The purpose of this paper is to present how teachers build capacity within a learning community. Two participant researchers, acting as facilitators and co-teachers in an Ontario elementary public school literacy initiative, applied a learning community model for professional development to determine its impact on teachers’ capacity, and on students’ standardized test scores. Data collection included meeting notes from weekly modelling sessions and bi-weekly learning community meetings, field logs, reflection statements from teachers and principal, and documents (such as team-constructed lesson plans and lesson materials). Findings indicated that the use of a learning community to promote collaborative planning, sharing of effective or best practices for teaching, and modelling of literacy components, was valued by teachers. As well, the collaborative learning experience encouraged teachers to take on increasing responsibilities for planning and delivering lessons, promoting a cohesive learning situation for students, as indicated by significantly improved standardized test scores as measured by the Education Quality and Accountability Office Test (EQAO Test), and staff attitudes towards the use of the learning community, as a means of professional development.
Building a Teaching and Learning Community: A Blended Approach to Providing Support
