Educators will spend many hours in required professional development over the years of their teaching career. According to researcher Lisa Scherff, professional development is usually one size fits all, and the workshops, lectures, and seminars don't necessarily lead to change in teaching or learning. In addition, it can be very costly.

In contrast, professional learning is tailored to the needs of the educator. It fosters new practices as adults take ownership of their learning and apply it in the classroom. Professional learning takes teacher agency into consideration—the idea that teachers are well equipped to be proactive and intentional about their professional growth. 

Adults are experienced learners. They know what they need to be successful while honing new skills or adding information. When it comes to effective professional learning, the Adult learning theory lists characteristics such as self direction, learning by doing, and learning by building on what is already known. In addition, the Every Student Success Succeeds Act cites sustainable, collaborative, and classroom-focused as some of the essential characteristics of quality professional learning. 

Start off the new year using a collaborative, teacher-driven approach to professional learning. Communities of practice are formed by individuals with a common problem or interest who come together to fulfill goals. Online or in person, these communities focus on sharing best practices and building knowledge. These organic groups present opportunities for deeper connections and lasting support.

Communities of Practice in Practice

Implementing communities of practice is an important part of creating meaningful learning. With communities of practice, schools can 

• Connect people
• Provide a shared context
• Enable dialogue
• Stimulate learning
• Capture and share existing knowledge
• Introduce collaborative processes 
• Help people organize
• Generate new knowledge

Even better, the collaborative groups require no fees or additional spending. Districts and building leaders, departments, or teacher-based teams can organize their own community of practice using helpful resources. This slide deck summarizes the implementation process found on the Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium site. Following the steps, the group can be sure that all needs are met for a successful outcome.

In addition, essential questions on page 11 of Exploratory Research on Designing Online Communities of Practice for Educators to Create Value from the United States Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology are available to help design the learning experience. This handout provides designers and groups an easy way to brainstorm using these questions during the community's development. 

Once a group has been established and a concept or topic determined, use INFOhio to find materials to study or explore to build knowledge. INFOhio has purchased more than 800 professional learning eBooks and videos to support key topics such as project-based learning, literacy, educator wellness, and content area instruction. To find these easily, use Educator Tools. 

Educator Tools is a repository of licensed and purchased content, including eBooks, videos, training materials, lesson plans, and reproducibles. A keyword search is a great way to start.

Use the filters on the left to narrow results, making it easy to find just the right eBook to use for a community of practice in your school or district.

The eBooks are unlimited and simultaneous use. This is ideal for a group of educators, each person reading their own "copy" of the title with no purchase required. Learn more about ways to customize your reading experience with INFOhio's professional learning ebooks in the INFOhio Learning Pathway class, Quality eBooks from INFOhio to Supplement the Curriculum. 

Using INFOhio eBooks for Deeper Learning

One benefit of communities of practice is the deep dive participants take into the topic or concern. The learning group is usually smaller as well. This allows for better discussions, more sharing, and greater connection. Because professional learning is not a one-size-fits-all approach, this type of professional growth is designed to lead to changes in teaching and learning.

An example of a community of practice using INFOhio's materials is Study Buddies implemented in the INFOhio ICoach program. At the beginning of 2024, a small group of educators met every other week to discuss information literacy and the eBook, Developing Digital Detectives: Essential Lessons for Discerning Fact from Fiction in the "Fake" News Era by Jennifer LaGarde and Darren Hudgins.

Let's take a look at how we answered some of the questions from Exploratory Research on Designing Online Communities of Practice for Educators to Create Value to get started:

• What is the community's purpose? Who is the core audience? 
  • Because the educators involved were all school librarians, the focus for this community was information literacy. We decided to use the eBook to center our discussion. 
• How will users particpate?
  • Early after the group was formed, a short survey helped us to determine the best way to meet. We also had a short video call to discuss the schedule that would work for each partcipant.
• Who are the community's leaders? What are their roles? Who are the key stakeholders?
  • The members of the community took on a shared role as leaders, with each person agreeing to lead a biweekly virtual meeting. As an INFOhio employee, I managed the details, but each person was responsible in some way for the outcomes. 
• How can technology be leveraged to support your vision?
  • Participants lived around the state, so it was important to use platforms accessible to all. We used Zoom as our meeting platform. Google's suite of tools helped us share and discuss. We also used Open Space Groups. This group served as a our go-to spot for storage and communication. 

• How do you define success? 
  • After we finished reading the eBook, the learning didn't stop. One member created her own community of practice in her school. Others used the lessons and strategies from the book in their library instruction. In addition, we came together to present about our experience in an Ohio Educational Library Media Association presentation and a Learn With INFOhio webinar, Propelling Professional Learning Statewide: INFOhio Statewide ICoach Book Study. We have also initiated a second round of Study Buddies. This time there will be two groups with the original participants splitting the organizational roles. 

The initial project has continued to grow, and with more than 800 professional learning eBooks and videos available from INFOhio, there are many topics educators can learn more about with a group of like-minded peers. 

Here are additional topics of interest and eBooks that support them. 

• Educator wellness 
• Literacy - Emerging readers/Phonics
• Literacy - Adolescents
• Mathematical thinking
• Universal Design for Learning

Be sure to conduct your own searches in Educator Tools to find materials to support your own community of practice! Need help? Contact us at support.infohio.org. We are here to help!