Learning Communities for Educators Examples
WEBINAR SERIES
Name of Series / Organization/ Location / DescriptionTransitioning to the Common Core State Standards: Spotlight on Instruction, Assessment, and Equity / Schools Moving Up/WestEd
Register for CCSS-related webinars at
/ This free webinar series provides strategies for you as educators to apply immediately as you transition to the CCSS in English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, & Technical Subjects. You can also use the webinars as part of professional learning community conversations on shared responsibility for literacy development of all students. All webinars are archived.
Share My Lesson’s Common Core Confident Webinar Series / ShareMyLesson
/ Create a login to join this series.
MASSIVE OPEN ONLINE COURSES (MOOC)
If you are doing the ELD Professional Learning modules alone, you might wish to join a MOOC to collaborate on joint projects.If your PLC is doing the module together, you might wish to bring your entire PLC into the MOOC, thereby connectingit to a community of practice.
Name of Course / Organization/ Location / DescriptionConstructive Classroom Conversations: Mastering Language for the Common Core State Standards / Stanford University
Register at
/ Dr. Kenji Hakuta and Stanford colleagues are conducting this MOOC, which has some fieldwork in the classroom in addition to online instruction.
Misc. MOOCs / MOOC List
Go to
/ See options for MOOCs on the right-hand side.
FOCUS: ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS OR ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
Name of Group / Organization/ Location / DescriptionCaliforniaEnglish Language Development PLC / Edmodo
Create an accountat
From your home page click on the “+” sign next to “Groups” (below your name on the left-hand side).
Click “Join”.
In “Group code” field, enter “cdx6bf”. / Group launched in October 2013 by Laura Gonzalez, ELA/ELD Staff Development andCurriculum Specialist, Tulare County Office of Education.
ELL Chat / Twitter
Register at
#ellchat / Includes Diane Staehr-Fenner (Colorín Colorado) and Larry Ferlazzo, and organizations such asEdWeek and ASCD.
English Language Development Community / Brokers of Expertise
/ A collection of professional learning resources, including the new ELD standards, videos, and the CCSS as they relate to English learners.
English Out There
(Note: This is a publisher’s community) / Edmodo
Create an account at
Under “Communities” on the left, click “Browse.”
Scroll down to the section listing “Publisher Communities.”
Click on the name of the group. / Over 2,000 members of an active community, posting daily. Members are teachers of English learner students in the US as well as adult learners abroad.
Personal Learning Network (PLN) for Educators
/The Educator’s PLN
/ This is a Ning site dedicated to the support of a PLN for Educators. It provides sources, connections, videos, blogs, and discussions.California Association for Bilingual Education / California Association for Bilingual Education/ Facebook
(Public page) / Posts and recommendationsby educators.
Literacy in Learning Exchange / National Center of Literacy Education
/ Network of collaborative groups. A free online community showcasing how teams of educators develop teaching and planning processes.
Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (International) / Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)/Facebook
/ Includes posts and recommendations by TESOL. Posting primarily focuses on events.
Teaching English Language Learners / LinkedIn
Join LinkedIn at and join this group / This is a social network. Lise Ragan and Diane Staehr-Fennerpost here.
FOCUS: COMMON CORE
Name of Group / Organization/ Location / DescriptionBasal Alignment Project / Edmodo
Create an accountat
From your home page click on the “+” sign next to “Groups” (below your name on the left hand side).
Click “Join”.
In “Group code” field, enter “F4q6nm”. / This group curates questions around existing reading curriculum and builds an online resource library of materials.
Common Core and English Language Learners / LinkedIn
You need to be a member of LinkedIn.
Search groups using “English language learners”.
Click on the name of this group.
Go to “Manager’s Choice” in the top right corner.
From there, click on “Join Group”.
Note: There are several ELL groups on LinkedIn. / This is a social network. Posts include resources from Colorín Colorado, CABE, Understanding Language.
Common Core Conversation / Edmodo
Create an accountat
Go to:
After you click the link, the group owner can approve you to join. / Members across many subject areas share resources and ask questions about Common Core implementation.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Lessons Learned: Facilitating Online Communities of Practice
This article includes summary lessons learned (i.e., 1. Work from the needs and interests of the members;2. Take an active role in nurturing the community;3. Blend different approaches to maximize participation and learning;4. Support members who are unfamiliar with the technological tools).
Also review the sidebars on “visitors to contributors” and outlining how “learning communities evolve.”
Powerful Learning Practice:The PLP Model: Research-based Professional Learning
This article summarizes the differences in three types of connected learning communities: professional learning communities (PLCs), personal learning networks (PLNs), and communities of practice (CoPs). The abstract notes, “After a brief description of each component’s characteristics, we delve into underlying theories, experience and knowledge, effectiveness for teacher professional development, anticipated growth or decline, challenges and dilemmas, and use of technology.”
Connected Educators: Cases for Communities: A New Genre for Sharing Collaborative Practice through the Literacy in Learning Exchange
Scroll to midway down the page to read about practical strategies to improve ongoing collaboration between schools. Note that the collaboration included a face-to-face component in the case study.
Online Community for Teachers of English Language Learners
Understanding Language: Online Community for Teachers of English Language Learners
This paper offers recommendations for developing an online community within the Understanding Language initiative, focusing on fostering the components of the “RIBS Heuristic,” remuneration (not in the financial sense), influence, belonging, and significance. (Begin at the end of page 2.)
Short video presentation:
Connect and Inspire: Online Communities of Practice in Education
Explore the types of learning communities as well as how to start and sustain online communities of practice.
Learning Forward: Standards for Professional Learning:Learning Communities
This article defines learning communities and includes a short video by scholar Shirley Hord.
Communities of Practice: Turning Conversations into Collaboration
This PowerPoint presentation by Steve Dale explains what makes a successful Community of Practice. See the notes for each slide below the presentation.
ACSD: Common Core: Now What?
This issue of Educational Leadership provides guidelines for implementation and many links to resources.
Common Core Works: Basal Alignment Project
This initiative on aligning existing grade 3–5 materials to the CCSS for ELA/Literacy has resulted in about 100 freely available resources. Resources can be accessed in Edmodo(see the above matrix of groups).
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