Agenda

Day One - March 14th

8:30AM - 9:00AM

Breakfast (Washington Inn Hotel, Alexandra Conference Room)

I. Learning Laboratory Opening

1. Our aspirations, objectives and laboratory design (10 minutes)
2. Introductions (25 minutes)

• Meeting Objectives

9:35AM – 10:45AM

II. Learning Community Vision

Purpose of a Learning Community

1. What is the promise or potential value of participation in a learning community that is most attractive to you?
2. What stands out as the most important purpose of the learning community? How would you articulate the objectives of a learning community?
3. What would a vibrant and successful learning community look like?

• Vision Group 1
• Vision Group 2
• Vision Group 3
• Vision Group 4

Large group notes on vision and objectives

10:45AM – 11:00AM

Break

11:00AM – 11:15AM

III. Mining Our Experiences

1. Fishbowl: What creates passion, sharing, knowledge generation and commitment among learning community participants?
2. Small Group Work

As you reflect on the purpose and objectives of learning communities, what in your group learning experience has worked or not worked?

• Mining Group 1
• Mining Group 2
• Mining Group 3

1. Large Group Process
1. Do you see any lessons emerging from our experiences?
2. Are there interesting differences about what is working or not working?
3. Do any of these lessons or difference appear to be related to context?

12:30PM - 1:15PM

Lunch (Washington Inn Hotel, Alexandra Conference Room)

1:15PM - 2:30PM

IV. Collective Learning and Knowledge Generation Methodologies

1. Participant self-organizing for discussion about different collective learning methodologies
1. What are the strengths and limitations of this methodology?
2. How has your use of this approach evolved?
3. In what contexts, and for what purpose, would this approach be more or less useful?
4. What other advice would you give about using this approach?
2. Debriefing Panel with topic leaders
1. What does this group need to know about this methodology?
2. What encouragement and/or caution would you offer?

Agenda adjustment - Open Space took place from 12:45-2:00PM

2:30PM - 2:45PM

Open Space

Time

Different Learning Styles

Technology Supports/Tools

Break

2:45PM - 5:00PM

V. What Forms/Organizing Principles/Resources best support the Initiative and Success of Learning Communities?

1. Roving Conversations
1. What are we learning about how learning communities should be formed; their life cycles; and if, when and how they should be closed? Notes for Section Five Question One
2. What forms of learning community leadership have been most successful and what are the most important ingredients of strong leadership? Notes for Section Five Question Two
3. Who participates in learning communities and what are the expectations of individual participants? Notes for Section Five Question Three
4. What minimum resources, (e.g. staffing, technology, funding, facilities, food) support the initiative and success of learning communities? Notes for Section Five Question Four
5. What environment/culture encourages collective learning and how it is created and sustained? Notes for Section Five Question Five
2. Large Group Debrief

• As you read through the flip charts what new or deeper questions emerged for you about successfully supporting a learning community?
• Were there any clear lessons about how to best support learning communities?
• Are there important different points of view we need to pay attention to?

1. Closing Reflections

Large Group Reflections

Roving Conversation Synthesis

Learning Lab One - Synthesis

Learning Community Resources