Abstract
The MiddleWeb
virtual professional community emerged in the year 2000 as an outgrowth
of MiddleWeb, a large website dedicated to middle grades reform. It
is supported by grants from the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. The
community thrives through a collection of interrelated email listservs,
which are moderated by MiddleWeb editor John Norton and volunteers from
among the community’s
600 members. The authors believe MiddleWeb demonstrates the potential
of an Internet-based professional learning community to support personal
growth, professional development and school improvement. They also argue
that such a community’s listserv-based environment removes many
traditional barriers to true professional communication, including time
constraints, and reduces the professional isolation that so often stifles
teacher development. The listserv format differentiates professional
development since it allows for follow-up and reconsideration of topics
according to individual members' needs, something a single session in-service
by its very nature does not provide. The authors acknowledge that many
listserv groups fail to develop into true virtual professional communities
and identify six conditions they believe are necessary prerequisites
to such development.
Odd Ducks...Birds of a Feather...MiddleWebbers....
Any of these phrases might describe our Internet virtual community —
a gathering point in cyberspace for over 600 educators who hold common
beliefs that go well beyond our mutual commitment to provide efficient
and effective classroom instruction. In little more than three years’
time, the MiddleWeb listserv
community has developed its own shared culture, populated by educators
who embody the core values and practices necessary to teach and influence
young minds.
“The MiddleWeb listserv
continues to be a resource that helps me to be reflective about my
thoughts and practices.” - Chris Toy, Principal, Freeport Middle
School, Freeport, Maine
“The professional
‘cyber-community’ supported by MiddleWeb helped me find
the courage to return to teaching after a difficult and ultimately
unsuccessful first year. The educators who make up our wide-flung
community provided the support, concrete help, mentoring and cheering
section I needed to re-enter the classroom.” - Joanne Payling,
2nd Year Teacher, California
Our
group of middle school educators has grown into a tribe of teacher-learners
ambitious to improve their craft. Each of our 600 members found their
way to the MiddleWeb website.
Friends referred some; others say they were surfing the Web, searching
for a professional network they couldn’t quite define. One way
or another, they discovered the listserv’s archived
conversations and recognized that “These are my people.”
The Internet offers many
opportunities to communicate with individuals who share a common interest
– chatboards, newsgroups, small email rings, and email listservs.
In the education field alone, there are hundreds of listserv options
run by diverse groups including university centers, education associations
and content-area groups. Some smaller lists are labors of love, supported
through the volunteer effort of one or more teachers. While we acknowledge
email listservs may not be for everyone - the daily influx of email
and the constant stimulation of fresh points of view overwhelm some
visitors and they quickly depart. But, for those who can adjust to the
continuous flow of ideas, an email listserv offers a greater opportunity
to join in discussions with other professionals in ways that were never
possible before the emergence of the Internet.
Sustained conversation around
professional theory and practice is scarce in most schools, hindered
by institutional and time constraints. Listservs remove many of those
structural barriers to professional communication. Since listservs are
“asynchronous,” they breach the time barrier that so often
stifles communication among teachers in so-called “real time.”
As noted in the school reform work of Michael
Fullan, removing this time barrier is key to creating and sustaining
lasting educational improvement (Sparks, D., 2003). Free to communicate
as their own schedules allow, teachers who participate in listservs
can establish professional connections as quickly as they can type.
Listservs can remove other barriers as well, including the barriers
that often arise through a natural human tendency to categorize and
stereotype. In a virtual community, no one is tall or short, bright-eyed
or wrinkled, black or white or brown. People are judged by the insights
they bring to the table (or, in this case, the computer monitor).
Despite these advantages
(and all of the listserv choices available on the Internet), it has
been our joint experience that few listserv groups evolve into true
professional communities. MiddleWeb, and perhaps a few dozen others,
are the exception, not the rule. Based on feedback from our members,
most of whom have participated on several other Internet listservs,
we have identified several conditions that seem to be necessary prerequisites
to the establishment of a virtual professional community:
- A shared affinity (in
our case, middle grades education)
- A moderator or revolving
group of moderators who are skillful at maintaining the momentum of
the conversation(s), able to quickly solve technical problems and
head off disputes, and attentive in ways that assure that everyone
who participates feels their opinions are valued and their questions
are addressed
- A
mission statement that defines the boundaries of the listserv’s
conversation
- A code of behavior that
is gently but firmly enforced by the moderators
- A permanent record or
archive of the community dialog
- A critical mass of listserv
members who are knowledgeable and insightful, and who possess the
skill to communicate their expertise via email
