Constructing collective learning

Abstract

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) in education are intended to promote both individual and collective learning; however, collective learning does not always materialize. This study aimed to deepen our understanding of the processes that shape collective learning, by focusing on a cognitive perspective on collective learning thus complementing the more commonly used social perspective on collective learning in PLCs. This cognitive perspective consisted of collective learning as the interplay between the psychological mechanisms of self-categorization, collective attention, common knowledge, and collective identity. Using a qualitative case study approach, that involved interviewing all eleven members of two newly formed multidisciplinary PLCs, experiences with constructing collective learning were collected. A combinatory inductive and deductive analysis was performed, which confirmed the foundational mechanisms of collective learning as defined by the cognitive perspective. In addition, a fifth mechanism, social equivalence, was distinguished, which offers further insight into the interaction between self-categorization and collective attention during the early stages of PLC functioning. Social equivalence refers to the process through which members of PLCs attribute constructed similarities—such as shared values and norms—to their peers at an abstract level. These similarities not necessarily have a basis in reality, but they serve to foster connectivity, facilitating collective learning relationships with unfamiliar individuals.