Reading Reflection 2

1.  Discussion on the focus of Learning Communities.

The focus of Learning Communities is collaboration, teacher collaboration, student collaboration, teamwork in general is the main focus.  It allows teachers to share ideas and to give constructive criticism to each other about how to improve lessons and classroom management.

2. Discussion on the benefits of Learning Communities.

Some benefits of Learning Communities are being able to work with others in your field.  You're able to share your ideas with others and at the same time you gain ideas from them. Your students get the benefits of having more than one way to approach different learning strategies. Some other general benefits are teachers aren't so isolated, there's a shared responsibility and increased commitment to the mission.

3.Discussion on how Learning Communities affect teachers.

They give teachers the opportunity to collaborate on lesson plans, see what works and what doesn't, before you even get into the classroom. Some learning communities are given grants to work with, that gives them access to technology or working with schools from across the world. Other teachers feedback can help see what was previously overlooked in any given lesson plan. On the other hand learning communities take time that maybe not every teacher can afford.

4.Discussion on how Learning Communities affect students.

Students get the most benefits from learning communities because the focus is clearly on them. When you have learning communities in the school, not just the classroom it gives the students opportunities to work with other students who are maybe older or younger, who can give a different perspective. Being able to work well with others is a vital part of learning communities and life in general. This provides more student to student learning instead of teacher to student learning.

5.Discussion on  the components for shared vision in Learning communities.

Shared vision is important in learning communities but its not everything. the overall vision should look the same but how you get there can look very different to each person. in the chapter one teacher talked about respect being a highly important factor in any successful learning community and i completely agree. Colleagues don't have to agree on everything but i think they do have to respect others thoughts and ideas.

6. Discussion on how concepts in this chapter relate to your topic/project.

I think learning communities or in other words group work is very helpful in learning and sharing ideas. I know I work better in groups than by myself, I personally find it very helpful to bounce ideas off others and get their input if I'm stuck on something. For this upcoming project working with others is essential and I think the project can only benefit from sharing our ideas and working as a team to get it done effectively.