The scenario given for topic 3: Learning in communities clearly emphasizes ‘learning together’. The topic very much reminds me of a quote by Henry Ford “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success”.

Due to my travel I could not participate in two team meetings but I could collaborate and contribute virtually. After a couple of weeks, the working format of the Team is clear and it helped me a lot comprehending what is discussed and what needs to be done, particularly the FISH document.

We live in communities and experience different kind of kerning experience in different context of life situations. Communities learn together both formal and informal ways of learning together. Learning in community encourages shared activities and cultivates shared responsibilities. In community, each individual has strengths and weakness and members build on each other’s strengths.

I feel that learning in community is an effective way of learning because it goes beyond the invidual limitations and constrains. In our design teaching, mostly the work is assigned in teams which is more effective and constructive. The technology allows us to meet and connect virtually anywhere in the world. I remember the early days of Covid19 and how they pushed everyone to move and collaborate virtually. The communities can meet face-to-face blended, online synchronous, and online asynchronous (Wenger, 2010).

The big challenge in collaborative learning is how to evaluate the collaborative process/group learning. Blazic (2016) states three types of assessment for improving collaborative learning: 1) Formative Assessment, 2) Summative Assessment and 3) Self-Assessment. I find these three types of assessment are interesting and valuable.  The first one is kind of diagnostic testing where the learner and teacher receive feedback and also it helps to keep track of learning progress. The second type focuses on assessment of the learning and graded. The third type of assessment is more of self-reflection where students reflect on their learning and be aware of their strengths and weaknesses.

Overall, this topic and team work, helped me to realize the importance of learning in community and how effective it is.

Reference:

Arjana, B. (2016).  Collaborative Teaching and Learning: A European Schoolnet Academy Course. Source:  https://abfromz.jimdofree.com/

Wenger, E., White, N., & Smith, J. (2010). Learning in communities. Changing cultures in higher education: Moving ahead to future learning, 257-283. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-03582-1_20