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Building and Connecting Learning Communities
The Power of Networks for School Improvement
Edited by:
- Steven Katz - Director, Aporia Consulting Ltd. and Faculty Member, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto
- Lorna M. Earl - University of Toronto, Canada
- Sonia Ben Jaafar - Assistant to the Researcher in Residence, Ontario Ministry of Education, Ontario Ministry of Education
October 2009 | 136 pages | Corwin
Ideal for school leaders, teacher leaders, and superintendents leading district-level change, this book describes how separate professional learning communities can be purposefully linked across schools to create effective Networked Learning Communities (NLCs). Steven Katz, Lorna M. Earl, and Sonia Ben Jaafar demonstrate how NLCs can effectively engage schools in creating and sharing professional knowledge and develop the kind of deep and sustained changes that enhance student learning, engagement, and success.Based on the authorsÆ research and work with districts and schools in North America and England, the book defines NLCs, explains how they work, and leads readers in examining:The importance of having a clear, evidence-based focusCollaborative inquiry as a process that challenges thinking and practice and generates new learning for teachersThe role of formal and informal leaders in both professional learning communities and networked learning communitiesBuilding and Connecting Learning Communities demonstrates how to work together to create the conditions for focused professional learning for teachers and tackles the challenge of how to sustain the work of NLCs.
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
1. Why Networks? Why Now?
2. How Networked Learning Communities Work
3. Establishing a Clear and Defensible Focus
4. Collaborative Inquiry to Challenge Thinking and Practice
5. Leadership in Networked Professional Learning Communities
6. From Student Learning to Teacher Learning
7. Using the Network to Support Professional Learning for Leaders
8. Sustaining Networked Learning Communities
References
Index
"Taking your school from great to greater—to get there, this compelling book gives you tools to use with staff for reflecting on and refining your professional practices. It provides you and your team with effective options for taking learners to the next level of improvement."
Harrison Street Elementary School, Sunbury, OH
Used the following text:
Davis, J. A. (1985). The logic of causal order. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, Arizona State University - Tempe
September 26, 2011
