About Learning Communities: Some Definitions
- What is a Learning Community
From the Washington Center at Evergreen Community College:
"Linked or paired courses are the most common type of learning community offering today. Students are enrolled as a cohort into two courses. Teachers are assigned to their individual courses—they are not team-teaching. However, faculty typically get support (stipends, planning time) for designing two or more integrative assignments aimed at helping students make explicit connections between the two courses. The learning community counts as a single course for each teacher. To strengthen connections between the courses, some campuses schedule the classes back-to-back, or with a short study break between them; some campuses offer the two courses in the same time blocks but on alternate days. Co-curricular programming is often a component as well."
(Picture from Washington Center website) - What is a Professional Learning Community--RIchard DuFourAuthor of article explains 3 key characteristics:
Big Idea #1: Ensuring That Students Learn
Big Idea #2: A Culture of Collaboration
Big Idea #3: A Focus on Results
From: Educational Leadership,
May 2004 | Volume 61 | Number 8
Schools as Learning Communities Pages 6-11 - Learning Communities--U.S. Department of Education"Community college learning communities, which consist of small cohorts of students who are enrolled together in two or more linked courses in a single semester, are a widely-used strategy aimed at improving student outcomes. Unlike instructors of “stand-alone” courses, learning community instructors are expected to communicate with each other to align their syllabi, write integrated curricula, and prepare common assignments. Instructors use pedagogical practices to encourage active and collaborative learning, taking advantage of the stronger rela-tionships among students in the class that occur through the cohorting experience. Learning communities also often include enhanced supports, such as tutoring and extra advising."
- Learning Communities in Community Colleges"This publication includes an extended analysis of how learning communities meet the multiple purposes and pressures of community colleges, and brief profiles of eighteen programs that fit various college goals (e.g., general education, basic skills, and community partnerships). Tips on getting started, a selective list of print resources, and names and email addresses offer additional information specifically for learning communities in community colleges."
(Julia Fogarty and Lynn Dunlap, with Edmund Dolan, Maria Hesse, Marybeth Mason, and Jacque Mott. National Learning Communities Project monograph series. 2003.) - Integrating Learning Communities With Service-Learning"This publication introduces the common features of service-learning and learning communities and how each movement can enhance the other. Eight case studies follow, focusing on different kinds of service-learning integration in various kinds of institutions, plus a chapter on getting started. Additional resources include publications and web sites on service-learning, learning communities, community-based research, and reflective practice."
(Jean MacGregor, with others. National Learning Communities Project monograph series. 2003.)