ES354 Learning Community

Model

Anna Raines, Bethany Mazjner, Cassie Shelling, Elizabeth Smidt, Holly Gibson &

Sarah Bailey

‘I believe that we educators hold in our hands the power to form, or deform, students’ souls, their sense of self and their relation to the world’

(Palmer 1999, p. 2)

NEIGHBOURHOOD

ROOF WINDOWS

ROADS

FRONT DOOR

FENCESGARDENPEOPLE

FOUNDATIONS

ARCHWAYS & WALLS

PILLARS & BEAMS

Foundations

‘Together, we are his house, built on the

foundation of the apostles and the prophets.

And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself’

(Ephesians 2:20, NLT).

Foundations

‘‘The essence of Christian education is

to enable students to think and act reflectively for

themselves, rather than just to respond to the

word or will of an authority figure’

(Knight, p. 246).

Foundations

. . .‘teachers facilitate learning by providing positive

learning environments that stimulate active, self-

directed learning’.

(Van Brummelen 2002, p 31).

Pillars & BeamsThere are 4 main pillars of our model that build and maintain learning communities:

1. Values: Love and respect Commitment Striving for excellence Inclusion/Well-being

2. (Curriculum and Assessment)

3. Mission of the School

4. Collaboration (relationships)

Walls & Archways

A Christian school’s curriculum must support holistic

education which aims to develop the head, heart and

hands academically, spiritually, emotionally, socially

and physically.

(Maitland 2011, ¶ 4)

Roof

Physical safety is prerequisite to emotional safety.

Emotional safety is prerequisite to learning.

Both are needed for productive learning

environments to built.

(Jensen & Kiley 2000, p. 184)

People

‘Supportive relationships are the heart of a community’

(Schaps 2003, p. 32)

People

Learning communities should encourage

‘respect for difference . . .

And absolute regard for the intrinsic worth of every individual’

(Shields 2004, p. 38)

Such communities should

‘develop these norms together, with openness and respect,

as they share their diverse perspectives’

(Shields 2004, p. 38)

Teachers

Teachers have a ‘responsibility to ensure that teacher effort

is distributed in proportion to the needs of all the pupils’

(Pollard 2008, p.160).

Teachers need to model love and respect for members of the

class, school and wider community so that students

understand what it means to love and truly embrace

differences. (Maitland 2011, ¶ 4).

Teacher-Student Relationship

Teachers are called to create an ‘open-space’ for

all students, within which there is no right

method used as the needs of each community

emerge according to the identity of the group

(Palmer 1997, p. 9-11).

Teacher-Student Relationship

The student-teacher relationships are developed mutually,

‘as teachers and students are called to work together for

the purpose of learning’ (Stronks & Blomberg, 1993).

In an inclusive learning community, the learning of each

member is considered equally important ‘and because

their needs are important, their needs are different’

(Dickens 2006, p. 12).

Garden

The teacher should ‘... ensure that the

classroom environment is comfortable and

welcoming-it should be best suited to the needs

of the students.

(Maitland, J 2011, ¶ 4).

Fences

The rules determined in the classroom can help

set the culture and atmosphere the teacher

wants for their classroom

(Woolfolk & Margetts 2007, p. 426).

Roads

The wider school community is important to

student learning, as it ‘helps student to view

themselves as part of a larger community’.

NEIGHBOURHOOD

God created people to live in community with one another.

(Young 2007, p. 299)

Christian school relationship with God must also be

acknowledged. (Young 2007, p. 310)

The Christian school community regularly reaffirms its

shared commitment to God.

(Stronks & Blomberg 1993, p. 67).

References

Frog Hollow 2011, Neighbourhood Services, graphic, http://www.froghollow.bc.ca/neighbourhood_sub3.html [Accessed 2 June 2011].

The Ultimate 2010, The Deed Is Done, graphic, http://teamfrisbee.blogspot.com/2010/05/deed-is-done.html [Accessed 2 June 2011].

Easterday, B 2005, From 2D To 3D In One Click With TurboCAD, graphic, http://www10.aeccafe.com/nbc/articles/view_weekly.php?section=magazine&articleid=259548&printerfriendly=1&interstitial_displayed=Yes [Accessed 2 June 2011].