Running Head: COMMUNITY OF LEARNERS

Community of Learners

Week Two Assignment

Nermin H. Fialkowski

National University

AIL-620 Learner Literacy

Dr. Rebecca Hedricks

August 17th, 2018

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Community of Learners Defined

A community of learners is the inclusion of a variety of learning styles. These learning

styles include: Activist, Reflector, Theorist, and Pragmatist (Honey & Mumford, 2006). The

focus of this community is to help each other grow and foster life-long learning. Having a wide

range of learning styles exposes students to different points-of-view, allowing them to go outside

of their comfort zone. Within a community of learners, the focus is placed on the students

instead of the teacher. Through reverse mentoring, students act as tutors for other students (Core

Education, 2010). Students are actively engaging in the material in order to have a better

understanding of the content, then relaying this information to their peers. A community of

learners also holds students responsible for their own learning.

To build a community of learners, there must be strong foundational core values that

promote a positive learning environment. My community of learners’ core values would be The

Four C’s: commitment, control, cooperation, and communication (DASH DC, 2013).

Commitment is the understanding that the community of learners is there to help support

students, but students must trust the process. Control provides structure to the community; it is

the set of rules that run the community. Ultimately, control means following through with the

other remaining C core values. Cooperation is fundamental to running a community of learners.

Without cooperation, there would be no community of learners. To cooperate is to work

together, and without togetherness there is no community. Lastly, students will effectively

communicate their feelings and work. Students will communicate the positive traits of their

personality.
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Building A Community of Learners

Above, I described that I would build my community of learners based off the fundamental core

values of The Four C’s. Erik Jinks agrees that The Four C’s are important attributes for building

a community in the classroom. Erik questioned as to how I would teach and demonstrate these

attributes along with what strategies I would use to get students comfortable. The best way to

demonstrate these attributes to students is through modeling. As the teacher, I need to model the

student expectations for a community of learners. As the teacher, I need to communicate clear

and concise expectations. As the teacher, I need to model cooperation amongst a group of a

community of learners, and maintain control. In order for students to be committed to the idea of

a community of learners, they must have buy-in into the idea and believe it’s mission. To

accomplish this, I will have students learn about different learning styles and discover their own

personal learning style. We will discuss that all learning styles have strengths and weaknesses,

but when working together as a community of learners, each learning style helps one another.

Ashley Kates does something similar in her classroom when building a community of

learners. Since Ashley teaches Kindergarten, she sends home a questionnaire for the parents to

fill out that focuses on their student’s learning, activities, and academics. These questions

include: “What are your child’s passions?” “Does your child participate in enrichment activities

like T-Ball, dance, gymnastics, etc.?” “Does your child like to read?” “Did you child attend pre-

school?”

Regardless of the grade level, the first step in building a community of learners is the

same; understand each individual student as a learner. Understand their strengths and

weaknesses. With this information, a community of learners can be constructed to include a

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variety of different types of learners. Within this community of learners each student will have

an individual role that contributes to the group as a whole.

Group Roles

To provide structure to the community of learners, students are given group roles. When

working in small groups, students are assigned group roles to help contribute to the learning

process. There are four main group roles, facilitator, resource manager, recorder/reporter, and

task manager. Both Brandon Nguyen and I use group roles in our classrooms. The purpose of

working in small groups is for students to become active participants of their learning. In these

groups students are able to “discuss, share ideas, and articulate their thinking” (“Using Team

Roles,” n.d.). Additionally, students are able to “make connections to different ideas through

their communication with [other] students who see things differently, and are encouraged by

their peers to put their ideas into word” (“Using Team Roles,” n.d.).

My fellow classmates, Wesley Callan and Mary Danna also value group work. Wesley

values students’ needs of being able to work in groups. Students need the opportunity to give

and receive feedback from their peers, in addition to asking and receiving specific feedback.

These group interactions provide students with moments of validation and motivation. Although

Mary Danna does not explicitly use group roles in her science class, she does have students work

in groups for their experiments, and has noticed that it provides her students with a positive

social-emotional learning environment.

Student Centered Classrooms

For today’s students in the 21st Century, “teachers and educators must embrace the

students of today and reimagine tomorrow” (TedxTalks, 2015). In order to achieve this, there

must be a paradigm shift within the classroom, where teachers release their power. The focus in
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the classroom should be placed on a community of learners, where students become the main

source of knowledge. When teachers embrace student knowledge, students embrace their

learning (TedxTalks, 2015). Kayla Delzer also mentions that teachers do not need to master

everything before handing it off to the students. The emphasize should be on students learning,

and in order to do so, we must provide them with the opportunities to learn.

Doyle and Zakrajsek describe student center classrooms as Learner-Centered Teaching

(LCT). The purpose of a LCT model is for students to do as much of the work as possible. The

more work that the brain does, the more connections that are made in brain, and these additional

connections increase the probability of forming permanent memories (Dolye & Zakrajsek, 2013).

Ultimately, if teachers and educators are going to be successful and effective in this paradigm

shift, they need to learn how to become more critically reflective in their actions (Core

Education, 2010).

Reflector Learning Style

As a Reflector, I like to collect as much data as possible and thoroughly analyze that data

before reaching a conclusion. This thorough analysis also includes considering all possible

outcomes and scenarios before initiating a plan. I am able to use my Reflector learning style to

my benefit when I plan for my classes. Through backwards planning, I first analyze each lesson

objective, then create my assessment. These two steps happen prior to the actual planning of my

instruction. Knowing all of the lesson objectives ahead of time allows me to plan my instruction

efficiently. Since I already know what the expected outcome is (assessment), I am able to stay

focused with the task at hand. After the lessons for each unit are covered, the assessment is

administered to the students. The assessment is then graded and analyzed. The data from the

assessment informs me of which lesson objectives have and have not been met. These results
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then guide my next instructional steps, to either re-teach or move on to the next section. At each

new section, individual lesson objectives are reviewed then complied into an assessment. The

cycle of data collection and analysis is then repeated.

Brandon and Erik are also Reflectors. One common theme that can be seen in our

Reflector classrooms is the idea that mistakes are okay, there is always an opportunity to learn

from them and grow. Brandon takes a student’s work that demonstrates a common mistake and

shows it to the entire class. Students then discus the errors in the work. The purpose of this

activity is for students to understand that making mistakes is the first step to learning. It also

creates a supportive and equitable environment. Erik understands that in order for students to

feel comfortable with making mistakes and errors, the classroom must be a safe place to do so.

The three of us also provide students with various opportunities to reflect on their thinking and

learning throughout the lessons.

Social-Emotional Learning

I learned from Erik that in order to build a community of learners with an at-risk

population, Social-Emotional Learning and Teaching is crucial in the classroom. Along with the

importance of making sure students feel safe and welcomed. Because if students’ basic needs

are not being met, their minds will not be open to learning. I agree with Erik on the importance

of addressing students’ basic needs. Students needs are expressed in Maslow’s Hierarchy of

Needs. The bottom, and most important component is Basic Needs, which is comprised of

Physiological and Safety Needs. The next block is composed of the Psychological Needs of

Belongingness and Love, and Esteem Needs (McLeod, 2018). In addition to meeting those

needs of our community of learners in the classroom, I believe that the school as a whole must
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work in meeting students’ Physiological and Safety Needs, so that they have an environment in

which they can thrive in.

Richard Davidson exclaims that “social-emotional learning changes the brain!” The

brain is built to change in response to experience, good and bad (Edutopia, 2010). As teachers, it

is our responsibility to promote positive experiences by cultivating healthy social-emotional

habits, since social-emotional learning can change brain function and structure (Edutopia, 2010).

One way to foster social-emotional learning is through The Power of Yet. The Power of Yet

focuses on how students cope with challenges and difficulty, in which they understand that their

abilities can be developed. To develop students’ abilities, praise should be on effort and

improvement, over intelligence or talent. When rewarding effort, strategy and progress, students

become more engaged and ultimately learn perseverance (TedxTalks, 2014).

Building Relationships

Forming relationships with students is an essential component in building a community

of learners. As curriculums change, laws change, and standards change, one thing remains

constant, relationships between students and passionate teachers. For these relationships will

always be the foundation of a successful classroom (TedxTalks, 2015). It is important to know

who our students are as individuals. Not only to teach to their learning style, but to teach to them

as a whole. “If I’m going to push my students towards their dreams and their purpose in life,

I’ve got to get to know who they are. So I have to spend time with them” (TED, 2015).

Students’ social-emotional needs of being valued and appreciated, need to be met so that

students can be receptive to the content material.

Ashley and I build relationships with our students by asking them various questions

throughout the week. Ashely asks her kindergarten class a question each morning while taking
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attendance. I ask my high school students a question every time I come around to check off

homework (which is not daily). My questions range from favorite color, to favorite movie, to

best unlikely food pairing. I enjoying doing this small activity with my students because I get to

know my students outside of the math classroom. Mary creates connections with her students by

placing a focus on ice breakers during the first week of school. It is a great way for everyone to

get to know each other, student-to-student and student-to-teacher. Mary also has students bring a

picture of themselves and pin it on her world map with a country that they feel a connection

with. Whether it be a place they have visited or would like to, a culture or tradition they admire,

so simply enjoy the food. The purpose of the world map is for students to feel a sense of

community. Additionally, Ashely has her young students bring in a family photo and has them

present to the class.

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References

Core Education. (2010, March 23). Changing Roles of Teachers and Learners. [Video file].

Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/nuYWUPirkqQ

DASH DC. (2013, April 5). Community of Learners 2013: South Wellington School

[Video file]. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/Te-di7uAqXU

Doyle, T., & Zakrajsek, T. (2013). The New Science of Learning. Sterling, VA: Stylus

Publishing, LLC.

Edutopia. (2010, July 19). The Heart-Brain Connection: The Neuroscience of Social,

Emotional, and Academic Learning. [Video file]. Retrieved from:

https://youtu.be/o9fVvsR-CqM

TED. (2015, June 5). Linda Cliatt-Wayman: How to Fix a Broken School? Lead Fearlessly,

Love Hard. [Video file]. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/Xe2nlti47kA

TedxTalks. (2014, September 12). The Power of Yet, Carol S Dweck, TEDxNorrköping. [Video

file]. Retrieved from: https://youtu.be/J-swZaKN2Ic

TedxTalks. (2015, October 13). Reimagining Classrooms: Teachers as Learners and Students

as Leaders, Kayla Delzer, TEDxFargo. [Video file]. Retrieved from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6vVXmwYvgs

McLeod, S.A. (2018). Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Retrieved from:

https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

Using Team Roles. (n.d.). College Preparatory Mathematics. [PDF file]. Retrieved from:

https://pdfs.cpm.org/studyTeam/Using_Team_Roles_with_Study_Teams.pdf