Learning is the lifelong process of transforming information and experience into knowledge, skills, behaviours, and attitudes.
Purpose:
To explore and develop interests that we have in common through a groups internal direction, character and energy for the advancement of the groups understanding awareness and practice.
Meaningful learning starts from within. When we are intrinsically invested in our development there are no boundaries or time restraint to when learning occurs. When the motivation to learn comes from within we have identified a genuine gap between how we know our self and the world and how we want to know our self and the world.
The organic nature of these groups allows people freedom to invest themselves where they know they will benefit which means that their contribution and what they receive will be genuine, authentic and most importantly meaningful.
The natural learning process follows a simple structure. It starts with an interest, curiosity, criticism, goal, desire, need, want, passion etc. We then begin to ask questions which generally start broad, as we discover answers and make sense of the learning experience our questions become more refined and or connected to other interests and curiosities, from this we generate new meanings and new questions. This is natural, we do it all the time.
Another important aspect in this learning process is experimentation and reflection. Or DOING and then THINKING about what happened. If there is no doing that arises from these groups then there will be no experimentation. If there is no thinking about what happened there will be no evolution and refinement. Failure is an integral part of experimentation and a natural element of the learning process. Without failure there is no opportunity to improve and make new meaning of an experience.
Reflection is intertwined with the interest, question, answer process.
The group needs to begin by formulating an answer to this question:
How will we know when this group has achieved its purpose?
The answer to this question will have within it the questions that need to be investigated. For example. We will know we have achieved the groups purpose when we have… investigated some alternative educational theories and incorporated them in our class room teaching. This is a goal but within it are these questions:
What alternative educational theories exist?
Which ones are I interested in?
How do they work?
What makes them alternative?
If these are alternative why are our theories ‘normal’?
What do I have to change about myself to work them into my classroom?
What gets in the way of these theories working in our school systems?
After an experimentation we might ask:
Having a go at this has…
What personal, systemic, social, culture factors made this the way it was?
There are as many different questions to this goal as there are people who might read it.
That is the point, meaningful learning is personal, It is motivated by an individual need. For some of us we might become interested in another’s process and through our interest influence the development of the idea. Or, we may sit on the periphery of a group and ‘take in’ the conversation and exploration. It doesn’t matter. As long as we are engaged in a process of some sort that has begun with a personal interest or curiosity it will lead to something that will change who we are in this job.
In terms of effect. It is personally derived questions, personally designed experiments and personal reflection that will change our school.
An interesting point here is to draw a parable between ourselves and our students. When someone stands in front of us and says, ‘I’ve had a great idea, if we do this… then this… ‘. We say, Here we go again, what fad is it this time, how much time will this consume, can I fit it into all my other work, I wander if I can be bothered. This is a bit like our students experience. We give them the learning before they have asked a question that is significant to them. The ‘good’ students may have found a way to play the game to meet some of their needs directly or indirectly and go along with the idea, or, the idea may have connected with a genuine personal interest which gives it some relevance.
For most of us, we get on with the status quo because that is the mechanism that holds us in the balance between what we perceive to be expected of us and what we perceive ourselves to be capable of.
The ‘expected of’ originates from both internal and external perceptions, however its origin is located in our social, cultural, family and self reflected history. a personal desire to be different, to handle situations differently and from our ideas about what others expect of us. This os located in the cultural , social, and historical context of how we have come to ‘know’ If as a group we can discuss the origins of such expectations we critisise them and subject them to an evaluation of how well they meet our groups goal. The discussion of and reconciling the ‘expected ofs’ with our personal ontology is a necessary step toward a change of actions.
The ‘capable of’ is a delicately formed subjective analysis of the self in context. This is where we have lost the ability to experiment, take risks and learn from our failures. A child does not learn to walk by being told how to do it, most of the time ‘I do it my way ( as long as you are their to catch me)’ is what they do. In a way that is what we need to do for each other, be there to support, offer alternatives, encouragement, suggestions and most of all experience. If we can change either of these tensions we will change the essential nature of who we are.
Method:
Step 1
An initial brainstorm of our interest, curiosity, criticism, goal, desire, need, want, passion. They are each written on a piece of paper and posted on a notice board. When new interests are identified they are added to the board. Each interest needs to be connected with the KC’s, the new curriculum or the school vision in some way. Each interest needs to be identified with a person or group of people who will eventual be responsible for the forming, exploring and recording of the groups discussion and the outcomes.
Step 2
Every second meeting; a brief description of each groups process is presented and members choose where they will invest their energy or begin a new group. If a group concludes they share their group’s process and findings.
Step 3
Groups meet, identify the issue they wish to tackle, discuss, share, research, collaborate.
Guidelines:
Groups will meet every fortnightish??
If you feel like you are not contributing or gaining anything from being a member of a community, go and find another one or start a new one.
Every second meeting there will be a brief description of where each group is going so others can make choices about where to invest their interest.
A group will exist for as long as it is meeting the needs of the participants. When a group reaches its natural end the members disperse and join other groups or create new ones.
2 is the minimum, no maximum.
The person(s) who identified the issue and began the group are responsible for giving the group a name and recording findings and more importantly ways this affected the practice of members.
Group Name, Content, Discoveries, Affect, Evaluation.
Being a member of this group has….
The next question, Inquiry I have is….
Personal evaluations and finding are posted on a Blog site.
The conclusion of a group is not necessarily the end of the process, if a group feels like they need to reconvene for some reason it just goes back up on the board of issues.
Communities of Practice.
Learning is the lifelong process of transforming information and experience into knowledge, skills, behaviours, and attitudes.
Purpose:
To explore and develop interests that we have in common through a groups internal direction, character and energy for the advancement of the groups understanding awareness and practice.
Meaningful learning starts from within. When we are intrinsically invested in our development there are no boundaries or time restraint to when learning occurs. When the motivation to learn comes from within we have identified a genuine gap between how we know our self and the world and how we want to know our self and the world.
The organic nature of these groups allows people freedom to invest themselves where they know they will benefit which means that their contribution and what they receive will be genuine, authentic and most importantly meaningful.
The natural learning process follows a simple structure. It starts with an interest, curiosity, criticism, goal, desire, need, want, passion etc. We then begin to ask questions which generally start broad, as we discover answers and make sense of the learning experience our questions become more refined and or connected to other interests and curiosities, from this we generate new meanings and new questions. This is natural, we do it all the time.
Another important aspect in this learning process is experimentation and reflection. Or DOING and then THINKING about what happened. If there is no doing that arises from these groups then there will be no experimentation. If there is no thinking about what happened there will be no evolution and refinement. Failure is an integral part of experimentation and a natural element of the learning process. Without failure there is no opportunity to improve and make new meaning of an experience.
Reflection is intertwined with the interest, question, answer process.
The group needs to begin by formulating an answer to this question:
How will we know when this group has achieved its purpose?
The answer to this question will have within it the questions that need to be investigated. For example. We will know we have achieved the groups purpose when we have… investigated some alternative educational theories and incorporated them in our class room teaching. This is a goal but within it are these questions:
What alternative educational theories exist?
Which ones are I interested in?
How do they work?
What makes them alternative?
If these are alternative why are our theories ‘normal’?
What do I have to change about myself to work them into my classroom?
What gets in the way of these theories working in our school systems?
After an experimentation we might ask:
Having a go at this has…
What personal, systemic, social, culture factors made this the way it was?
There are as many different questions to this goal as there are people who might read it.
That is the point, meaningful learning is personal, It is motivated by an individual need. For some of us we might become interested in another’s process and through our interest influence the development of the idea. Or, we may sit on the periphery of a group and ‘take in’ the conversation and exploration. It doesn’t matter. As long as we are engaged in a process of some sort that has begun with a personal interest or curiosity it will lead to something that will change who we are in this job.
In terms of effect. It is personally derived questions, personally designed experiments and personal reflection that will change our school.
An interesting point here is to draw a parable between ourselves and our students. When someone stands in front of us and says, ‘I’ve had a great idea, if we do this… then this… ‘. We say, Here we go again, what fad is it this time, how much time will this consume, can I fit it into all my other work, I wander if I can be bothered. This is a bit like our students experience. We give them the learning before they have asked a question that is significant to them. The ‘good’ students may have found a way to play the game to meet some of their needs directly or indirectly and go along with the idea, or, the idea may have connected with a genuine personal interest which gives it some relevance.
For most of us, we get on with the status quo because that is the mechanism that holds us in the balance between what we perceive to be expected of us and what we perceive ourselves to be capable of.
The ‘expected of’ originates from both internal and external perceptions, however its origin is located in our social, cultural, family and self reflected history. a personal desire to be different, to handle situations differently and from our ideas about what others expect of us. This os located in the cultural , social, and historical context of how we have come to ‘know’ If as a group we can discuss the origins of such expectations we critisise them and subject them to an evaluation of how well they meet our groups goal. The discussion of and reconciling the ‘expected ofs’ with our personal ontology is a necessary step toward a change of actions.
The ‘capable of’ is a delicately formed subjective analysis of the self in context. This is where we have lost the ability to experiment, take risks and learn from our failures. A child does not learn to walk by being told how to do it, most of the time ‘I do it my way ( as long as you are their to catch me)’ is what they do. In a way that is what we need to do for each other, be there to support, offer alternatives, encouragement, suggestions and most of all experience. If we can change either of these tensions we will change the essential nature of who we are.
Method:
Step 1
An initial brainstorm of our interest, curiosity, criticism, goal, desire, need, want, passion. They are each written on a piece of paper and posted on a notice board. When new interests are identified they are added to the board. Each interest needs to be connected with the KC’s, the new curriculum or the school vision in some way. Each interest needs to be identified with a person or group of people who will eventual be responsible for the forming, exploring and recording of the groups discussion and the outcomes.
Step 2
Every second meeting; a brief description of each groups process is presented and members choose where they will invest their energy or begin a new group. If a group concludes they share their group’s process and findings.
Step 3
Groups meet, identify the issue they wish to tackle, discuss, share, research, collaborate.
Guidelines:
Groups will meet every fortnightish??
If you feel like you are not contributing or gaining anything from being a member of a community, go and find another one or start a new one.
Every second meeting there will be a brief description of where each group is going so others can make choices about where to invest their interest.
A group will exist for as long as it is meeting the needs of the participants. When a group reaches its natural end the members disperse and join other groups or create new ones.
2 is the minimum, no maximum.
The person(s) who identified the issue and began the group are responsible for giving the group a name and recording findings and more importantly ways this affected the practice of members.
Group Name, Content, Discoveries, Affect, Evaluation.
Being a member of this group has….
The next question, Inquiry I have is….
Personal evaluations and finding are posted on a Blog site.
The conclusion of a group is not necessarily the end of the process, if a group feels like they need to reconvene for some reason it just goes back up on the board of issues.
OK.