Creative Learning Community

Ideal learning place:

1. A special place - beauty, warmth, durability, inviting, social, culinary, useable buildings/teaching spaces with good acoustics, good storage space, resources managed and available (eg projection screens, net access, tools, materials),
2. Networked learning - connecting with people and information (Wheatley - systems), make outside experts available, utilise online communities, engage parents and local businesses
3. Community (Wheatley) - teamwork, shared vision, group skills, shared values, celebration, humility, 'cast not the first stone',
4. Reflection, encouraged, space for it, rythm of the seasons - expansion/contraction, room for dissent and alternate points of view. Critical and realistic, part of community life
5. Deep Learning (Bloom, Hattie) - move/expose students to experience the deepest/greatest ideas in science/art/mathematics/poetry/dance/living systems etc
6. Recognise and support Gifts & Talents (80% persperation, 10% talent, 10% mentor), everyone has gifts and tallents (Gardner). Inclusive.
7. Power and Freedom (and fun)(Glasser, Maslow, Adler, Frankl)
8. Creativity - prized, encouraged, demonstrated, celebrated, time/space/resources available for it, take risks
9. Transformation of the individual (requires power/freedom - Glasser), support social nature of learning - Scaffolding available (Vygotsky)
10. Transformation of school culture - teachers and students empowered, monitor health of system - academic results, cultural events, sport. Team action - critical reflection (what do we really want?), Entrepenuerial action (network key individuals, risk taking, plan/organised), reinforce core values, Action - Reflection cyclw

To be a good learning place it must include excellent teachers... ie they need to be fostered, rewarded, encouraged, poached, recognised, grown, mentored.

On a practical note: to be a good learning place there must be a solid infrastructure. Ie reliable financial/ it/ maintenance/ managerial support in place with the right balance between control and support. Within the leadership there also needs to be a balance of vision/growth and 'steady as she goes'. A delicate combination of 'benign dictatorship' with 'lasez-fair'. A dialogue between conserving/nurturing forces and expansion/creative forces. Not too much control and not too little - as appropriate.

links:

Soren Kaplan: http://www.learningcircuits.org/2002/aug2002/kaplan.html

Communities from a business angle, using online colaborative tools to facilitate.