LEARNING COMMUNITIES
Schools that work with AIM build professional learning communities to
improve student performance. The six key design
elements of the AIM model form the basis of support for middle schools
as they utilize strategies proven to impact student performance for all
students.
Three key aspects of learning communities are introduced here:
A Focus on Student Achievement
Continuous Inquiry and Improvement
Respect for the Individual
* * *
A Focus on Student Achievement
The research identifies links between professional learning communities,
reflective practice, and student achievement. Both Cotton (1995) and Johnson
et al. (1999) found that effective, high-performing schools in both urban
and non-urban settings shared a number of common practices and characteristics
associated with professional learning communities, including clear planning
and learning goals and a focus on school improvement and student learning.
For more details, see "Theory and Research
that Supports AIM for Results."
Continuous Inquiry and Inprovement
Astuto, et al. (1993) proposed three related communities of learners:
1) the professional community of educators, 2) learning communities of
teachers and students (and among students) both within and outside the
classroom, and 3) the stakeholder community. Professional Learning
Communities: Communities of Continuous Inquiry and Improvement, by
Shirley Hord, focuses on a professional community of learners in which
the teachers and administrators in a school continuously seek and share
learning, and then act on their learning. The goal of their actions is
to enhance their effectiveness as professionals for the benefit of their
students. This learning community arrangement is also termed communities
of continuous inquiry and improvement and is especially appropriate in
denoting the work of Faculty Inquiry Teams.
Respect for the Individual
While the focus of the professional learning community is on the system
or group, it does not undermine the role of the individual in promoting
change. As Hall and Hord (1987) emphasized, organizations do not change-individuals
do. Other researchers agree that it is the individual who provides
the most effective route for accomplishing systemic change. Each teacher
and administrator's dedication to improving student achievement is paramount
for supporting systemic change within a school building.
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