Lesson School as a Learning
5
Community
Learning Outcomes
Define school as a learning community
Describe community of practice
Explain School Learning Action Cells (SLAC):
Professional Learning Communities
Introduction
A school as a learning community is one in which all members acquire new ideas
and accept responsibility for making the institution work. All workers in school must
feel free that their insights are valued and taken into account in community life. In
addition, parents and students have to be seen as participants in the life of the school,
not simply recipients of services that the professionals deemed important. In this
lesson, you will be undertaking community practices and understanding School
Learning Action Cells (SLAC).
Activity
Model Analysis
Analyze the Hiatt-
Michael model on
the right side of this
box and answer the
analysis questions
below.
https://images.app.goo.gl/KnSH15sbs8r1zVRHA
Analysis
1. What did you understand about the Hiatt- Michael model as
illustrated above?
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2. Do you think the organization or the learning community is
dynamic? How?
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3. As an individual, how can you contribute to achieve the
desired outcomes of the learning community you belong?
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Abstraction
School as Learning Communities
The school must reflect the inherent characteristics of a community. The
goal of a school is student learning and when people come together to work
toward a common goal, a community is formed.
Essential Elements for a Learning Community (Hiatt-Michael, 2001)
1. A servant leader who performs as a guide and nurture. Encourages and
nurtures all members of the community to perform their ultimate capacity,
and supports the learning and uniqueness of each member, rather than saving
compliment for his or her efforts.
2. A shared moral purpose. It appeal to the common good of the learning
community and becomes the vital strength that binds together.
3. A sense of trust and respect among all members. The educational leader
must understand the qualities and lives of every member in the community
and its purpose. Members’ lives and work center on the accomplishment of
moral purpose, and in so doing, build trust and mutual respect.
4. An open environment for collaborative decision-making. It presents a
challenge to any leader who wants to move toward the concept of a learning
community. The learning environment must be open and flexible. Harnessing
experiences of all individuals eventually builds a network of systems
communication so that new ideas are quickly organized and easily adapted by
others desiring similar information or solutions.
The figure below define characteristics of learning communities,
representing different ways of defining the boundaries of a community
according to the study of West and Williams (2017).
https://images.app.goo.gl/FGYJu89vq3w6NP5J8
What is community of practice?
According to Etienne Wenger, the first person who coined the word
community of practice, that it is a group of people who share a passion for something
that they know how to do and who interact regularly to learn how to do it better. In
order to become successful, it requires members to be participatory and is essentially
lead by its members since it is their responsibilities to ensure that the community of
practice stays relevant, engaging and offers value to the domain of interest. In short,
we all learn in everyday life from the communities in which we find ourselves.
Characteristics of Communities in Practice (Wenger, 2011 as cited in ELRC, 2016)
Domain. Community members have a shared domain of interest,
competence and commitment that distinguishes them from others. This
shared domain creates common ground, inspires members to participate,
guides their learning, and gives meaning to their actions.
Community. Members pursue this interest through joint activities,
discussions, problem-solving opportunities, information sharing and
relationship building. The notion of a community creates the social fabric
for enabling collective learning. A strong community fosters interaction and
encourages a willingness to share ideas.
Practice. Community members are actual practitioners in this domain of
interest, and build a shared repertoire of resources and ideas that they take
back to their practice. While the domain provides the general area of
interest for the community, the practice is the specific focus around which
the community develops, shares and maintains its core of collective
knowledge.
School Learning Action Cells (SLAC): Professional Learning Communities
The Department of Education (DepEd) has implemented a policy on the
Learning Action Cell (LAC) as a Professional Development Strategy for
teachers. This policy helps the teacher to cooperate and resolve shared
challenges in the school.
In the DepEd, a Learning Action Cell is a group of teachers who engage in
collaborative learning sessions to solve shared challenges encountered in
the school facilitated by the school head or a designated LAC Leader.
LACs will become the school-based communities of practice that are
positive, caring, and safe spaces.
The Department of Education suggests that every teacher should properly
guided and equipped with the know-how of the learning process through
revisiting or reviewing some areas or concerned in performing the duties
and responsibilities of an effective and efficient teachers.
Organizing professional learning communities will aid teachers in the
construction of new knowledge about instruction as well as in revising
traditional beliefs and assumptions about education, community, teaching,
and learning to suit the present needs of learners (Little 2003).
A professional learning community, or PLC, is a group of educators that
meets regularly, shares expertise, and works collaboratively to improve
teaching skills and the academic performance of students.
Teachers should apply appropriate teaching strategies that best suit to the
specific learning objectives. Providing intellectual development of the
learners by providing various of assessments and teaching strategies makes
a significant role of a teacher.
You are recommended to read more the details and understand the Learning
Action Cells (LAC) kindly visit DepEd Order No. 35 s, 2016.
(https://www.deped.gov.ph/wpcontent/uploads/2016/06/DO_s2016_035.pdf)
Application
Interview teachers, master teachers and school
heads/administrators (any of them depending on the availability and
your access to them) with the following questions below and present
your output in the class during our synchronous schedule. You can
do it maybe in group of five or seven members each group.
1. What are the school takes to create linkages and harmonious relationships
with parents, guardians and other stakeholders?
2. How teachers establish and promote professional links with their
colleagues?
3. How school learning action cell (SLAC) sessions improve professional
relations and development?
Closure
Congratulations! You have successfully completed lesson 5. Indeed, you have
just taken a meaningful learning about school as a social system, school as a
community, and school as learning community.
To sum up, the lessons 4-5 highlights the following:
A school is a social system has its roles and functions of administration
while the system has a network of social interaction and relationship for it
to function.
The school is characterized by an interdependence of parts, clearly define
population, differentiated from its environment, a complex network of
social relationships and its own unique culture.
All members of the school should be encouraged to have a shared
commitment to the creation of the school community.
In a school as a learning community, each individual is worthwhile
participating the tasks, activities and responsibilities of the community.
Collaboration of each member of the school community is very important
to achieve the desired goals of an organization.
Teachers need to pursue professional development to develop the
knowledge and skills in order to address students' learning challenges.
