Feedback Page for Learning Communities

Feedback

Graduation Initiative Fall Conference 2011 Discussions

 

Without consideration of CPP limitations, what is your vision of a learning community?

  • Residence Hall based live learn community (CPP currently has such a program; this year there are 80 students)
  • Out of classroom communities
  • Student management teams can be used in any class; they re-form in each class; student management team connects the class with the professor
  • Themes
    • Enrollment in two or more courses by cohort that focuses by subject area with a common theme
    • College based
    • Multiple themes from which students can choose
    • Learning communities based on students’ field of study
    • Themed dorms
  • Student driven
  • Set certain expectations
    • Organized for freshmen to give them the skills to continue, to give them lifelong learning skills
  • Other components
    • Group study
    • Wednesday night discussion with seniors
    • Also include research symposiums
    • Getting students to do out of class activities is difficult
    • Might include supplemental instruction
  • Continuity beyond the first year
    • Needs of freshmen are different from Juniors
    • Community that has two or more connection including an lower and upper division
    • Ideally stretch out over more than one semester
  • Qualified people to lead the different components of the community

 

How should the students be recruited/grouped?

  • Cluster students in common core classes  - assign to same section so that they see each other
  • Use cohorts to create a sense of community
  • If you are in this, you must be in this particular section to build the sense of community
  • Block scheduling
  • Could be just one class
  • Create a schedule for them – “If you sign up for this block schedule you will get priority into these classes”
  • Optional or Mandatory for freshmen?
    • Factor that makes it success is involvement of faculty
    • Learning academies – academic themes – everyone has to enroll in one
    • If students opt in, they buy in
    • Students would need to opt-out
    • If optional, the students who sign up for are already engaged
    • Could be set up differently for different groups
    • Target at-risk students
    • If making it mandatory – might not be feasible
    • Students want direction and need direction
    • Make it desirable – provide an incentive
    • Required for 1st semester; optional for 2nd semester
  • Juniors are a little harder to engage

 

What will be the challenges to getting faculty buy-in?

  • Need some kind of compensation such as
    • Release time
    • Reduced class size - more seminar style
    • Faculty team teaching
    • Grants to faculty
  • Give departments extra faculty lines to offset their participation in this
  • If this is a class already being offered, this will be less of a strain on departments
  • We don’t have the necessary resources

 

Other Comments/Questions

  • How are universities who have been doing this for 20 years doing? Are they satisfied?
  • Is the team going to be talking to the students?
  • Online courses – can they be learning community

 

Click here to return to the Learning Communities Page