LESSON 9

ENGAGING IN A COMMUNITY OF LEARNING (COL)

Overview:
This lesson aims student to translate their TPACK to appropriate
instructional materials for their unit plans applying the principles of universal
design for learning (UDL).

Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this lesson, the students can:
1. engage in a community of learning for mathematics teachers and learners;
2. design a collaborative activity using appropriate technology tools; and
3. showcase learning plans integrating all the necessary and appropriate ICT
tools for Mathematics teaching and learning.

Materials Needed:
• Module
• Internet Connection
• Smartphone/Laptop
• LMS
• FB Group Chat
• YouTube Videos

Duration: 30 hours

Learning Content:
To be able to apply the principles and concepts of collaboration among
English learning communities, do the following tasks as preliminary activity for
this lesson.
Step 1: Community
Ask students to group themselves and make a word cloud for
COMMUNITY. They can create this online (e.g.,
http://www.edudemic.com/wordcloud-generators/) or they can just create using
recycled bond paper or Manila paper, if there is no net access. They can also use
the following applications for this exercise:
a. Wordsalad
b. Wordle
c. WordArt

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 d. Wordables
e. WornCram
f. WordItOut

Step 2: Presentation
Let them present their work to another two groups.

Step 3: Processing
Process the activity by asking the common words generated for the word
given. Facilitate a synthesis of generating their working definition of online
community. Let students work in pairs and browse the net and find online
communities for mathematics or science teachers. Using a checklist (to be
created) for evaluating an online community, allow ample time for them to find out
relevant communities. Let them share at least two that they have reviewed and
justify why they recommend such sites.

Functions and Features of Communities of Learning (COLs)

No man is an island. This maybe is a cliche, but it will always remain to be

true and useful for the attainment of any work goals. With the demands of the 21 st
Century classrooms and workplaces, the need to have a community to help you
achieve your teaching and learning goals is of prime importance. After all, "it
takes a village of educate a child" is undoubtedly true.

This need is directed to the development. of Communities of Learning or

COLs. A Community of Learning is a group of education and training providers
working together to help learners achieve their full potential. Each Community of
Learning sets shared goals or achievement challenges based particular needs of
its children and youths. The Community of learning works with students, their,
parents, and communities to achieve those challenges. By collaborating and
sharing expertise, students’ learning pathway are supported and their transition
through the education proven by research. This approach also provides more
opportunities for parents, families and communities to be involved with their
children and young people's learning (Ako, 2020).

IGI Global (2020) cited the following descriptions and concepts of COLs
taken from various sources:

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 1. The collection of participants in a course who work cooperatively and
collaboratively in solving tasks that lead to consensus and collective
understanding of ideas.

2. A community of learners "can be defined as a group of people who share

values and beliefs and who actively engage in learning from one
anotherlearners from teachers, teachers from learners, and learners from
learners. They thus create a learning-centered environment in which
students and educators are actively and intentionally constructing
knowledge together. Learning communities are connected, cooperative,
and supportive. Peers are interdependent in that they have joint
responsibility for learning and share resources and points of view, while
sustaining a mutually respectful and cohesive environment."
3. Defined as a group of people who share values and beliefs and who are
actively engaged in learning from one another.
4. A group of people who: 1) share a joint enterprise that is understood and
continually negotiated by its members, 2) have a mutual engagement that
binds members together into a social entity, and 3) have created a shared
repertoire of communal responses (ways of thinking, being, and doing)
that members have developed over time.
5. Group of teachers who are actively engaged in collectively constructing
meaning.
6. A group of learners on the edge of new learning and under continuous
reflection, the new community learning comes in various shapes and
sizes; it is not one size fits all mentality.
7. This term is an overarching understanding of the group of students, also
including the instructional facilitator, who come together with the intention
to learn information while also supporting the larger group's instructional
understandings and efforts. This terra reflects a philosophical
understanding, that learning is not a singular activity but, instead, is a
socially supported effort.
8. A place where student learners are made to feel that their prior knowledge,
the knowledge that they are acquiring, and the skills that they are learning
to acquire future knowledge are all tied together

Learning Activities:

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 To be able to benefit from existing and free COLs. Do the following
activities:
Step 1: Literature Review
With a group of two to three members, search for at least 3-5 peer-
reviewed research articles (e.g. from EBSCO) that talk about the effectiveness of
being a member of COLA

Step 2: Sharing
Take note of the findings of the literatures read and present these through
a presentation software. Highlight the key points from the presentations and
synthesize by asking them how COLs can help in the professional development
of teacher.

Step 3: Exploring Free COLs

Look for free COLs in mathematics or science teaching and learning
where you can sign up. After signing up, participate in the discussions or any
activities in the COL and share the results of your experience to the whole class.
After which consider going back again to your learning plan and analyze how you
may maximize or use this COL that you explored.

References:
Books
Spique, F. P., & Silva, D. (2021) Technology for Teaching and Learning 2.
LORIMAR Publishing.

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