Learning Circles

Structure of Learning Circles Meetings

You will be meeting in groups of 5 or 6. Each of you should come with a short report of what you are doing and then bring a problem or issue that you would like the group to help you with. Generally you have about 10-15 minutes of group focus on your problem every other week. The better you organize the time, the more help you will get. Thing about the biggest issue that you are struggling with in your action research process. For example....

• I can't find resources or research articles on....
• I have created a survey and I want you look over and let me know...
• I am thinking about this design for a group meeting...any ideas for me?
• I need help framing my research questions
• I am having trouble thinking about what evidence to collect

The more you think about the problem to bring to the learning circle, the better others will be able to help you. Now sometimes someone will have a pressing problem and the circle might decide to spend more time or most of the session on that problem. The next time you can spend more time on the other projects. The issue is not to run things by the clock but to make sure that everyone gets the help they need. When Bill or I join the circle, we will just be another resource. You will continue to run the circle meetings yourself. We will be their to see where you are in your process and to offer one more voice in the discussions. You can also invite others to help you think about your action research.

Here is one way to structure the learning circle interaction:

1. There is a pre class (5-10) mins of "reconnect" what is on your mind, what happened this week or how are you feeling. This might a time for brief update on your project.
2. This is followed by a number of 5-15 minute session where each person leads the group mind. The more you think about your time and how to best use the group mind, the better results you will get. A time keeper helps assure you have the same amount of time. (maybe not in the same session as sometimes someone might have a really pressing problem. It is up to the group to schedule who is sharing on any circle meeting.
3. Finally there is a lightning fast community circle round where everyone mention one idea or topic that was valuable to them during the class. (30secs to a minute).