2011-2012

Dear SIG Leader,

The primary purpose of CRLA’s Special Interest Groups (SIGs) is to promote networking among members with similar interests for the purposes of collaboration on professional issues and research.

This is truly a vital purpose, well anchored in educational research. For example, Lieberman and McLaughlin (1995) found that successful teacher networks, which unite members who share interests and concerns around a common goal that the participants believe to be important, provide participants with an opportunity to interact in a non-threatening environment where both teaching and learning occur simultaneously. Furthermore, networking participants value opportunities to share their expertise with colleagues beyond their schools (Riel & Becker, 2000).

Additionally, teacher professional development increasingly recognizes the importance of teachers learning from and with one another (e.g. Renyi, 1996). And, Becker & Riel’s (1999) findings suggest that teachers who are engaged in collaborative professional activities extending beyond their classroom and who are engaged in constructing new understandings among their colleagues are more likely to encourage their students to take an active role in knowledge construction. I believe it is safe to generalize these findings to others in our field.

For your SIG to fulfill its purpose, your Leadership is vital. As a Leader you make a powerful impact on your group’s ability to share and discuss important research and practice. You are also instrumental in helping your colleagues to connect with each other across the continent and around the world.

Please explore the SIG Leader information available at crla.net under CRLA Leaders’ Forms. It has policies that affect you, a newsletter template, important funding deadlines and policies, and more.

As Coordinator of SIG Leaders and your liaison to CRLA’s Executive Board, my role is to support your work. Please keep in contact and let me know what the Board and I can do to help you and your members accomplish your goals.

On behalf of the Board and all your CRLA colleagues, I thank you for your leadership. We look forward to a year filled with new discoveries.

Sincerely,
Ann
Ann Wolf
CRLA Past President

 

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