As members of a very broad profession, educators often develop an interest in, or a need to know more about, a specific area of teaching and learning. Joining a network, many educators feel, is a great way to find other people who share the same interest or need.
More than any other kind of professional development, the opportunity to have an ongoing dialogue with others in their field is a valuable resource, these educators say. Because ASCD recognizes the importance of such collegiality, the Association sponsors 47 member-initiated networks.
Making Use of Technology
Today networks may be traditional or electronic, structured or casual. They may be purely Internet-driven entities, with members communicating through the use of e-mail, chatrooms, or listservs; or they may be more traditional, with regular newsletter mailings and conferences.
For instance, the Learning Network—a commercial, Web-based group—features message boards allowing teachers to post notes to other educators and electronically submit lesson plans for other teachers to use.
The National Science Teachers Association has a more formal network, which was recently expanded to include 23 states and the District of Columbia. Each state in the network has a coordinator and a group of selected science educators who maintain contact with one science teacher from every participating school. Network members have access to professional development sessions and curriculum materials.
Strength in Numbers
Learning from the experience of others is perhaps the biggest advantage of belonging to a network. "Networking allows you to go right to the people who know best about this particular aspect of education," says John Jay Bonstingl, facilitator of two ASCD networks, Block and Alternative Scheduling and Quality Education. Through a network, educators who are trying to decide whether to switch to block scheduling can "talk to people who have been through it. You gain insights you can't find that easily" anywhere else, Bonstingl says.
Even if people with experience in a certain aspect of teaching are few and far between—as may be the case with a relatively new educational practice—a network offers a ready-made community of problem-solving brainstormers. "Networking is a powerful force for educators to be able to bounce ideas off one another," says Jay Harris, facilitator of ASCD's Global Education network. "There's not much that's more important. With [shared] ideas, we're able to create fun and exciting ways to educate kids."
Another ASCD network illustrates how people who are interested in a fledgling topic can find others with similar interests and as a group help build support for the subject. Joan Caulfield, facilitator of the Brain-Based Education/Learning network, notes that 10 years ago, when the network was created, "brain-based learning was kind of far out. Now it's more de rigueur; it's considered good practice."
Meeting Colleagues, Making Friends
A network transforms an educator's solitary search for professional development into a team effort, participants say, with reciprocal exchanges making information gathering more efficient for everyone. That opportunity to give and take can yield benefits that go beyond the professional realm. Karen Bohlin of ASCD's Character Education network says that joining a network offers members the chance to meet "potential new colleagues and friends to converse with about your craft—the heart of what you do. It's not just a one-shot deal with a presenter or a consultant."
Indeed, a look at the correspondence among teachers on one network's Web site message boards reveals conversation on topics that range from dissatisfaction with teachers' unions to personal concerns about overworked students who hold after-school jobs. One new teacher received comfort from her fellow "networkees" when she expressed worries about not living up to her principal's expectations. Other message strands allowed teachers in technology-poor schools to share annoyance at those in the media who assume that every student in the United States has access to a computer.
As a way to share professional expertise, pose questions to knowledgeable colleagues, and provide moral support to one's peers, networks may be unsurpassed as a resource for educators.
