Thinking Collaboratively is a theoretical and practical guide to thinking and learning in deep and meaningful ways within purposeful communities of inquiry. Critical thinking has long been recognized as an important educational goal but, until now, has largely been conceived and operationalized as an individual attitude and ability. Increasingly, however, a more relevant and complete cognitive construct has been emerging: thinking collaboratively. Thinking collaboratively is the means to inquire, test, and apply new understandings, and to make sense of the information that bombards us continuously. In short, thinking collaboratively is required to flourish in our highly connected world and, in this book based on more than a decade of research, Garrison provides an essential introduction to this vital concept.

This book advances the theoretical account that Barbara Rogoff presented in her highly acclaimed book, Apprenticeship in Thinking. Here, Rogoff collaborates with two master teachers from an innovative school in Salt Lake City, Utah, to examine how students, parents, and teachers learn by being engaged together in a community of learners. Building on observations by participants in this school, this book reveals how children and adults learn through participation in activities of mutual interest. The insights will speak to all those interested in how people learn collaboratively and how schools can improve.

Learning Communities in Education explores the theory and practice of learning communities from an international perspective. Covering primary/elementary, secondary and tertiary levels in a variety of educational contexts, leading researchers discuss: * theoretical issues and debate * processes and strategies for creating learning communities * learning communities in action The current experience of the learning community is examined with reference to case studies from England, Ireland, Canada, the USA and Australia. With comprehensive coverage of this much-debated topic and a careful balance between theoretical analysis and case-study material, Learning Communities in Education will be a valuable addition to the literature in this field.

Defining the nature and significance of the learning community for the learning society, this work shows how schools have the potential to become role models for society and its institutions as a whole. It is intended for policy makers, researchers, sociologists, teachers and educational managers.

-How to create a field of listening.

Rooted in the work of community – school collaborations, this text focuses on connecting the rigors of the classroom with the ambiguity of lived community experience. Community-Based Transformational Learning (CBTL) draws on the increasing evidence that course-learning conducted in an applied, community setting, can positively transform students' professional and personal identity and creates new ways of thinking and working in university courses and pre-professional experiences. To illustrate the different ways to successfully implement community-based learning, examples are provided of experiences integrated in courses across multiple disciplines across an American university whose mission is focused on teaching. Topics covered include refugee and immigration transition issues, incarceration and health needs with international examples of community experiences from Jamaica, Korea and Belize. Qualitative and quantitative data depict how these experiences impact students and each chapter presents how community engagement has been established as an effective approach in the different disciplines, including computer science and sports management. The authors demonstrate how CBTL experiences can be transformative when students are provided a chance to connect the academic commitment to community aims, but also provides suggestions for overcoming challenges and pit-falls in developing these experiences.

This book explains and demonstrates how indigenous communities – built on traditional knowledge, culture and language – can be extended and strengthened by (1) the new, integrated methodology of Lifelong Action Learning (LAL), and (2) new approaches to learning and development as exemplified by the system of GULL (Global University for Lifelong Learning). The GULL system harnesses the potential of people to bring about positive change together, characterized by self-reliance, financial independence, and cascading learning and benefits to others. It is a self-directed and self-sustainable process of learning and growth. The case studies in this book provide evidence that over time economically very poor communities can achieve transformations that bring with them many benefits personally, professionally and for the community. This book manages to accomplish an almost impossible goal—to be both deeply inspirational and highly practical all at the same time. Professor Mary Brydon-Miller, USA I was sold on this book from the foreword – the need to rethink how we think about and ‘do’ education is emerging as a ‘hot topic’ among academics. Professor Lesley Wood, South Africa All development practitioners and students should study this book carefully, as should aid bureaucrats and aid donors. Dr Chad Perry, Australia In this book Ortrun Zuber-Skerritt and Richard Teare invite us to re-think, re-evaluate and re-create our views of learning. Associate Professor Doris Santos, Colombia In this new book, the authors present challenging and original models for encouraging community and social development work. Drawing on a Lifelong Action Learning (LAL) approach, they challenge Western-dominated approaches to learning, encouraging the development of local solutions for local needs. Dr Pip Bruce Ferguson, New Zealand By bringing education to the people, rather than people to education, they create the possibility for real personal, organizational and community learning on-the-ground in developing countries. Dr Ron Passfield, Australia The genius of this book is its simplicity. It provides a sound approach to addressing the holes in our mainstream approaches to education, training, development and in living together in communities, through providing a new understanding of ‘lifelong action learning’ and how to achieve it through proactively cultivating and passing on local knowledge. Dr Frank Thompson, Africa. I believe this book has the potential to transform the century old teaching and learning paradigm that is failing many countries to one that is futures oriented and transformational in nature. This is a book that all educators need to read and to consider within their own learning context. Dr Margaret Fletcher, Australia This book will be useful to international community developers, educators and researchers - especially if they are looking for alternative ways of successfully improving living conditions for disadvantaged and subsistence communities. Associate Professor Wendy Rowe, Canada