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Learning Circles are highly interactive, project-based partnerships among a small number of schools located throughout the world. There are two sessions each year, September - January and January - May. To join iEARN Learning Circles, you must first be a member of iEARN and complete an iEARN Learning Circle placement form two weeks before the beginning of the session. Once you complete the placement form you will be placed in a Circle for the next session. | |
The Teachers'
Guide to Learning Circles (Revised 2005), by Margaret
Riel provides detailed descriptions of Learning
Circles and includes many suggestions on how to structure cross-classroom
collaborations in your classrooms. More information is available at Online
Learning Circles. We have prepared a Frequently
Asked Questions page as well as many handouts
and presentation materials about the iEARN
international Learning Circles project. |
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Registration for the January 2010 session of iEARN Learning Circles is complete. Over 130 teachers have been placed in 13 different Circles. At this time, we are not taking new registrations for the current session. The next session of Learning Circles will begin in September of 2010. You may begin registering in August. If you have questions about Learning Circles please check our Frequently Asked Questions or send an email. Finished projects for the September 2009 to January 2010 session of Learning Circles are now featured on our Finished Project Page. Over 60 classrooms have submitted a project. Presentation
Materials for iEARN/Learning Circles Workshop at Lehigh University, Bethlehem,
Pennsylvania, USA on October 20, 2009. A
Learning Circles workshop was presented at the 16th
Annual iEARN Conference and 13th Youth Summit in Ifrane, Morocco,
during the week of July 19-25, 2009. My
Hero Learning Circles presentations were given at the NECC Conference
in Washington, D.C. on June 30, 2009. The PowerPoint used during the presentation
is available for downloading. Learning Circles
presentation materials from the SIRIKT conference Kranjska Gora, Slovenia
(April 14th to the 19th, 2008.) Learning Circles Asia/Pacific Finished Project Page. Please click here to view student work. Learning
Circles The Netherlands Articles on
the Use of Learning Circles in Educational Programs |
Learning Circles Links
| Learning Circles Structuring Cross-Classroom and Researcher Collaboration: iEARN Learning Circles has been a long running project that has facilitated Internet and communication technology collaborative project-based learning among classrooms is diverse regions of the world since 1995. Twice a year (September and January) as many as 80 to 100 classrooms are connected in interactive Circles for the purpose of online project work. The result is authentic student work and true international collaboration. Learning Circles have also been taking place for 6 years in French and English as a part of the Global Teenagers Project a project of the International Institute of Communication and Development. In the March 2003 session, they had 170 classes from 90 secondary schools from 21 counties in Europe, Africa, Central and South America, and the Near East. Student circle interaction can be read from the Virtual Classroom. There is a modified version of the Learning Circle Teachers Guide in French, Spanish, and English. In Mexico, Círculos de Aprendizaje (in Spanish) were organized organized by Carlos Martínez from Monterrey, Mexico (originally organized by Jorge H. Gutiérrez). The Learning Circle Teacher Guide is available in Spanish. Another project that uses some aspects of the Learning Circle structure and guide is the Friends and Flags Project dedicated to multicultural education, for information on this project contact Karen Eini in Israel. They give teachers the options of registering to be in triangles and squares as well as circles. In 2002-2003, Learning Circles were used to connect researchers. Each year since 2002 Learning Circles have been used by graduate students to support and organize action research as part of their online Masters of Arts degree program in Educational Technology at Pepperdine University. For more information contact Margaret Riel at mailto:mriel@pepperdine.edu. |
Schedule for 2010 Learning Circles
| The first edition of CIRCLE NEWS will be posted to all participants announcing the beginning of the "Getting Ready" Phase. This first phase is one week and it involves testing accounts, and reviewing the Learning Circle Timeline and reading the Learning Circle Teacher's Guide. The next Circle News message will "open the Circle." Circle News 2 formally opens the Learning Circle session and will contain the names and addresses of the classes that have been placed in each Learning Circle. It invites the teachers and students to begin introductory activities. After teachers and students find out about each other through letters and a class survey, the activity shifts to planning the Circle projects which are drawn from the curriculum of each classroom related to the Circle theme.To understand more about Learning Circles, read the first section of the Learning Circle Teacher's Guide and look over the "Teacher Comments" at the end of each section of the Teacher's Guide.EARN members can participate in one Learning Circle each session without any additional cost. You must be a member of iEARN to participate, and you need to complete the Learning Circle Placement Form 2 weeks prior to the start of a session. Placement forms can be submitted in any time prior to two week before the Learning Circle Session. Late forms are sometimes accepted during the two weeks prior to the start of Learning Circles if there is space in a specific Circle. Applications received after October 1st will be considered for the next session. |
Learning Circles Themes
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Computer Chronicles - This theme promotes writing across the curriculum. Interaction online revolves around producing a newspaper called The Computer Chronicles. Each class has the opportunity to sponsor one or more sections of the newspaper as their Learning Circle project. They solicit articles from their partner classes and edit them to create one section of the newspaper. This section is combined with the other sections sponsored by circles partners to form the completed newspaper, the Circle publication. | |
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Places and Perspectives - Places and Perspectives encourages students to explore regional history, culture, government, and geography by sharing their knowledge with people from different locations. The goal is to help students understand how historical events and geographic conditions interact to help shape their lives and gives them a deeper understanding of themselves, their families and their communities. Each classroom sponsors a project for a section in the Places and Perspectives Review. For instance, a classroom might sponsor a section on local legends, interview native inhabitants or the elderly, describe the historical attractions of the area, examine local constitutions, or compare weather patterns, map studies. | |
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MindWorks - MindWorks is an writing theme designed to enhance creative and expository writing as well as develop different forms of self-expression. The goal is to help student learn how to communication their thoughts and feelings in writing, then share and compare them with other students from distant places. The Circle publication for Mind Works is a literary magazine that might be called Creative Minds, Mind Works or a name selected by the group. The sponsored projects could be a specific form of writing such as: personal narratives, place poetry, city dialogues, school fables, local myths or personifications of local products. Or students can select a topic to sponsor and request different forms of expression on subjects like the family, jobs, schools or cities. | |
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My Hero - My Hero Learning Circles is a joint venture between Learning Circles and the My Hero project (www.myhero.com). This Circle will bring together students and teachers who are interested in collaborating with other schools from diverse areas of the the world on the topic of My Hero through writing, photography, and digital video. |
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The Bat-Chen Diaries - This new theme for the Learning Circles will run in English during the September 2009 to January 2010 session. The Circle will be based on the children’s book the Bat-Chen Diaries and will focus on the theme: "For Me, Writing is Something Awesome." The purpose of the Circle will be to expose children to the values of writing a diary; to encourage young children to write in a reflective and personal manner and express their anxieties, fears and concerns as well as their hopes and dreams - hopefully this will lead to getting acquainted with others. Part of the process will include creating "Dream Circles” where children share similar dreams from all over the world. In this Circle children will attempt to plan and initiate actualization of their dream. This is based on believing that initiative is the bridge between dreams and success. The Final Publication for this project will be a joint publication called a pupils' "Book of Dreams" |
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| Teacher Sponsored Themes - Teachers are invited to sponsor a theme for a Learning Circle. We will list it in this space to help create this special circle. If you would like to facilitate a special theme Learning Circle, send information to bskramer48@hotmail.com. |
These forums are like classrooms. A list of all the Learning Circle forums can be found at: http://foro.iearn.org/webx/.ee706e6/. You need an active iEARN login name and password to access the forums online. They are intended for use by the students and teachers who are part of the Learning Circle. They are private spaces for the work of teaching and learning. We hope to be posting excerpts of student publications soon. These forums are listed here to make it easy for those who are members of a Learning Circle to use this web page to interact with their Circle partners. If you want to be a part of a Learning Circle, you are most welcome but first need to be a member of iEARN. If you want to know more about these Learning Circle themes, click on a theme icon.
Most teachers have been working with their students to put their section of the publication, their Learning Circle Projects on the web. We are also beginning to have complete Circle publications online. EAch Finished Project Page features all the work that was created by students and teachers during one Learning Circles session.
Congratulations to the students and teachers of the following Learning Circles for creating online Learning Circle Publications!
Also please visit the Learning Circle Projects which are individual school's contribution to their Learning Circle Publication.
To help schools create online publications, we have created some templates and graphics that can be used to help create your web page documents. For each type of Learning Circle there are two templates. One is the index with the list of schools and the name of the projects. The second is a project or section template to be used for projects or sections created by each school. Copy the source code and the graphics and use any html editor to modify for your Learning Circle Templates.
Learning Circle Timeline - 2010: Session 1
Getting Ready
Prior to Week 1
Jan 30 - Feb 7
Opening the Circle
(2 weeks)
Feb 8- Feb 21
Learning Circle interaction begins. Classes log on and respond to the Electronic Roll Call. Each teacher sends an introductory message to the on-line Learning Circle forum. Teachers and students prepare and send their responses to the Classroom Survey. Welcome Packs are mailed to postal addresses.
Planning the Learning Circle Projects
(2 weeks)
Feb 22 - Mar 7
Teachers in the Learning Circle discuss the projects proposed in the Classroom Survey. Each class selects a section to sponsor. The class sends a message to the forum describing the information it would like to receive.
Exchanging Student Work
(5 weeks plus one week break)
Mar 8- Apr 18
Student work on different projects is collected and sent to the Learning Circle forum at least once or twice a week. Teachers and students continue to plan and share work related to the Learning Circle projects. (Most groups will be out of school for at least a week during this period, the circle continues with those who are in school).
Organizing the Circle Publication
(3 weeks)
Apr 19 - May 9
Students evaluate, select, and edit the articles they received for their project. Teachers work with students in their classroom to layout and print their section of the Circle publication. Schools exchange project reports (electronically or via postal mail) and assemble their Circle publication.
Closing the Circle
(2 weeks)
May 10 - May 24
Teachers and students send their final good-bye messages to the forum and the Learning Circle closes. The list will still be active for a few weeks after the end of Learning Circles to make sure all final messages are received.
Learning Circle Timeline - 2010: Session 2
Getting Ready
Prior to Week 1
Sept 30 - Oct 3
Opening the Circle
(2 weeks)
Oct 4- Oct 17
Learning Circle interaction begins. Classes log on and respond to the Electronic Roll Call. Each teacher sends an introductory message to the on-line Learning Circle forum. Teachers and students prepare and send their responses to the Classroom Survey. Welcome Packs are mailed to postal addresses.
Planning the Learning Circle Projects
(2 weeks)
Oct 18 - Oct 31
Teachers in the Learning Circle discuss the projects proposed in the Classroom Survey. Each class selects a section to sponsor. The class sends a message to the forum describing the information it would like to receive.
Exchanging Student Work
(5 weeks)
Nov 1 - Dec 5
Student work on different projects is collected and sent to the Learning Circle forum at least once or twice a week. Teachers and students continue to plan and share work related to the Learning Circle projects. (Most groups will be out of school for at least a week during this period, the circle continues with those who are in school).
Organizing the Circle Publication
(3 weeks plus one week break)
Dec 6 - Jan 2
Students evaluate, select, and edit the articles they received for their project. Teachers work with students in their classroom to layout and print their section of the Circle publication. Schools exchange project reports (electronically or via postal mail) and assemble their Circle publication.
Closing the Circle
(1 week)
Jan 3 - Jan 12
Teachers and students send their final good-bye messages to the forum and the Learning Circle closes. The Christmas Break is used as time for mailing sections to the schools with the final comments and good-byes taking place when many students return to school in Jan. The list will still be active for a week after the end of Learning Circles to make sure all final messages are received.
Learning Circle Coordinators for iEARN:
Barry S. Kramer
bskramer48@hotmail.comMargaret Riel
mriel@us.iearn.orgLast update: Feb 2010
