Communities of Learners in Early Childhood

This assignment explores the concept of 'communities of learners' in early childhood education. It examines how collaborative learning environments, facilitated by teachers and encouraged through discussions, document sharing, and peer feedback, can enhance student development. The Making Learning Visible Project (2008) is cited as a key influence in understanding this approach. The assignment emphasizes the importance of starting to cultivate such communities at the beginning of the school year to establish a strong learning culture.

Early Childhood Education and Care
Student Name: Student ID:
Subject Name: Subject ID:
Date Due: Professor Name:
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Communities of learners for effective teaching is a corollary to an integrated approach and has
been found to be effective. The Making Learning Visible Project (2008) conducted by the
Harvard Graduate School of Education had envisioned various ways in which community of
learners in early childhood classroom where adults and children think each other as learning
resource for improving their work (Ritchhart, 2008). There are four prominent ways which is
essential to a students learning. The best possible to time to start learning is at the beginning of
the school year, when culture within the classroom can be established.
1. Building a team of teachers that can support community of learners: Students needs to
be collaborated and teachers needs to form such potential sources for the same.
Observation in children of various discussions for problem solving and situations can
enhance overall quality of learners (Samuelsson, 2008). Such participative, collaborative
and constructive feedback, this endeavor sends message to all participants in classroom
as they can form a member of the learning community.
2. Providing greater opportunities for small group discussions: Children needs to be
encouraged to debate, discuss in areas of common interests. Developing small group of
children with common interests along with complementary skills can help them
improvise and work together. Children can also be encouraged to discuss several topics
of interests with their neighbors and then come back to class to discuss with the whole
group.
3. Making use of documents for promoting collaborations: Students cannot be
collaborated easily at school to come to learn with their peers, while some children come
to school ready to compete with peers and obtain source of knowledge from teachers.
Documents as notes, photographs, student work, videos and transcripts for conversations
can provide powerful tool for engagement in group discussions (Buldu, 2010).
Documents also provides powerful tools for celebrating success moments or for further
learning. This forms an integral part of learning community with others.
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4. Developing capacity for peer feedback: Children and adults needs to be promoted to
share strategies along with insights with other children. It can form a more effective tool
compared to that of adult instructions (Havnes, 2012). In situations where opportunities
are provided for peer feedback, in small groups where children discusses work in
progress as scientific drawings, block structures, math problems, creative writing and so
on. Through such discussions a group’s capacity can easily be developed for useful
feedback session where the whole group can receive useful collaborations. All endeavors
are made to promote learning and development within groups of children as well as
adults. These can great enhance chances of learning and promote development along with
improvement for the future.
Reference Lists
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Buldu, M. (2010). Making learning visible in kindergarten classrooms: Pedagogical
documentation as a formative assessment technique. Teaching and Teacher Education,
1439-1449.
Havnes, A. S. (2012). Formative assessment and feedback: Making learning visible. Studies in
Educational Evaluation, 21-27.
Ritchhart, R. &. (2008). Making Thin in. Educational Leadership.
Samuelsson, I. P. (2008). The playing learning child: Towards a pedagogy of early childhood.
Scandinavian journal of educational research, 623-641.
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