Social Networking Summaries

Anklem (2007)

Framework for analyzing networks

Purpose

Organizational structure

Style

Value

Parker (1977)

5 key network characteristics

Sixty school improvement networks were explored in the late 1970s by Allen Parker.

Parker’s research (1977) identified five key operational characteristics within these networks:

Newmann and Wehlage (1995)

Purpose

They discovered that successful schools featured a professional network of practitioners who took collective responsibility in working together to develop a shared, clear purpose towards improving student learning.

Lieberman and Grolnick (1996)

Collaboration and Trust

Collaboration and collaborative relationships provided opportunities for practitioners to build trusting among network members which is critical to the nurturing and development of new ideas. According to Lieberman and Grolnick (1996) these new ideas aided in the building of network “buzz,” i.e., interest and participation, as participants ideas and practices further developed and transformed.

Lieberman (2000)

Collaboration and finding a balance

“Sustaining educators’ commitment and interest hinges on keeping work focused on practice. However, focusing on practice involves taking a position as to where the knowledge comes from that informs the work of the network. This is of great importance because networks are trying to bring people together who have different ways of acquiring, developing, and using knowledge (Cochran-Smith and Lytle, 1993; Sirotnik and Goodlad, 1998). Keeping a balance between inside knowledge (the experiential knowledge of teachers) and outside knowledge (knowledge created by research and conceptualization) is a hallmark of successful collaboratives” (p. 223).