• Introduction
• Definitions and Models
• The Five Models
• Currents and Causes
• Creating Learning Communities at GMU: Institutional Climate
• The Precursors
• Two Early LC Versions: BA/SIC and Core
• The Mason Topics Program
• New Century College: Coordinated Studies Model
• The Upper Levels
• Faculty Challenges: The Need for Faculty Development
• Outcomes and Benefits: Students
• Outcomes and Benefits: Faculty and the Scholarship of Pedagogy
• Conclusion
• Endnotes and References
• Printable Text of Article

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Definitions and Models

The term "learning community" lacks a discrete and uniform definition, and the meaning of the term continues to evolve as new programs and approaches are created. Early in the LC movement, Gabelnick, et al, offered this definition: "[O]ne of a variety of curricular structures that link together several existing courses — or actually restructure the curricular material entirely — so that students have opportunities for deeper understanding of and integration of the material they are learning, and more interaction with one another and their teachers as fellow participants in the learning enterprise" (Gabelnick, MacGregor, Matthews, & Smith, 1990, p. 19).

Nancy S. Shapiro, founding director of the College Park Scholars Program at the University of Maryland, and Jodi H. Levine, director of First Year Programs at Temple University, describe learning communities as "curricular structures that allow faculty to teach, and students to learn in more interdisciplinary, intellectually stimulating, and challenging ways" (1999, p. 4). Learning communities, they believe, are characterized by organizing students and faculty into smaller units or communities; creating curricular integration; facilitating formation of academic and social structures that provide students with support; socializing students into academic culture; providing faculty a means for collaborating across departmental lines; emphasizing learning outcomes; constituting a venue for institutional support programs such as tutoring and academic advisement; and focusing attention on the freshman year experience (1999, pp.3-6).

In addition, learning communities often involve active and collaborative learning, increased attention to writing instruction and writing as a tool of learning, student self-reflection and self-evaluation, greater curricular coherence, and a shifting of faculty roles to emphasize facilitation and mentorship. Many learning communities incorporate experiential learning. At some institutions, learning communities emphasize leadership opportunities and exploration of career opportunities (see, for example, Iowa State University's Learning Communities). It should be noted that while a majority of LC initiatives have been directed at freshmen, increasingly these programs are expanding their offerings to students beyond the first year.

Introduction

The Five Models