Chapter 2: Creating a Professional Learning Community

For any teacher, especially new teachers like myself, building a community within the school that you are working in is extremely beneficial to success! Having the ability to talk over triumphs and struggles with others who can relate, offer strategies and provide insight, allow teachers to feel supported and encouraged. Within this connection within the teaching community, teachers can feel "isolated" and alone as middle school teacher, Jeff Whipple does from the text (25). 

Another important and useful resource for teachers to have within a school are "technology initiatives" which include "professional development along with hardware or software" so that teachers can acclimate to using new modes of communication, research and organization (25). I have witnessed technology in this fashion used in classrooms where I have student taught. Teachers are able to efficiently communicate, make memos, report behaviors/success/struggles, and make schedule changes so that everyone stays on the same page. In particular, I student taught in a classroom where teachers needed particular communication with their students' other teachers as they switched classrooms throughout the day. Keeping this open line of communication through the software they used, allowed them to share observations, strategies, successes and challenges of students with other teachers efficiently so that when the students returned to them, they knew where the student stood and how to go about teaching them individually for the rest of the day. It was amazing!

The idea of restructuring school to incorporate teacher collaboration within the school day is a wonderful idea! It is well known that teacher's work around the clock to ensure that they are providing their students with the learning experiences and opportunities they feel they need in order to succeed. Typically, this involves one teacher working by themselves to find new ideas, create new tools and implement all of the new strategies. Once they are done, although usually seeking advice and feedback, they are tired and want to return to the life they have outside of school, which makes getting together for collaboration with other teachers less than ideal, although many teachers manage to work it into their lives anyway. However, implementing collaboration within the school day allows teachers not only a resource to use in their future teachings, but ideas to incorporate right away into the current school day in an atmosphere that is supportive and encouraging. 

What's even greater about this collaboration, is that modeling it's practice benefits more than just the teachers- it shows the students how to collaborate with each other for immediate support, resources and success. This process perfectly ties into Project-Based Learning and what it seeks to accomplish with the use of team-building, work and cooperation.

Elise Mueller's story particularly hit home for me. I have been in classroom with tablets and laptops, and witnessed the teacher using only one program in one way to help students, instead of exploring the endless possibilities of the technology and despite the attempts of students to utilize it. As she explains, there is literally so much to be done, it's incomprehensible and limitless! Additionally, providing students with the opportunity and encouragement to utilize legitimate resources within technology will benefit them in their future endeavors. I think it's vital to take away that Elise met with other teachers to get their ideas of technology use to continue to build in her own classroom. Technology is constantly changing and evolving. Keeping up to date with new programs, and communicating with others to explore different opportunities using the technology is so important in utilizing it in appropriate, possible way. Why else would schools invest in the technology, if not to use it to it's full potential?

Finally, I loved that the chapter hit on assessing not only the ability of the teacher to collaborate with the students, but their ability and willingness to collaborate with other teachers. Knowing how to give feedback that is positive and critical can be extremely difficult for anyone. It is important to, as the authors explain, recognize the school as a "'learning organization" in which everyone works together to make this business, in this case, education better (30). By working together to accomplish a common goal, which is the success of students, is a wonderfully fulfilling and difficult journey that is both worthwhile and beneficial for everyone involved!