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Education is not a solitary career. Community is a huge part of what makes teaching worthwhile and I have not found any other profession with as much comradery and genuine love for others as I have within professional communities for teachers. While I have subscribed to countless communities I want to list my top five professional learning communities that I am LOVING right now.
1. Association for Texas Professional Educators (ATPE)
I am loving this community because not only does being a part of this organization give me peace of mind due to the free legal coverage in case I am named in an educational lawsuit, I also get access to a ton of educational studies and resources that I can use in my classroom. The newsletter that is sent out every month in incredibly helpful as it allows me to follow trends in education and track education legislation and progress on certain bills as the progress through the system. As a member I also have access to professional development materials that are free or very low cost, which I love.
2. Texas Middle School Science Teachers Facebook Group
I would be lying if I said that after a difficult day of teaching I want to research ideas to make my science curriculum more interesting or hands on. I love using groups like this one to keep my project and lesson ideas fresh. This kind of professional learning community works best for me for multiple reasons. One of them is the fact that it's informal and my interest is caught organically. If it catches my attention while scrolling social media, I look at it and think about how it could work for what I am doing. Then, I have a chance to jot down a note about it and let the idea marinate in my brain, which helps with my creative process and makes me more able to take the idea and make it work best for our students with materials that we have available. I joined a science group specific to my state as we are the only state with science standards written the way our TEKS are written so it makes the ideas more relevant to what we are actually teaching.
3. Technology Tips For Techie Teacher Facebook Group
Another Facebook group that I find very helpful in my day to day professional learning and improvement is the Technology Tips for Techie teachers. I find that it is much easier for me to imagine using new programs or even old programs and websites in new ways when I see it being done in other classrooms. I like that the ideas I see on this group are actually used in a real life school setting and if I have questions about implementation or even behavior management I can ask the educator that shared the resource. Having an actual peer answer my question or even tell me about some of the limitations or issues makes me feel better prepared for taking the risk and trying to use technology in a way that I feel will make the learning in my classroom more meaningful. In a middle school classroom you have to be ready for anything, especially when you are introducing a new tool, website, or program to your classes.
4. Teachers ask Teachers Facebook Group
I know, I know, the amount of Facebook groups seems to be overwhelming. One would think that there would not be much professional learning on Facebook or any social media platform for that matter, but I have found this group to be integral to finding my teacher identity when it comes to classroom management. During my first year teaching (also the year of COVID), the advice I got from administrators and instructional coaches was not working. Then the next year, post-COVID students were a different breed and the classroom management advice was even worse. I found that this group was full of people that were trying different methods to motivate and manage behaviors in a room full of unmotivated students that want to be anywhere other than our classrooms. I liked that were thousands of educators asking for and giving advice for a variety of things. I could find ideas that suited my personality, because the advice given to me by campus leaders was not always compatible to my personality and interests. To summarize, this group will always hold a special place in my heart because it is the reason I was able to perfect my classroom management and maintain my own personality in the process.
5. Global Ed Leaders Community on Twitter/X
I am not often on Twitter, but when I want a fresh take on classroom ideas, natural phenomena like solar eclipse lessons, and just some content to help me understand what students are interested in or familiar with to keep my examples fresh and relevant, I scroll through this group. I scroll through this X based community two or three times a month to keep up with what is going on in the world of education. I like that it is global and focuses on many issues in education and isn't solely focused on American education systems. It gives me a better idea of what can be done to increase student growth and interest. It is cool to see how other educators are teaching certain topics, because it can help me teach from a more culturally sensitive perspective, which is important since our classrooms are so diverse.
These communities are great options if you are looking for a sense of non-judgmental community of educators that are legitimately trying to create positive learning environments and support each other these are a great choice. Depending on what you are looking for in your learning communities, these could be a career saving choice. I know each one of these learning communities has saved my sanity at least a thousand times over the last five years.
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