Learning communities have become popular at many community colleges, especially in the below-college levels--both developmental ed and ESL. They involve grouping 2 or more courses together, so that the same group of students takes all of the linked courses together.
However, learning communities offer more than simply paired courses (another common strategy employed in developmental education). The courses that are grouped combine college-level courses with developmental courses. The faculty teaching the courses work together, sharing materials and lessons, and sometimes even syllabi and assignments. Thus, the developmental course(s) teach with a focus on the college-level course grouped with it.
For example, a school might group a Psychology 101 course with a developmental reading and writing course. The reading and writing assignments would have a psychology focus, which gives the students a sense of purpose in their developmental courses and extra help mastering the new lexicon involved in the field of psychology. In addition, because the same group of students meet for more than one class together, they are more likely to turn to each other as a support system for the classes. They contact each other for missed classes and may even form study groups.
They also allow students in developmental classes to start taking college-level courses earlier and have been shown to increase retention of below-college-level students. As more and more colleges' government funding becomes tied to retention and completion, learning communities may be turned to more as avenues to improving student success rates.
Image source: http://www.defl.ca/en/ecole.html.
I agree. Unfortunately at HCCC Learning Communities are not well marketed and frequently late registering students are placed in an LC because there is nothing else available. I have found that late registering students except in one case usually fail.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing I want to add is that an important element of the Learning Community is the relationship between the instructors of the LC.
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ReplyDeleteI have been teaching in a learning community for the past four semesters. I find students who are enrolled in a cohort or linked courses seem for the most part eager to learn. Students are more willing to interact with each other because they share similar interests. They also seem to form friendships much easier. In addition, I find students more eager to form study groups outside the classroom because they feel much more comfortable with each other. This is due to the fact they spend much of the school day together. Also, faculty can interact with each other much easier. This hopefully will aid in helping students achieve academic success. I also have noticed that students in my learning community find it easier participating in classroom discussions. Again, I think this is because they feel very comfortable and not embarrassed to speak. Overall,it has been a wonderful experience
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