2003 Summit on Learning Communities

Transforming Schools into Strong Learning Communities

On December 4-6, 2003, NCTAF hosted its second national summit on "Transforming Schools into Strong Learning Communities" at the Wingspread Conference Center in Racine, Wisconsin. This summit, sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Johnson Foundation, focused on what is needed to create and sustain well-focused learning communities that can transform schools into environments that meet the learning needs of all students. The Summit was the second in a series of invitational retreats that NCTAF has convened at the Wingspread Conference Center. Following a similar format, NCTAF brought together K-16 researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to explore what a learning community is, why learning communities are important, and how to transform schools into strong learning communities.

NCTAF President, Tom Carroll, opened up the summit with a presentation that explained why NCTAF is focusing on this topic and he also provided the charge to summit participants to start the conversation. A summary report of the meeting will be available soon. Below are some of the pre-summit reading materials, a bibliography of suggested materials on learning communities, and a list of summit participants.

Summary Report: Transforming Schools into Strong Learning Communities
The national group of experts invited to our second Wingspread summit was deeply engaged in aspects of creating and sustaining learning communities in schools, with an angle on strategies to advocate for learning communities. This document reports the summit's discussions, recommendations, and issues of concern.

Leading Small Secondary School Learning Communities
By Tom Vander Ark. Small schools and learning communities are difficult to create, but they hold the promise of being humane and effective places to work and learn. They create the opportunity for a common intellectual mission, coherent curriculum, and a supportive culture. They allow a small group of teachers to work together to meet shared challenges and help all students graduate ready for college, work and citizenship.

Learning in the 21st Century
By Cheryl Lemke. A presentation prepared for NCTAF National Summits on the students of the 21st Century, also called "Millennials." Cheryl Lemke, of Metiri Group, provides compelling evidence that schooling must change to match the interests and needs of millennials and the rest of society.

A Snapshot of Learning Communities
(Background materials)

Collected Advice: Steps to Becoming a Learning Community
(Background materials)

How People Learn
By Suzanne Donovan, National Academy of Sciences, Presented at NCTAF Summit on Transforming Schools into Strong Learning Communities. The powerpoint presentation illustrates not only what helps or hinders student learning and application of knowledge, but also how teachers can adjust to situations in which students are not learning.

A Call to Action for the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future: Enabling Distributed-Learning Communities for Educators Via Emerging Technologies
By Chris Dede. Effecting major changes in teacher preparation, induction, and professional development, which would result in our society's rethinking learning, teaching, and schooling requires a move towards educational models such as distributed-learning communities.

Biographies of Summit Participants