Facilitator Training Subject Learning Communities Friday 18 th June 2010

What are the desired outcomes from the day?  Snowball activity:  Write your own desired outcomes on post-it notes (use a separate note for each outcome).  Come together as a group of 4/5:  Share your outcomes  Group outcomes  Agree on one set of desired outcomes  Come together as a large group of 9:  Share your sets of outcomes  Group outcomes  Agree on one set of desired outcomes for the large group

 To find out how to organise the meetings  An understanding of practical logisitics – time etc. How to start?  To be clear on the best way top form a learning community.  To find out what form the meetings should take (how often, venue, when).  How can we take ideas/good practice generated in a group forward to schools/cluster/region?  To be inspired (gain ideas).  To find out a potential focus for a community project.  To find out what the goals could be for the SLC.  Model of Subject Learning Communities (How it works).  Clear steer of how we set up learning communities after this meeting (where we go).  To learn how to lead an effective Subject Learning Community.  Expectations of facilitator role.  Know how to lead a group without dominating it and the workload always falling on to me.  Find out how the facilitator program is going to be rolled out in East Lothian (time commitments, cost implications, leaders expectations – will facilitators be accountable for developments?)  Deeper understanding of how to move forward in building learning communities.  How do we get people involved in the group (motivation)?  How to keep momentum going for learning group.  What will this involve?

The proposed model  Discuss the following in your groups of 4/5:  What is your opinion of the proposed model of Subject Learning Communities?  What would you change to improve this proposal?  How can we make the model sustainable?  Summarise your agreed answers to these questions on flipchart paper.

Effective Professional Learning Communities  Group task:  What are the features of effective professional learning communities?  Produce a set of criteria for an effective professional learning community.  Time available: 45 minutes

Starting a Subject Learning Community  Group task: How do you start a community?  You will be given a scenario as a group.  Decide as a group what steps the facilitator in the scenario should take to set up and run the Subject Learning Community over the first year.  Share steps between groups.