Chapter 2

             It is wild to think that it was not all that long ago that the digital world blew up and grew into what it is today. To think of a time when there was no digital world, no internet, no cell phones, and no computers is even stranger for most people today. I think we can forget that also was not all that long ago. There have been many changes in the world and teachers and professionals all over have had to adjust to the ever-growing physical and digital worlds. Educators have had a lot of changes and growth in the years since technology came about. Each of the aspects of professional development is very important and plays a big part in the success of the overall system. Chapter two goes over Connected learning communities and the benefit of them in educational systems.

There are three aspects of professional development include the local community which would be a professional learning community (PLC), the global network which would be a personal learning network (PLN), and a bounded community which would be a community of practice (CoP). Professional learning communities are traditional school-based systems where the teachers and the administrators learn and work together to improve student success. Personal learning networks are, as the name implies, more personal. It is more focused on the individual and their search for information and resources as well as sharing that information. This will strengthen their professional growth and improve their knowledge. Personal learning networks can affect professional learning communities a great deal. A community of practice is a system that is comprised of collective inquiry and reflection that is focused on creating a group intelligence that is created over time through collective research and sharing. These communities are built by those who have the same interests and goals and collaborate regularly therefore gaining more understanding of the topic of interest. With technology, these communities are much bigger and have fewer limits. Each of these aspects is vital to the growth and success of educational systems. I see how this relates to social work in a lot of ways as well. Social workers must stay connected and share resources as well as grow personally. These are absolutely necessary for a successful social worker.

 

Research supports these aspects of professional development and there is much to say about those who incorporate all three aspects into their educational systems. Educational systems that do follow these three aspects have high-functioning learning communities. In support of this Knapp, McCaffrey, and Swanson state, “Researchers have found that instructional capacity is improved when professional development for educators is ongoing, embedded within the context of particular learning situations, and based on collaborative, inquiry-based learning.” (Knapp, McCaffrey, & Swanson, 2003; Senge, 1990a). The United States Department of Education has also seen the benefit of a more global and connected learning approach. This type of learning approach is evidence-based and has been practiced by various countries including Norway, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States. Those who participate in connected learning communities are more aware of not only themselves but also those they are connected with. This new and very effective method can be hard for some teachers to adopt because it can be uncomfortable for them to open up to others. Once involved and they see others opening up, it may become more comfortable for them to do the same and start to grow more professionally. Connected learning communities also support diversity and various insights from various cultures. There is so much to support this approach to learning communities. I think this approach applies to many fields and it most definitely applies to social workers.