Connecting, Collaborating, Continuing to Learn

Penuel and Riel utilize social network analysis to take a hard look at school leadership and teacher communities of practice.  They also discuss the way information moves about and within a school network.  The potential for this analysis to provide helpful insight into teaching, learning and assessment is great.  The study of social ties and the resources they gain as well as the ability of the Web 2.0 collaborative tools to generate a continuous flow of information forces us to look at social networks differently than we have in recent years.  The authors propose that it is with greater understanding of the inner workings of social networks that we can “better understand how to support and promote school change.”

Science of networks: Answer two important questions:

1. When does teacher collaboration lead to school change?

2. What are the forces that increase or restrict flow of information and expertise among members of a teaching community?

• Used social network analysis and a longitudinal design to identify patterns of collaboration and sharing of expertise among teachers that lead to self-reported changes in practice.
• 23 California schools
• Currently engaged in reform efforts (school wide)
• Hoped to see if schools that wanted to increase collaboration were successful in implementing it across the whole faculty to achieve whole-school change.

Findings:

1. Assumption is that it was important to connect everyone with everyone across the network, not so.  It wasn’t about how many people, but the expertise level of the people you did talk to.  Most teachers interact based on physical proximity.  ie. hallways, teacher’s lounge, location of classroom, lunch time, etc.  The nature of the ties between people is what really mattered in helping implement the school’s reform.  In short, “it mattered a great deal WHO was in a teacher’s network, not just how large or small that network was.”

2.  Having a diverse network that includes both close friends and acquaintances is helpful.  Strength in weak ties. Teachers tend to form subgroups; tend to share with their closest colleagues, however when those teachers shared with other teachers outside their subgroups, there tended to me an increase in resources, or more “social capital” to help implement change.

3. Don’t try to make everyone an expert all at once, however, do make the experts visible.  NCLB would like us to think about teacher quality in terms of the individual, however, even the best teachers can not maintain the level of knowledge and there fore become ineffective with the support of continuous learning they gain from a network of individuals.  Collective expertise.  Schools that allow teachers to talk about their practice, share successes and strategies, discuss instructional resources with are more successful in reform efforts.  Also important to recognize success and achievement in a positive manner that encourages teacher to look to their peers for support and resources.

4.  A mixed approach to allow teachers to share information and learn from each other is most effective.  Establishing a clear “chaine of command” or “letting a hundred flowers bloom” are effective ways to help teachers collaborate.  Top-down or bottom-up, leadership has to clearly evolve and be recognized and come from within the network.  Engaging in cross curricular discourse and allowing people to share expertise across the discussion groups is helpful.

5. Time. Free up your experts within the network to allow them to collaborate with others.  The “bridges” or “nodes” in the network are key factors in increasing the flow of social capital within the network. Network analysis can help identify those places within the network.  Potential “hidden resources”.

“Identify the true experts and enabling them to help others may be especially critical when dollars for formal professional development are scarce, as they are in many schools.  Professional development can be and effective means of preparing teachers to implement an innovation.  Yet the kind of practice-linked and sustained professional development that is necessary is expensive and not always available, even for reforms deemed important by the state or district.  Therefore, the informal network and the informal leaders within it may be the most important resources for facilitating implementation of a reform.” p. 4

Trust. Critical Factor

Trust has a strong impact of the flow of information within a network.  Teachers need to have an open mind and be willing to try new things if school reform is to be successful.  Trust is built up between two people within a network when they keep their promises, provide help and receive help freely, and successfully work together through problems.

We must continue to develop ways to analyze the qualitative aspects of social networks.  There are important aspects of social networks that are emerging and changing due to the increased use of technology to enhance communities of practice.  In understanding how teachers interact within these communities of practice we may be able to maximize the bridges and nodes within these networks to increase social capital school wide.