Winter 2004
The passage of the No Child Left Behind Act places student performance and school and district accountability into center focus. If all children are to be successful learners, schools must become learning communities in which student and adult learning is ongoing and supported. Establishing vibrant learning communities requires a shift in our thinking about the traditional roles of educators and the nature of professional development.
The principal no longer assumes the primary responsibility for instructional leadership in schools where learning communities flourish. Instead, teachers within the school take on new leadership roles. Professional development is no longer about individual improvement goals. Rather, the emphasis is placed on team building where learning is less about what an individual knows and more about what the team knows and can do. Study groups and vertical teams are organized around instructional practices and help teachers to diversify teaching strategies matched to the varied learning needs of students. Conversations revolve around student work and progress.
Evidence shows and MASCD believes that schools organized as learning communities provide powerful professional growth for staff and demonstrate improvement in student performance and achievement. In this issue of FOCUS, we present and discuss practices that will contribute to the building of effective learning communities.
As we think about new models of professional development and the building of learning communities in our schools, MASCD poses questions to consider:
1. What is a learning community?
Learning communities are built around the needs of students. Teachers, administrators and parents work together to create a climate that focuses on reflective practice, collegiality and ongoing professional development.
2. What conditions should exist in schools in order to foster and sustain learning communities?
There are numerous traits and characteristics common to all learning communities. Shared vision and decision-making, reflective practice, ongoing planning and talk about curriculum and instructional improvement are key.
3. Are teachers responsible for their colleagues’ learning?
Networking, talking about student work, observing each other teach and exploring new approaches together are common practices in schools where learning communities thrive.
4. What roles do principals play in the development of learning communities?
Principals play an important role in facilitating job-embedded professional development. Through strategic planning, reflective practice and scheduling, principals help set the stage for successful practice.
5. Is there any evidence to support the belief that the development of a learning community contributes to improvement in student learning?
Many studies cite the link between practices common in professional learning communities and improved student learning.
The Cambridgeport School, a K-8 school in Cambridge, has spent more than a decade building a learning community. The faculty at the school defines a learning community as a place where students learn together, where students and staff learn together and where students, staff and families learn together. When one enters the Cambridgeport School he/she sees a place where working together, active learning and reflection guide the development of explorations in learning, ideas and skills. Adults model and share individual and collective responsibility, making their challenging work more effective and satisfying. The school is a place where stories of challenges and triumphs of individual and group learning experiences flourish.
There are four conditions that exist at the Cambridgeport School which allow the faculty to build a climate that fosters the development of learning. These conditions are:
The learning community at the Cambridgeport School became sustainable when the structure and roles for shared learning and ongoing reflection were built into the organizational culture. Sustainability has also been a function of dedicated time. Each person in the learning community serves as a bridge between his/her understanding and that of his/her colleagues. Shared vision, expertise and efforts guide practice. Collective accountability is a lynchpin of the learning community in which all take responsibility for the ongoing development of students and colleagues. The principal plays a collaborative role in developing the learning community. The vertical style leadership in which status or authority control all decision-making is not in evidence in this school. In its place one sees more horizontal leadership in which teachers have hyphenated roles as teacher-staff developers, teacher-curriculum developers, teacher-assessors, teacher-leaders, etc. The principal guides and encourages, leading sometimes from behind (listening to the needs of teachers as expressed by teachers) and leading sometimes from in front (protecting what matters most).
The learning community at Cambridgeport School has contributed to improvement in student learning. Because the community is more focused and supportive, risks and hypotheses are more freely explored. Evidence of progress is seen in the narrowing of the achievement gap which exists in this diverse socio-economic setting. Focused studies of individual students assess multiple measures of success, building confidence and offering different entry points to learning.
Portfolios of student work and standardized measures validate effort and improvement.
The Linden School in Malden, a member of the New England Small Schools Network, has been in the process of restructuring itself into two small schools for the past year and a half. There are currently two schools housed in the same building; one school includes approximately 425 K-4 students and the other approximately the same number of students in grades 5-8. Each small school has its own principal and leadership team. A few of the important goals of this model include the building of more collaborative leadership, a school culture in which students feel known, an environment where families are truly engaged in the learning process and an increase in decision making at the individual school rather than at the district level.
All teachers in both the Linden Elementary and the Linden Middle School have agreed to receive training in the protocols of Critical Friends Groups (CFG) and to subsequently be a member of a CFG. These groups provide opportunities for all staff members to come together in regularly scheduled times to look at student work for the purpose of giving each other critical feedback on the work. The goal is improvement of both curriculum and instruction. The CFG also provide teachers the time and the privacy to discuss issues and dilemmas in a collegial atmosphere where they can receive feedback and assistance. Teachers courageously demonstrated these strategies at an evening for parents held at their schools and in a very public manner at a televised School Committee Meeting.
An important step in the development of learning communities at the Linden Elementary School and the Linden Middle School has been the willingness of the leadership of the Malden Education Association to work with the Linden Leadership Teams. The Association has agreed to schedule changes that provide additional release time each week in order for teachers to meet in their Critical Friends Groups. Providing time for teachers to collaborate is essential in the development and ongoing support of learning communities.
The importance of establishing professional learning communities in schools to improve student achievement is demonstrated by research. Richard DuFour, in his book Professional Learning Communities at Work: Best Practices for Enhancing Student Achievement, believes that learning communities are essential to improving schools and summarizes numerous studies as support. Newmann & Associates (1996) stress that if schools want to enhance their organizational capacity to boost student learning, they should work on building a professional community that is characterized by shared purpose, collaborative activity, and collective responsibility among staff.
In the third section of their report on Successful School Restructuring, Newmann and Wehlage (1995) cite the findings of their research into the classrooms of thousands of students in over a thousand schools in four studies:
These researchers found that the level of professional community in a school had significant effects on student achievement whether achievement was measured as authentic performance or tested in more conventional ways. They also note that achieving a powerful learning community is very difficult unless specific structural conditions are implemented including shared governance, collaboration, staff development, school autonomy, open communication and parent involvement.
Linda Darling-Hammond, in her book The Right to Learn, does an excellent job detailing the history of research on education that has features associated with schools where high student achievement is the norm. For example, Darling-Hammond cites several studies when she says “ a substantial body of research … showed that intellectually challenging curricula and inquiry-oriented teaching produced noticeable learning gains for students, especially in terms of their abilities to think critically and solve problems, their abilities to express themselves orally and in writing, their creativity, and their self-sufficiency as learners (for reviews see Dunkin & Biddle, 1974; Glass et al., 1977; Good & Brophy, 1986; Horwitz, 1979; Peterson, 1979).” (p. 32)
Darling-Hammond cites other research that characterizes the learning communities of schools that are successful. She elaborates on the structural features of these schools which include “a collective set of goals, commitments, and practices enacted throughout the school; small continual learning groups for students and teachers, shared governance coupled with teaching teams, time for teachers to collaborate and learn together, and a rich array of learning opportunities for all members of the school community (for reviews see Lee, Bryk, & Smith, 1993; Newman & Wehlage, 1995; Darling-Hammond, Ancess, & Falk, 1995; Murnane & Levy, 1996a).” (The Right to Learn, p. 150). Darling-Hammond goes on in her work to point out that teachers and administrators need to work very hard to cultivate learning communities; however, she has no doubt that the results for students, while legitimated by research, are not only achievable but essential if as a society we are going to be able to face the challenges the future holds for us.
Research indicates the strategies mentioned above can be successful at improving student achievement and that creating learning communities is a proven vehicle for helping teachers to understand, use and become skillful at those successful instructional strategies.
We have identified the characteristics of learning communities, looked at the research and highlighted successful examples, but the question remains "How do we get there from here?" Here are seven steps to take:
Schools have made major strides in professional development and have moved away from “sit and get” sessions in which relatively passive participants are “made aware” of the latest ideas and research regarding teaching and learning from so-called “experts.” Today, the majority of staff development programs are evolving to the next level of high-quality, job-embedded training with intensive follow-up and support. Study groups, action research and coaching are but a few examples of the kinds of activities which promote ongoing teacher growth. The toolkit below provides direction (1) for designing professional development experiences that ensure that educators acquire necessary knowledge and skills and (2) for professional development that is results-driven, standards-based, and job-embedded.
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A Toolkit for School District Professional Development. Mass Insight Education and Research Institute, Inc., under a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Education. Principal author: Marinel S. McGrath, Ed.D., Superintendent, Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District and contributing author, Juliette Avots, Mass Insight Education, Inc.
Darling-Hammond, L. (1997). The Right to learn. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Darling-Hammond, L., Ancess, J., & Falk, B. (1995). Authentic assessment in action: Studies of schools and students at work. New York: Teachers College Press.
Dufour, R, Eaker R.E., & Baker, R. (1998). Professional learning communities at work: Best practices for enhancing student achievement. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.
Dunkin, M., & Biddle, B. (1974). The Study of teaching. Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
Glass, G. V., Coulter, D., Hartley, S., Hearold, S., Kahl, S., Kalk, J., & Sherretz, L. (1977). Teacher indirectness and pupil achievement: An integration of findings. Boulder: Laboratory of Educational Research, University of Colorado.
Good, T.L., & Brophy, J.E. (1986). Educational Psychology (3rd ed.). White Plains, NY: Longman.
Guskey, T. (1999). Evaluating professional development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Horwitz, R.A. (1979). Effects Of The Open Classroom. In H.J. Walberg (Ed.), Educational environments and effects: Evaluation, policy and productivity (pp. 275-292). Berkeley, CA: McCutchan.
Lee, V.E., Bryk, A., & Smith, J.B. (1993). The Organization Of Effective Secondary Schools. In L. Darling-Hammond (Ed.), Review of research in education (Vol. 19, pp. 171-267). Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.
A Toolkit for school district professional development. (2003). Boston: Mass Insight Education and Research Institute, Inc.
Murnane, R.J., & Levy, F. (1966a). Teaching the new basic skills. New York: Free Press.
Newmann, F.M. & Associates (Ed.) (1996.) Authentic achievement: Restructuring schools for intellectual quality. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Newmann, F.M., & Wehlage, G. G. (1995). Successful school restructuring: A report to the public and educators by the Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools. Madison: Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System.
Peterson, P. (1979). Direct Instruction Reconsidered. In P. Peterson & H. Walberg (Eds.), Research on teaching: Concepts, findings, and implications (pp. 57-69). Berkeley, CA: McCutchan.
Senge, Peter, et al. (2000). Schools that learn: A Fifth Discipline fieldbook for educators, parents and everyone who cares about education. New York: Doubleday Dell.
Sparks, Dennis. (2002). Designing powerful professional development for teachers and principals. Oxford, OH: National Staff Development Council.
Stuart, L.F. (2003). Assessment in practice: A view from the school. Newton, MA: Teachers21
MASCD RESPONDSAs a professional organization committed to the improvement of education in Massachusetts, MASCD believes it is important for schools to develop a model for professional development that will lead to effective learning communities. MASCD continues to support the improvement of education through high quality programs and services to educators and schools that help teachers reflect on their practice, learn new skills and develop new programs to improve student performance. MASCD advocates for the implementation of strong professional development programs that provide teachers with the opportunity to engage in reflective practice. MASCD believes that the ideas presented in this issue of FOCUS should serve as the framework for implementing learning communities at the school and district level. |