Building a learning community: students and adults as inquirers.

Graves (1992) defines a learning community as "an inherently cooperative, cohesive, and self reflective group entity whose members work ... toward common goals while respecting a variety of perspectives, values and life styles" (p. 94). Over the last decade, education reform movements have emphasized the importance of establishing such communities of learners (Collier, 2002; Kohn, 1999; Oberg, 1999).

While such communities are student-centered, they also benefit the adult members in many ways (Sergiovanni, 1994). Just as important, they challenge conventional notions of schooling in society. In traditional models, curriculum frequently comes from textbooks and from school and state curriculum guides. In short, it has been something that "experts outside the classroom develop, teachers implement, and students receive" (Short & Burke, 1991, p. 3).

In learning communities, however, shaping the learning experience becomes a shared process as adults and students work together through negotiation. The instructor brings experiences and understanding about learning and about students. Students, in turn, bring their own interests and experiences.

This article identifies critical features of learning communities and presents highlights from community-building experiences in a Hawaii kindergarten classroom. Insights gleaned from the experience and implications for further efforts also are shared.

Essential Features of Learning Communities

Embedded in the notion of learning communities is the constructivist learning theory, which embraces the learner's point of view (Garmston & Wellman, 1995; Hancock, 1997). That is, communities are built on an understanding that students learn by actively constructing, rather than simply acquiring, knowledge. Critical features include the following:

* The focus is on the process of learning, rather than on mastering isolated skills. According to Harste (1994), it is an interactive curriculum wherein prior knowledge is valued and new perspectives are sought.

* Learning is viewed as a social experience, with opportunities for cooperative problem solving. Students communicate with other students and with their teachers about their learning tasks and about new ideas. They also interact with other staff members in the school and with resource people in the community, enhancing their curriculum studies with information that extends beyond the classroom (Oberg, 1999).

* Engagement involves wrestling with real-life problems. Students are treated as investigators who initiate their own learning and ask their own questions, rather than waiting for teachers to ask them (Oberg, 1999). By doing this, students discover fresh learning opportunities, see relationships, and build new knowledge.

* Learning is a demonstrated performance. Perkins and Blythe (1994) state that students must be able to show understanding through such acts as explaining, creating analogies, and generalizing.

* Students have access to diverse resources. The environment is open and flexible, enabling them to collect information from the library, classroom, and community, and through technology and the Internet (Pappas, 2000).

* Assessment is continuous and in context. Time for reflection is an integral part of the process. Both students and adults are engaged in this critical activity to improve both learning and teaching (DuVall, 2001).

* Roles for the instructors shift back and forth from "planning to facilitating the learning process rather than telling what factual and conceptual information has been learned" (Hester, 1994, p. 125). Adults still ask questions, but they are doing so to arouse curiosity or to stretch students in their thinking.

Figure 1 summarizes the paradigm shifts reflected in traditional and community-focused models of learning.

Building a Community

In 1999, three agencies in Hawaii collaborated on the Hawaii Partnerships Project, which targeted school teams designing and implementing inquiry-based instruction (Harada, 2001). The sponsoring organizations were the Hawaii Association of School Librarians, the Hawaii Department of Education, and the University of Hawaii.

As participants in this project, the librarian and a teacher at Waikele Elementary focused on creating an inquiry experience for their kindergarten students. They saw this as a rich opportunity to develop their own action research, centering on the following questions:

* How is a learning community established?

* How is it nurtured?

* How do students and instructors behave in such a community?

How It Began. Kathy Souza, the teacher, seized an opportunity when students discovered a strange bug on the playground. Curious and excited, the youngsters huddled around Souza and the bug, all shouting advice at once:

"Kill it, kill it! It might be dangerous."

"No, no, don't kill it!"

"Ohh, it might hurt you. Be careful."

Souza captured the bug in a jar and brought it into the classroom. She used this event as a teachable moment and solicited student comments on handling unknown bugs. This process led to an essential question, "What should we know about this bug?" Students generated other related questions, including: "What kind of bug is it?" "Does it bite?" "Is it poisonous?" "Where can we find out?" Souza immediately informed Debora Lum, the librarian, that a study was underway. They agreed to work as a team throughout the project.

Three children volunteered to head the mystery bug investigation and arranged to meet with the librarian. With Lum's assistance, the students examined the library's collection of books about bugs in Hawaii. They found no mention of their bug. Where should they go next?

Developing the Inquiry. Lum asked the students if they wanted to consult a "bug expert." They were enthusiastic about the idea. She located an entomologist at the local department of agriculture who was willing to participate; Souza helped the children photograph the bug, using a digital camera, and draft the following E-mail to the entomologist:

Der Mr. Kumashiro:

We fownd a bug on the sidwok at or school. It is red and black. It has 2 antennae and small squares on its back. Kan you hlp us? We want to no if this bug is dangris and if it pichas and what it can do. Can you tell us its name too?

From kaya and mark and westin

They were delighted when Kumashiro responded with vital information regarding the bug. He told them it was called an assassin bug and that it ate small insects, like cockroaches, using its mouth like a sharp needle to pierce the insects and suck out their juices. He also noted that it could bite people. In addition, Lum found information on a CD-ROM that described the bug as a bloodsucking, cone-nosed insect. The students eventually found a photo of the insect on the Internet.

As their body of information grew, the young investigators shared their newly uncovered facts with their classmates and their teacher all of the students saw the bug magnified under a Canon Visualizer and used their powers of observation to render accurate drawings of the insect. With Souza's guidance, the students critiqued their peers' drawings in terms of color, shape, and position of the legs.

Expanding the Community Network. The investigative trio also had to think about how they might communicate their valuable information to people beyond the classroom. At first, they suggested using posters. Souza then asked if they might want to report their findings on the school's closed circuit television program. The youngsters had not considered this possibility before and jumped at the chance to be the first in their class to be videotaped.

At this point, the teacher and librarian enlisted the assistance of the school's technology coordinator, Gordon Wong, and the video adviser, Ben Meyer. They met as a team with the students over a three-week period.

Synthesizing the Information. The first step in making the videotape was brainstorming the content. The students contributed the following possibilities:

* Where you might find the bug.

* Look out for the bug.

* Don't touch the bug because it can bite you.

* Let it go? Watch out? Walk away from it.

* What it is called.

* The bug eats cockroaches.

After some discussion with the adult members of the team, the students wrestled with "What should we say first? Second?" They created the following tentative outline:

* Introduce ourselves.

* How we found the bug.

* How to be safe.

* How we got the information.

Students then proceeded to flesh out their outline:

* How we found the bug.

* We found the bug on the sidewalk near Hale Aloalo

(Hawaiian name for one of the classroom buildings).

* Mrs. Souza used a container to catch the bug.

* We show a picture of the bug.

* We tell the name of the bug.

* How to be sale.

* We learned this bug can bite and can be anywhere.

* If you see one of these bugs, don't pick it up.

* How we got the information.

* We had some wonderings (questions) about this bug.

* We went to the library and didn't find any information.

* We E-mailed an entomologist, who gave us information.

* The assassin bugs suck the juice of other insects with their long beaks. They can also fly.

At this point, Souza asked the students to identify what they felt was the critical message. They replied, "How to be safe." She suggested they move that part of their presentation to the end. They agreed to do this.

Solving Problems. The students chose their parts and drafted what they wanted to say. During this phase, they dictated their thoughts to Souza, who recorded them on chart paper. These recorded responses became the students' scripts. Souza helped the students with changes to their scripts as individual needs surfaced.

For example, Kaya was an emergent reader who often strung letters together without any concept of word sense. Souza devised picture cues to help her "read" the complete text independently. Mark was an English as a Second Language student who experienced difficulty reading his script because it did not match his normal speaking style. For instance, his original line was, "If you see one of these bugs, don't pick it up." Working with Souza, he revised it to "If you see this bug, don't touch it."

At home, the families also got involved as students watched how television news anchors behaved in front of the camera and listened to their styles of news delivery. The youngsters also were encouraged to rehearse their deliveries with their families. The children shared their observations about newscasters with Souza and used their free time during class and recess to rehearse.

Lum also assisted with the rehearsals and helped videotape the students. She encouraged students to critique their peers' use of visual aids, gestures, eye contact, and volume. While viewing Westin's video clip, for example, his classmates noticed that he always looked off to the right rather than at the camera. When the group reviewed the video clips, they realized that their voices were not loud enough. Lum taught them oral exercises to help with volume and articulation. The children also worked on how high Kaya should hold the picture of the bug and where they should stand so that the camera would be able to pan in one direction.

Together, they developed the following checklist to guide their final taping:

* Stand straight.

* Do not fool around.

* Speak loud and clear.

* Look at the camera.

Sharing New Knowledge. The children ultimately produced a two-minute videotape that was aired on the school's closed circuit television. All of the students and faculty were able to view it, and copies of the tape were made available to families.

Along with the videotape, the students created posters for display throughout the campus. This became a class project, with the other students volunteering to make the posters and Kaya, Westin, and Mark serving as consultants on the content, size, and layout of the displays.

Insights Gleaned

What the Students Learned. Through their performances, the students demonstrated the content knowledge they had gained. Both the videotape and the posters revealed their accurate understanding of the physical attributes and behaviors of the assassin bug.

Souza and Lum also wanted to know what students understood about the inquiry process itself. They used a mapping strategy and had all students in the class contribute to a large web representation of the process (Figure 2).

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

The students articulated the following notions about the process in their web:

* An inquiry is fueled by a desire to know something.

* Prior knowledge must be considered as part of an investigation.

* Questions (wonderings) shape an inquiry.

* Information may not be easily found.

* Ethical management of information is critical.

* Knowledge gained should be communicated.

As facilitators, Souza and Lum could look at the process map and anticipate the problems their students might encounter in future projects. More important, students could use the map as a reference for their own investigations. Souza also emphasized the dynamic nature of the web--that her students would continue to revise and expand upon it as they progressed in their own learning.

Along with content and process knowledge, the three students involved in this project experienced important gains in self-efficacy. They expressed a growing sense of empowerment as they brainstormed ideas, selected alternatives, and overcame hurdles. They mentioned learning new skills in using technology to gather information and to communicate their findings. Imagine their delight when other teachers noted that their students wanted to create a video "like the kindergarten students did on the bug."

What also emerged was a sense of stewardship in relation to the environment and an awareness of social responsibility. Feedback from other students and adults in the school confirmed that these goals were being met. Older students and the custodian reported sightings of the assassin bug to Souza's youngsters and let them know they had been careful not to handle the insect. The investigators themselves have been motivated to tackle other issues and problems. According to Souza, "Kaya now wants to tell people about the danger of guns."

What the Adults Learned. Being partners in a community of learners means that adult participants must possess inquiring minds. They also must seek answers to the why and how of the learning experience. As they joined their students in this journey, Souza and Lum gained critical perspectives on how learners learn and how their own roles supported quality learning. Their reflection logs and conversations revealed several insights.

First, the experience confirmed their belief in children as natural learners who are imbued with a sense of curiosity about the world around them. This curiosity led the kindergartners to hunt for explanations and actively seek relationships with others that extended their understanding. Openness and flexibility in the curriculum are essential for such learning to occur. As Short et al. (1996) state, children need space to explore and time to wonder.

Second, the teacher and librarian recognized the centrality of student-generated questions in the inquiry process. These questions framed what the children wanted or needed to know. Souza reflected, "I now realize that when questions come from the children, they are much more powerful and purposeful" than teacher-generated ones. The children also were encouraged to raise new questions that surfaced as a result of the information they were gathering. Souza observed: "Children now come up to me and say they have a new wondering they want to investigate. They are also able to suggest a few appropriate sources of information with which they might start."

Third, they discovered the importance of a child's genuine ownership in the process. Lum noted, "When students are part of the collaborative team, they help to set goals and they problem-solve how to meet these goals." Souza added, "If students are involved in the planning and learning process, it becomes much more meaningful for them. It is no longer the teacher's plan, but it is OUR plan." Shaping genuine learning experiences evolves into a negotiated process.

Fourth, they found themselves reexamining their conventional roles as instructors and experimenting with more facilitative styles of interaction that focused on coaching rather than on telling and testing. They gave students time to investigate and to pose questions that helped them think about the steps being proposed. Where appropriate, they made suggestions, offered options, and raised further questions that stretched the students' thinking and encouraged connections. The fact that they invited students to make thoughtful choices also was critical. Throughout the experience, Souza and Lum became acutely conscious of the importance of careful "kid watching and kid listening."

Finally, the teacher and librarian team gained deeper insights into the synergy of collaborative curriculum planning. Their meetings ranged from short, informal debriefings to longer discussions in the mornings and after school. To these sessions, the teacher brought her experiences with the kindergarten curriculum and instructional strategies, as well as her knowledge about the developing strengths and needs of her students. In turn, the librarian shared her expertise in curriculum development, information literacy skills, and global resources. Together, they explored standards in the curriculum and ways to differentiate learning. Risk-taking was cushioned by the realization that they were both taking risks. They commented that working as a team relieved the stress. Lum said, "Having someone to share the ups and downs helped to keep us sane and motivated."

Conclusion

In a truly dynamic learning environment, the process of inquiry is lived by both children and adults. All partners are invited to make connections with their previous experiences, and are challenged to go beyond them.

As the Waikele team discovered, participation in such a community of learners provokes conversations that stretch one's thinking and promote self-initiated learning. Roles for the adults change. Evaluation and reflection become an ongoing and natural part of the learning cycle. Genuine engagement challenges all participants to explore their own practices so that inquiry truly emerges as the center of the learning quest.

Figure 1

Paradigm Shifts: A Comparison of Traditional and Community-based Views of Learning and Teaching

Traditional

* Students are passive recipients of information.

* Focus is on isolated skills, final products.

* Learning is primarily an independent activity.

* Emphasis is on acquiring bits of isolated information.

* Disciplines are viewed as discrete entities.

* Curriculum is built around textbooks, guides.

* Information access is largely restricted to classroom resources.

* Evaluation is summative and final; it focuses on grades.

* There is limited, if any, time for reflection.

Community-based

* Students are active constructors of knowledge.

* Focus is on process as well as product.

* Learning emphasizes social engagement.

* Emphasis is on making connections, fostering inquiry and problem solving.

* Disciplines are viewed as intertwining studies.

* Curriculum evolves from real-life concerns, student questions.

* Information access includes global sources of information.

* Evaluation includes formative assessment; it focuses on self-improvement.

* Reflection is integral to the process.

Note:

The Building Effective Teaching and Learning Partnerships Project was partially supported by an AASL/ABC-CLIO Leadership Grant in 1999. The two-year initiative targeted collaborative curriculum development among teachers and school librarians. Teams representing both K-12 public and private schools designed and implemented standards-based units that emphasized an inquiry approach to learning. Background information on the project and brief descriptions of units developed are available at www.k12.hi.us/~hasl/partnerships.htm.

References

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DuVall, R. (2001). Inquiry in science: From curiosity to understanding. Primary Voices K-6, 10(1), 3-9.

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Harada, V. H. (2001). Professional development as collaborative inquiry. Knowledge Quest, 29(5), 13-19.

Harste, J. (1994). Literacy as curricular conversations about knowledge, inquiry, and morality. In R. Ruddell (Ed.), Theoretical models and processes of reading (pp. 1220-1242). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

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Oberg, D. (1999). A community of learning for the information age. In B. K. Stripling (Ed.), Learning and libraries in an information age: Principles and practice (pp. 299-323). Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.

Pappas, M. L. (2000). Managing the inquiry learning environment. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 14(7), 27-30, 36.

Perkins, D. N., & Blythe, T. (1994). Putting understanding up front. Educational Leadership, 51(5), 4-7.

Sergiovanni, T. J. (1994). Building community in schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Short, K. G., & Burke, C. (1991). Creating curriculum: Teachers and students as a community of learners. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Short, K. G., Schroeder, J., Laird, J., Kauffman, G., Ferguson, M. J., & Crawford K. M. (1996). Learning together through inquiry: From Columbus to integrated curriculum. York, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Violet H. Harada is Associate Professor, University of Hawaii, Honolulu. Debora Lum is a library media specialist, Waikele Elementary, Waipahu, Hawaii. Kathy Souza is a teacher, Waikele Elementary, Waipahu, Hawaii.