of people not just my friends.

[Deirdre]

After spending the past few years working with the QCTeach program, (an on-line collaboration course designed to provide a format for lesson study and development) I came to the conclusion that I do not do a very good job expressing myself and my ideas through on-line discussions. (I don’t really like e-mail, or extensive talking on the phone either.) Person to person communication is my preference. None the less, I believe I am ready, and I think this class will help, to push myself into the 21st century. I think that if I could find a consistent, live conversation (i.e. chat on-line) I might be able to engage with on-line application much better.

Currently, I don’t see myself collaborating with other teachers in the way that I want. I also see this class as helping me to create and grow my professional learning community.


I just barely see the benefits of these types of internet applications. I know I need more exposure and more practice at implementing them. With familiarity I know I will develop an ease of use. I am anxious to provide students with authentic learning experiences that provide students practice and experience for how scientists really do their work. I know that the skills that I am learning in this class will be a good, strong step in that direction.