Characteristics of a Community of Learners
Source: Pearson Allyn Bacon Prentice Hall
Topics: Communicating with Teachers, School and Academics, Building Positive Relationships with Educators
A classroom community has specific, identifiable characteristics that are conducive to learning. The table below lays out the teacher's and student's roles in a classroom community.
| Characteristic | Teacher's Role | Student's Role |
| Responsibility | Teachers set guidelines and expect students to be responsible. They also model responsible behavior. | Students assume responsibility for their learning and behavior in the classroom. |
| Opportunities | Teachers provide opportunities for students to read and write in genuine and meaningful activities. | Students actively participate in activities, for example, reading independently and sharing their writing with classmates. |
| Engagement | Teachers nurture students’ engagement through authentic activities and opportunities to work with classmates. | Students become more engaged in literacy activities and spend more time reading and writing. |
| Demonstration | Teachers model what good readers and writers do using think-alouds to explain their thinking. | Students carefully observe teachers’ demonstrations and then practice by modeling their thinking for classmates. |
| Risk Taking | Teachers encourage students to take risks while exploring a new idea and de-emphasize the need to always get things “right.” | Students understand that learning is a process of taking risks and exploring ideas. |
| Instruction | Teachers provide explicit instruction through minilessons and provide opportunities for guided practice. | Students participate in minilessons and apply what they’re learning in literacy activities. |
| Response | Teachers provide opportunities for students to respond to books they’re reading and to classmates’ writing. | Students respond to books in reading logs and grand conversations and listen attentively to classmates share their writing. |
| Choice | Teachers offer choices because they understand that students are more motivated when they can make choices. | Students make choices about some books they read, projects they create, and compositions they write. |
| Time | Teachers organize the schedule with large chunks of time for reading and writing. | Students understand the classroom schedule and complete assignments when they’re due. |
| Assessment | Teachers monitor students’ learning and set guidelines about how students will be graded. | Students understand how they will be assessed and often participate in self-assessment. |
Excerpted From:
© 2010, Allyn & Bacon, an imprint of Pearson Education Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Take Action
- this article with friends and family.
- Have a question about Communicating with Teachers? Ask it here.
- Publish your work on education.com.
