Learning Communities
What are learning communities?
"The key goals for learning communities are to encourage integration of learning across courses and to involve students with “big questions” that matter beyond the classroom. Students take two or more linked courses as a group and work closely with one another and with their professors. Many learning communities explore a common topic and/or common readings through the lenses of different disciplines. Some deliberately link “liberal arts” and “professional courses”; others feature service-learning" (Definition from AAC&U LEAP, 2008).
What are the characteristics of learning communities?
The key characteristics of Learning communities include: linking learning across different courses and encouraging students to think holistically about several different issues beyond individual class experiences.
Research suggests that learning communities are positively linked to (e.g., Zhao & Kuh, 2004):
Student academic performance groups
Engagement in active learning and interaction with faculty members
Gains associated with college attendance
Overall satisfaction with the college experience
Brownell and Swaner (2010) make some suggestions to ensure successful learning communities:
Make sure that there is a clear purpose to linked courses
Often, integrative or orientation seminars can be tied into the learning community
Provide faculty development opportunities so that course materials, assignments, class activities, and grading are all coordinated
Provide support for students for potentially difficult courses or courses with high failure rates
Use instructional teams when appropriate
Use engaging teaching practices
Why should reflection be used to facilitate this high-impact practice?
Students will take several courses as part of their undergraduate learning experience. Although many courses will differ based on individual student preferences and career goals, some class combinations will be the same for some students. Students in identical courses can collaboratively learn and develop together. However, having had the experience does not mean that students have learned from it. Integrating reflection activities that will prompt students to identify what they have learned from their positive and negative collaborative experiences in their learning communities will prepare them for addressing future challenges they will likely face as they interact with others to complete a task.
How can reflection be implemented in this high-impact environment?
Select from the questions below based on the integrative and lifelong learning outcomes and the TAMU student learning outcomes essential to your course or topic, adjusting the questions as needed to the level of students you are teaching.
Choose appropriate reflection activities.
Use the assessment descriptions below as a guideline for evaluating student reflections.
