Novel Learning Communities: Definitions, Benefits, and Implementation
Learning communities represent a powerful approach to education, fostering deeper engagement, collaboration, and a sense of belonging among students. These communities can take many forms, from linked courses to thematic residential programs, but all share the common goal of enhancing the learning experience through social interaction and shared purpose.
Defining Learning Communities
At its core, a learning community is a group of individuals who come together to learn collaboratively. These communities are formed by people who engage in a process of collective learning in a shared domain of human endeavor. A learning community is a group of people with a common purpose, shared values, and agreement on goals. It has powerful qualities that shape learning. M. Scott Peck defined community as "a group whose members have made a commitment to communicating with one another on an ever more deep and authentic level." It can set standards of expectation for the individual and provide the climate in which great things happen.
Several key characteristics define learning communities:
Shared Learning Experiences: Learning communities often involve students enrolling in two or more classes together, creating a cohort that progresses through the curriculum as a unit. These are linked courses; the same group of students enroll in two or more classes.
Collaboration and Interaction: Members interact in a meaningful way that deepens their understanding of each other and leads to learning.
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Common Purpose and Goals: A community is a group of people with a common purpose, shared values, and agreement on goals.
Social Context: The term community refers to the social context of students and their environs.
Higher education is replete with descriptions of communities-research communities, learning communities, communities of practice-in fact, the entire enterprise can be viewed as a community. A real community, however, exists only when its members interact in a meaningful way that deepens their understanding of each other and leads to learning.
The Power of Community in Learning
Research on learning theory, how the brain works, collaborative learning, and student engagement has taught us that people learn best in community. Fostering community is critical to learning, regardless of whether an institution is primarily online, commuter, or residential. Although learning involves individual behavioral changes, the context in which those changes occur is a social environment involving many people. All aspects of education-including the planning of space design-should acknowledge community. Just as a learning paradigm focuses on the importance of learning, we argue for a community paradigm that emphasizes the role social interactions play in facilitating learning and improving student engagement: through community, learning can grow.
Society should care about learning in community for two primary reasons. First, learning is a social process that works best in a community setting, thus yielding the best use of societal resources. According to Peter Ewell, evidence documenting the importance of community in learning is "overwhelmingly positive, with instances of effective practice ranging from within-class study groups to cross-curricular learning communities." Despite multiple theories about how people learn, they agree on one point: the critical role of interaction. In particular, social cognitive learning theory argues for a rich environment in which students and faculty share meaningful experiences that go beyond the one-way information flow characteristic of typical lectures in traditional classrooms. Second, learning in community will have an important role in preparing students for their work-life to come. College graduates must succeed in professional environments that require interactions with other people.
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Types of Learning Communities
Learning communities take various forms, each designed to meet specific student needs and institutional goals. Some common examples include:
Linked Courses: These involve grouping students in two or more courses, often with a common theme or interdisciplinary focus. Learning communities are linked courses; the same group of students enroll in two or more classes.
Residential Learning Communities: These communities integrate academic and residential life, creating a living environment that supports learning and social interaction. A learning space housed within an undergraduate residence building-Marianist Hall at the University of Dayton-demonstrates design principles that foster community.
Themed Learning Communities: Organized around a specific topic or discipline, these communities allow students to explore a subject in depth with a cohort of peers.
Learning Communities Based on Shared Interests: Based on shared interests or academic major, Learning Communities (LC) are groups of 15-25 first-year students who take classes together and communally participate in events and activities throughout the academic year.
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Several institutions have implemented successful learning community programs:
ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN STUDENT SUCCESS (APASS): Mana is the mind, one’s life force, and nourishment, and in this learning community, students will cultivate their Mana to find success in school and beyond. APASS invites students to participate in numerous cultural and community engagement activities, and students meet regularly with our APASS Counselor. Course themes and topics focus on the Asian and Pacific diaspora, and all SRJC students are invited to enroll. In the fall, students enroll in Counseling 10 (First-Year Experience) and English 1A (College Composition).
PUENTE: Puente students participate in a year-long learning community that focuses on English writing, Counseling and Mentoring. Students will enroll in English 1A, English 50 and English 5 that will focus on multicultural literature and experiences. Along with English, students will take Counseling 10 and Counseling 80 which focuses on transition to college and the transfer process.
UMOJA: UMOJA focuses on student success through Academics, Counseling, and career Mentorship. In the fall, students enroll in Umoja linked courses: English 1A, History 30, and are encouraged to take Counseling 10.
Benefits of Learning Communities
Participating in learning communities offers numerous advantages for students:
Enhanced Academic Performance: Students who participate in LC experience better academic outcomes and greater personal success. Students who participate in LC experience stronger academic and personal success through events and programs, networking, and much more.
Increased Engagement: Establishing connections among learners helps develop collaboration skills that are essential for their future success. They become more comfortable in their learning space, build confidence working with and sharing their knowledge with classmates, and develop essential social and emotional learning (SEL) skills.
Improved Social Skills: Fostering the development of SEL skills, especially in building relationships and social awareness, will prepare students for their future.
Stronger Sense of Belonging: After a few weeks, students commented on how much more they enjoyed class. After two months, they said they felt like they were a part of a learning community. They enjoyed the experience and felt like they had a class family to learn with.
Development of Collaboration Skills: Establishing connections among learners helps develop collaboration skills that are essential for their future success.
Creating Effective Learning Spaces
Community catalyzes deep learning and should be a critical consideration when planning physical and virtual learning spaces. All space is learning space, and community involvement is essential to its creation.
The design of physical and virtual learning spaces plays a crucial role in fostering community. Key considerations include:
Flexibility and Reconfigurability: In the studio classroom shown in Figure 1, the presence of reconfigurable furniture and the absence of a lectern or "front of the room" allows active learning approaches that focus on student interactions and involvement. Multiple plasma screens connected to a variety of audiovisual sources and writing surfaces on contoured walls provide flexible presentation options.
Informal Gathering Spaces: The pathways are wide enough to accommodate traffic as well as enable group conversations. A CopyCam (PolyVision) can digitally capture and share whiteboard images on the Web. Comfortable furniture is arranged to foster social interaction while also being conducive for studying.
Integration of Technology: Communication is key to building and sustaining a community of learners. Information technology (IT) solutions offer an outstanding platform for connecting and sharing information among community members in or outside the classroom.
Overcoming Challenges to Community Building
Several potential roadblocks exist. Differences in the values and communication styles of college and university subcultures (for instance, faculty, student development, enrollment management, facilities managers, students, and so on) can inhibit collaboration. Personality and group dynamics, as well as differences in knowledge and expertise, can also present roadblocks. How can the group weight expertise appropriately to leave room for new perspectives while honoring expertise that has worked in the past? Other roadblocks can come from processes and systems that can prevent people from finding common ground.
Despite the many benefits of learning communities, several challenges can hinder their development and success:
Institutional Silos: First, organizational silos result in a lack of awareness and acceptance of the interconnectedness of roles on campus.
Resistance to Change: Replicating what has been done in the past is not the most effective approach when charting a new paradigm; it can lead to designing spaces for yesterday's needs-ultimately, a very costly mistake.
Lack of Leadership: To tap into the potential of community, the leader must be someone who can build community and create a safe environment for participation and team learning. The leader should have vision, empathy, and an ability to listen and appreciate different perspectives. The leader should empower others.
The Role of Technology in Learning Communities
Technology is broadening the scope of when and where learning occurs; planning for new or renovated physical spaces must consider the role of IT. At one extreme, physical learning spaces may no longer be necessary if an academic program is delivered online, while at the other extreme, face-to-face classes can occur in a variety of physical spaces that take advantage of technology in or out of the space. IT can foster community in several ways. Another very important consideration is the use of IT to build student understanding outside the classroom, thereby freeing classroom time for more active pedagogical approaches.
The Internet and Web 2.0 have changed learning communities is through the ability to announce face-to-face meetings and through online forums-networks. The challenge presented to us (as educators) is to empower them to consistently share those interests and activities that happen elsewhere and that paint a fuller portrait of who they are as learners.
Technology can play a vital role in supporting and enhancing learning communities. Online forums, collaborative platforms, and virtual meeting spaces enable students to connect and interact regardless of physical location. Digital tools like breakout games or escape rooms, creating an interactive lesson using Nearpod, or using of a discussion board such as Padlet can be great options for facilitating learners’ interactions. Collaborative discussion boards where students can post comments and respond to classmates or a space like Wakelet where they can interact work very well. For boosting speaking skills and to get them talking in and out of the classroom, use Flip and give students a prompt to discuss.
Implementing Learning Stations
Learning stations not only open up more possibilities for personalized learning but also help students to work on their social interactions and build relationships with classmates and their teacher. Using between three and five stations in the classroom, depending on class size and grade level, teachers can have students work together through a series of learning activities. Selecting a mix of digital tools, hands-on learning activities, and teacher-directed instruction creates a good mix of ways for students to engage with the content.
In learning stations, I noticed students teaching each other, exchanging ideas, and stepping in to help classmates that they had never really spoken with before. In learning stations, providing hands-on activities and challenges that require students to work together, problem-solve, and create is important.
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