anna raines, bethany mazjner, cassie shelling, elizabeth smidt, holly gibson & sarah bailey
TRANSCRIPT
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)
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
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’.
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].