by Dr. Anne Davies

Learning to make assessment work is an ongoing task for us as teachers. Keeping ourselves learning and on track can be a challenge in our busy lives. One approach teachers find helpful is to be part of a group of people learning together. There are many names for this. I like to call it a learning circle. I learn from the people I talk with and they learn from me.

When we learn together, we share experiences that help us understand our thinking. This helps us to grow and learn at our own pace. Sometimes a group provides the support we need to take risks. Other times it prevents us from leaping without a parachute.

Your Learning Circle

You probably already belong to a learning circle. We are learning when we talk with others about what we are trying, when we share books that are helping us learn, and when we call someone to share a success or get advice. We know that sometimes we need to learn by ourselves and sometimes we need to learn with others. Sometimes other people help us realize what we know and what we want to learn more about.

Learning circles cannot be mandated. They arise out of common interests and a willingness to extend friendship to others. They last as long as they work, coming in and out of existence as people form questions and answer them. They are circles of friends, or soon-to-be friends, learning together.

Teachers as Learners and Researchers

To work, learning circles must be implemented in ways that are respectful of teachers as learners. When participants are invited to be involved and when they choose what and how they are going to learn, the power of their learning can be astonishing.

When potential participants choose not to accept the invitation to be involved in learning about and researching classroom assessment, get curious. It is important to trust learners - perhaps they need to learn about something else before they will be ready. They may have helpful suggestions to improve the process you are suggesting. A different process might support learning and involvement for more people.

We need to remember that we all learn in different ways and at different times. When we treat our colleagues with as much respect as we try to treat children, and when we provide a variety of learning experiences, we begin to build a safe learning environment. Ask them what kind of support they need to meet their professional goals. Unless adults feel safe enough to take the risks necessary to learn, change will never happen. Go slowly.

Guidelines to Consider

Here are some guidelines that might help you form a learning circle.

Start Small

Start with a few people you think might be interested in learning more about supporting student learning through assessment. Draw up a list of people and call them to arrange a time to get together for a first gathering. If you can only find one other person, that is fine. As time passes, you will find other kindred spirits to join you.

Your learning circle can begin by sharing favourite assessment resources or by having participants tell their own stories. Invite participants to describe incidents that caused them to become interested in improving classroom assessment for their students. Listen to each other and ask questions. Find out if there are common threads of experience. Look for possible common interests within the field of classroom assessment.

Get Organized Together

Acting as the leader of the business part of the first gathering, explain your vision for the group. Briefly touch on the following issues:

• Why you want to start a group
• What the group might do or accomplish
• Whether it will be more like a book club, a time to share successful classroom assessment ideas, or a combination of both
• Whether or not you are going to use a book as a study guide
• Where and how often the group might meet
• How each gathering could proceed and be organized

After you share your ideas, ask participants to share theirs. Feel your way, through conversation, toward a final agreement on these issues. Avoid being overly ambitious. The more obligations you put on yourselves, the more likely they will not be fulfilled. Consider meeting once a month rather than bi-weekly. Consider skipping particularly busy months.

Share Responsibility

Each meeting should be conducted by someone who's been designated in advance. This might be the group leader, the person hosting the meeting, or a volunteer. The organizer needs to make sure everyone is reminded about the upcoming meeting and must be prepared to devise alternative plans if something needs to be rearranged. Someone will also need to agree to keep the meeting on track by ensuring that everyone has a chance to contribute and that an agreed-upon structure is followed.

(C) Copyright -- Anne Davies

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