Learning Communities
Leaders in Learning
Learning communities are another approach that La Piana Consulting uses to develop capacity of nonprofit leaders as learning “catalysts”.
In a learning community, there are a diversity of experiences, ideas, perspectives, backgrounds, and orientations that enlarge and enrich the learning for each participant. An important assumption for a capacity builder is to see oneself as a learning catalyst.
The framework for creating a learning community or peer exchange includes five core areas: shared commitments, environments, facilitation, structure, and applicability to real life. These elements, when taken as a whole, provide the best support that allows for the evolution of learning.
The benefits and potential outcomes of learning in this way are many. Many participants in learning communities come away with:
- A greater sense of belonging, empowerment, validation and less isolation: “I am not alone on this journey…,” “ I know this…,” and “I can do this…!”;
- Increased tools, know-how, and ways of thinking to enrich their own continuous development;
- Relationships that lead to collaborative work outside of the learning community; and
- Greater social capital and affinity with long-term yield. Once the relationships are formed, as in planting seeds, the opportunity to reap can last a lifetime.
