RSA#4 - Community Involvement

RSA#4 – Community Involvement

One of the major issues in Round Lake is community involvement in the school.  One example of this is the participation rate for our parent/teacher conferences; I had colleagues that did not have a single parent show up to inquire about their son or daughter.  Whatever we have been doing isn’t working, so what could be done?

One approach I found was the Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) model (Amendola, 2013).  The method involves bringing in people in the community to assist with the research and program in order to get better results.  This was a study linked to health issues in the Latino community; they have a higher rate of medical problems than the general population and are less likely to receive care for these issues.  This study used CBPR to try to increase medical treatment of Latino’s.   

They generally found that in order for research to be done with the community, they people doing the research need to be involved in the lives of those they are doing the research on.  This brings more buy-in from the community in achieving these goals.  Also, through this method solutions can be found for specific individuals who may not succeed in a one-size-fits-all approach (Amendola, 2013).

The take away from this as a teacher is that we need to be more involved in our students’ communities in order for their parents to be more involved in the school.

Another idea that would be interesting to get more community involvement would be to bring to students into the community rather than the other way around.  If we want students to contribute to society, we should get them out there in various forms like internships and jobs.  In a study by Dorow and Stack-Cutler (2012), they found that the best way to do this is to make sure the students voices are heard along with the community and receive support from the school in their involvement.  While this involves higher education, it could also work at the high school level.  In turn, the community may see the value of the school and become more engaged in what is happening there.

Amendola, M. G. (2013). Community-based participatory research with Hispanic/Latino leaders and members. The Qualitative Report, 18(Art. 11), 1-24. Retrieved from http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR18/amendola11.pdf

Dorow, S., Stack-Cutler, H. (2012). Student and Community Partner Expectations for Effective Community-Engaged Learning Partnerships. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 16(3), 103.  Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1001364.pdf

 

RSA3 - Online Learning Communities

Online Learning Communities.  When I first saw this term, I immediately thought of my first technology training session five years ago.  I always thought of Twitter as something for entertainment value or sharing news, but my instructor said that she used it as a problem-solving platform.  She went on to explain that if she ran into a problem at her job as a technology coordinator for her district, she would tweet her problem and that in that network she could get some answers.  This is the first time I saw the power of an online learning community.

An online learning community is defined as “a group of individuals who collaboratively engage in purposeful critical discourse and reflection to construct meaning and confirm mutual understanding” in an online environment (Garrison, 2007).  So how is this done online?  What are tools that can be used?

Well, this blog is one example of that.  We can comment and share what we learn with each other, especially if we are all committed to a specific purpose.  We can also use other methods such as discussion boards and social networking platforms to communicate with one another.

The most obvious advantage of an online learning community is that collaboration and sharing can take place regardless of location; this also means that the people in the community can be made to include those who have a particular interest that may be unique in the building (for example, AP European History teachers).

So what should this online learning community look like?  According to Garrison, et al., (2000) it should have three presences, the teaching, cognitive and social.  The teaching is necessary because there needs to be direction in the group, somewhere to go for instruction.  There should also be a cognitive presence, because it exists to learn, not to merely socialize.  But the social aspect is important, because interaction is important in any group; otherwise it doesn’t make sense to have a group.  If these three aspects work in harmony together, the members of the online learning community can flourish.

Garrison, D. (2007). Online Community of Inquiry Review: Social, Cognitive, and Teaching Presence Issues. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 11(1), 61-72.

Garrison, D., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000). Critical Inquiry in a Text-Based Environment: Computer Conferencing in Higher Education. The Internet and Higher Education 2(2-3): 87-105.

RSA#2 - Professional Development

When it comes to professional development, there is reluctance among teachers (social studies in particular) of engaging in it.  Part of it is that we tend to get contradictory instruction but also that we feel that it is a waste of time.  So what would work better?  

In order for professional development to be more effective, it is imperative that the training to be content-focused and coherent in instruction (“Teaching Teachers”, 2005).  Let’s start with content-specific.  The issue social studies teachers face is that their content is not tested, and therefore it is not relevant at all in the eyes of my school district.  Therefore, there isn’t much direction in content development and we are on our own.  It would be useful to have some leadership and direction.

So, what are we supposed to focus on instead?  Common Core seems like a good place to go. While it is a lighting rod issue, it isn't really all that different from what we are trying to get students to learn. The social studies department has been told to focus on the reading aspect of the test, which involves reading multiple documents on topics within the field.  But since the content could be virtually anything, it is important for students to acquire the skills. 

But since this is new, we should receive instruction in it, right?  Well, it turns out that most teachers have not received professional development in Common Core (Gerwitz, 2013).  Like in any new test or teaching strategy, there will obviously be some issues if it is not addressed.  But, even if professional development is given, it needs to be coherent (“Teaching Teachers”, 2005).  I have received one day of Common Core instruction and I am still confused as to what we are supposed to focus on.  We need more training in exactly how to teach students to read at a higher level, no matter what the test or teaching strategy is.

Gerwitz, C. (2013). Study: Many Teachers Need Common-Core Professional Development.  Retrieved from http://blogs.edweek.org.cucproxy.cuchicago.edu/edweek/curriculum/2013/08/many_teachers_need_common_core_professional_development.html?qs=professional+development

Teaching Teachers: Professional Development to Improve Student Achievement (2005). Research Points: Essential Information for Education Policy.  3(1), 1-4. Retrieved from http://blackboard.cuchicago.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1043267-dt-content-rid-4447018_2/courses/9058.201430/5801_ImportedContent_20130823075615/AERA_Teaching_Teachers.pdf