elearning reflections

Assessment Task 1: Learning Community

 

Learning Community

A learning community is a vibrant and active group of diverse people (of determinable size and culture), with a sense of belonging, who interact and collaborate towards a common goal according to a (often implicit) mutually agreed set of obligations, within a space (not necessarily geographic) that facilitates: social presence, sharing, reflecting, creating, and, ultimately, personal and socio-cultural transformation.

 

This definition of a learning community combines the characteristics of a community identified by Ife (2002) within a community development context; Palloff and Pratt (2005) in their work on online learning; and fellow EMT1 students (2009). It also incorporates the work on the nature of learning communities by Kilpatrick et al. (2003) and Garrison et al. (2000).

 

In order for a community to be a learning community, I propose that it must promote constructivist (Piaget, 1969) and transformative learning (Mezirow, 1981). Such learning occurs when we reflect, critically assess, and act on our experiences and knowledge, thereby constructing our own understanding of our selves and the world we live in. This process occurs within a socio-cultural context such that we learn through our interactions with others and the world around us (Saunders, 2008).

 

Seimens (2004, cited by Mason and Rennie, 2008, p. 19), however, suggests that the way we learn is developing beyond the above conceptualisations and is described more adequately by the theory of connectivity that sees “learning as a process of connecting specialised nodes or information sources”. Following the latter suggestion, an e-community, as a group of people connecting with each other through a range of platforms, would support learning through its inherent connectivity.

 

Selected Community

The Paulo and Nita Freire Project for Critical Pedagogy

 

My chosen Face Book e-community aims to promote research in the area of Critical Pedagogy (CP) and build a community of people, such as educators, who are committed to social justice in a range of cultural contexts. The community actively engages in dialogue about issues in the area of CP, as well as sharing personal and professional ideas and experiences. The community hosts the International Journal of Critical Pedagogy which is available to the public and to which members may submit work.

 

The Paulo and Nita Freire Project is open to anyone interested in learning and contributing to the area of CP and has a finite number of members, most of whom provide an extensive biography. There is great diversity in the community’s membership including professional background, academic interest, race, gender, and age.

 

The structure of the website includes information on the establishment and background of the community, its objectives and members; key people in the area of CP; resources including videos; events; and relevant links. The site also provides the opportunity to create content through guestbooks, blogs, forums, contribution of educational resources, journal articles, and a wiki.

 

Is it a learning community?

The Paulo and Nita Freire Project is a learning community because it is an active group of diverse people, who share the common goal of promoting social justice through education. Participation in the community occurs through an implicit agreement to an etiquette based on social justice (the community’s focus) and an expectation of contribution to dialogue.

 

The Face Book site around which the community revolves facilitates the active sharing and creation of knowledge in the area of CP. It’s online nature allows critical reflection to occur whilst and after contributing to the blogs, forums, guestbooks and the wiki – an aspect crucial to transformative learning.

 

Members of the community are able to have a social presence in the community through disclosure in the bios and the various platforms available for social interaction. The community has a culture that supports the sharing of feelings as evidenced by the sharing of emotion arising from the recent death of the community’s founder.

 

A crucial aspect of a learning community that is not immediately obvious with the Paulo and Nita Freire Project is personal or socio-cultural transformation. It is evident that there is an active sharing and creating of knowledge (which in itself involves change), but unlike more active e-communities like Getup the ultimate transformative outcomes of this community are not clear. I wonder if members experience change in their understanding and action in the world – does this transformation actively contribute towards social justice in their every day practice?

 

Value to my learning

Participation in the Freire Project will provide an opportunity to augment my learning in EMT1, as I will be an active member of an e-learning community that uses platforms that I am learning about in EMT1. This community uses technological tools such as a wiki, blogs, forums, a guestbook, and an e-journal that I can use for the facilitation of learning in my current position. As a member of the Freire community, I will experience and learn (Knowles et al., 2005) how such e-communities work and, thus, be able to assess it’s effectiveness at facilitating learning for future use. My membership will also enhance my development as a critical educator, as the community focuses on an aspect of teaching and learning which I am passionate about.

 

Expectations of a learner/participant

Ø     Respect and inclusion

Ø     To gain a sense of belonging and feel as a valued member of the community

Ø     To be bale to participate in discussion and make valuable contributions

Ø     To have social presence in the community

Ø     To learn more about Critical Pedagogy and be able to apply new knowledge and skills to my workplace practice

Ø     To meet other people committed to CP

Ø     To exchange ideas and receive feedback on my ideas and practice

 

 

References

 

EMT1 Students. 7-25 March 2009, What is a community?, Ning Forum, viewed 24 March 2009, http://utselearning2009.ning.com/forum/topics/what-is-a-community)

 

Ife, Jim. 2002, Community Development, edn 2, Pearson Education Australia, Frenchs Forest.

 

Kilpatrick, S., Barrett, M. & Jones, T. 2003, Defining Learning Communities, AARE Conference, http://www.aare.edu.au/03pap/jon03441.pdf.

 

Mason, Robin & Rennie, Frank. 2008, e-Learning and Social Networking Handbook, Routledge, New York.

 

Mezirow, J. 1981, A Critical Theory of Adult Learning and Education, Adult Education, 32(1), pp. 3-27.

 

Palloff, Rena, M. & Pratt, Keith. 2005, Collaborating Online: Learning Together in Community, Jossey-Bass, San Franscisco.

 

Piaget, J. 1969, The Mechanisms of Perception, Routledge Kegan Paul, New York.

 

Redmon, Petrea. & Lock, V., Jennifer. 2006, A flexible framework for online collaborative learning, The Internet and Higher Education, 9, pp. 267 – 276.

 

Saunders, S. 2008, ‘Social Psychology of Adult Learning’, in Athanasou, J. (ed.), Adult Educational Psychology, edn 2, Sense Publishers, Rotterdam, ch.3

 

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