Chapter One:
Definition and Description
of the Learning Community Concept  

Learning Community Models | The UWSP Learning Community Model
Comparison of Master’s Programs | Summary

According to Rasmussen and Skinner (1999) a learning community, very broadly defined, is “curriculum design which coordinates two or more courses into a single program of instruction.” They continue to say the strength of learning communities is in the integrated approach to education. Integrated educational experiences more closely parallel the way people learn and are more relevant to real world events. Students have the opportunity to see topics from multiple, sometimes even conflicting, perspectives, allowing for more critical thinking. (Rasmussen and Skinner� 1999, http://mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/ilc/monograph/index.html) 

Learning Community Models  

A search of the Internet gave examples of various models of learning communities which loosely fit the above definition.

There exist many different educational models called learning communities. Each of the broad categories listed below shows a few examples found on the Internet; hundreds more can be found by a web search on the phrase “learning community.

Technological learning community: Students are connected by technological communications, a course or information is offered on-line, students are linked to schools via technology, or other types of connection of students by technological means.

o    Evolving a Distributed Learning Community: http://www.aln.org/alnweb/magazine/issue2/cox.htm

o    The Global Schoolhouse: http://www.gsh.org/

o    A Learning Community in Cyberspace: Computer-Mediated Distance Learning Composition: http://www.hfni.gsehd.gwu.edu/~washweb/montecino.html

�    Community education involvement: Entire communities involved with the operation of public schools and their educational outcomes.

o        LAEP’s Learning Community Program: http://www.lalc.k12.ca.us/laep/lcp/lcphome.html

o    Learning Community 2000: http://www.pekin.net/pekin108/lc2000/index.html

o        Schoolcraft Learning Community: http://www.schoolcraft.org/

          Cohort learning community: Students may go through an entire program or set of courses as a "cohort."

o        UW-SP TEAM Learning Community: http://www.uwsp.edu/education/sslick

o    Bradley Learning Community: http://housing.wisc.edu/Bradley/blctemp/index.htm

o    Arizona International: http://www.enviroweb.org

o    Global Learning Community at Ohio State: http://www.commcoll.ohiou.edu/glc/

    Other:  These are also Learning Community models, but with a different slant:

o    Resilient Communities Web Site.  An effort of a city or town to provide adult and continuing education: http://www.resilientcommunities.org

o    Brown Learning Community. Continuing education. Non-credit and credit courses for college graduates, sometimes offered at corporations: http://www.brown.edu/Administration/BLC/

Each of these models can be applied in many different ways and at different levels of education. For example, the cohort learning community might be interpreted or presented in one of the following ways at the post-secondary level:

• College undergraduates with the same major housed in the same dorm, with special arrangements provided for group study. These students may have different instructors for similar courses.
  
• Courses taught as a unit, perhaps for a semester or a year. The same students are enrolled in each of the classes in the unit. Faculty usually coordinate the courses.
  
• Students begin the program together, are exposed to the same knowledge base, and graduate together.

The UWSP School of Education Learning Community Model

The School of Education of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Learning Community falls into the cohort learning community model. Although learning communities can be established for any age level, the T.E.A.M. Learning Community focuses on graduate students. This is a relatively new approach to graduate education and unusual in the learning community literature.

In this program, participants gradually take ownership of their own learning, developing habits that lead to their continuous professional and personal development and renewal as faculty.

Professor Sue Slick, one of the facilitators and developers of the UW-Stevens Point program, lists the following as essential elements of the T.E.A.M. Learning Community:

Ownership

Participants must know their individual and collective voices are respected and valued. Ways ownership was developed in the T.E.A.M. Learning Community were:

      Assignments created by the facilitators framed as invitations: These are designed to elicit varied responses, using a variety of methods to create evidence and documentation of students’ learning and reflections.  Examples: reflections of self-as-teacher and learner, responses to topical issues addressed on weekend, application of guest speakers’ ideas and strategies, and responses to and application of assigned readings.

         Weekend planning: Based on topics of identified interest and need, groups of participants volunteer to contact and invite speakers/facilitators, organize activities of the weekend, provide suggestions for readings and materials, and act as host and hostesses for guest facilitators.

         Overall functioning of the community: The participants take pride in “owning decisions related to the overall functioning” of the community. They often bring issues of interest and concern to the entire community and engage in lively discussion, thoughtful and creative problem-solving, and eventually “call to question” regarding issues resulting in final decisions agreed upon by consensus.

The Social Nature of Teacher Learning 

Time for teachers to talk together is vital. As the educational literature reveals, teachers are isolated due to the cellular nature of schools, therefore time for teachers to talk and share ideas is an essential component of the program….A strong philosophical foundation of the program is the belief that knowledge is socially constructed. In addition, teacher knowledge and the practitioner’s beliefs, values and practices are examined and respected. Teachers become experts in their classrooms and leaders in their schools.

Collaboration

Collaborative efforts are an essential component in this learning community model. Teachers network to find questions and answers about their teaching and learning. The ownership of their own goals is essential. The support and constructive responses among colleagues is another vital component of the program.    

Student Descriptions of the Learning Community

When asked how they would describe the Learning Community, students said:  

• “Soul-searching, eye-catching, worthwhile, challenging, applicable, energizing.” - David Briggs and Jeff LeCount

• "It is truly what you would call a community based situation. You are truly supported by everyone in that room, you are like a family.” - Deb Loring

• “It’s human instead of just sitting there and spending your time.” - Paul White

• “We talked about building the community—this team of people and how we’re helping each other out.” (This is what she told her sister about the program.) - Gwen Parr-Hirsch

• “Applicable to the classroom immediately” - Kim Weber

• I would enlighten them that if you think this is a piece of cake, you're wrong. The weekends we work hard, yeah, but we come back here and we're always thinking about what you've done that weekend, or thinking about what you're going to do for the next one.  I tell anyone it's great but be ready to work your buns off, expand your mind in so many different areas.  It’s fulfilling, in that I'm in a community with other professionals who are experiencing the things I am, seeing the same pros and cons of things.” (Mary Keith-Kramp)

• In a metaphor. Like sitting and looking at a sunset as compared to a storm. To me the sunset would be the community way of doing it, the storm would be the traditional way.” (Clark Buchanan)

Comparison of Master’s Programs

A more detailed definition of the learning community concept can be understood by comparing it with the typical master’s program offered by UW-Stevens Point and many other universities. Differences lie in these areas: the students/participants; content, goals and objectives; the knowledge base/ways of knowing; the framework; continuity; resources and materials; roles of facilitators/professors; evaluation of student work; and time and place. Table 1 compares and contrasts the Learning Community with the typical master’s program.

Table 1: Comparison of Learning Community and Typical Master’s Program

Participants

Participants in the Learning Community enroll with colleagues and work together throughout the program. In most master’s programs, students enroll as individuals. Chapter Three: Participants describes the students in TEAM-LC.

Content, Goals and Objectives

Typically, students sign up for discrete courses in a master’s program. Although three courses are required in the Master of Science in Education –General, students can choose the rest of the courses they take, with the consent of their advisor. In this way, it is possible that each student will have a unique program. The content, goals and objectives of each course is determined by the professor.

The Learning Community has a central theme, common to all participants: excellence in teaching. The specific content is determined collaboratively by the group, guided by the facilitators and based on standards of the profession and values established by the participants.  All students are exposed to the same content, which is applied individually to each participant’s teaching situation. Goals for growth are set by individual needs.

Knowledge Base: Ways of Knowing

In both types of programs, authoritative and expert knowledge are honored. However, in the Learning Community the knowledge base of the participants gained through their own professional and personal experience and practice has equal value to “expert” knowledge. 

Framework

The focus in the Learning Community is on the program, rather than on individual courses. The approach is holistic, rather than broken into discrete units with no regard for or knowledge of what has occurred in other courses.  In the Learning Community knowledge is woven together and presented as a whole, eliminating much of the overlap and disconnection of typical courses. 

Continuity

In the Learning Community, the same participants and facilitators/professors continue throughout the entire program. The program progresses at the same rate for all the students. Advisory groups provide ongoing relationships and offer extensive and intensive support, including help and advice with individual work and growth. When students are unavoidably absent, their colleagues help keep them current.

In a typical program, each course a person takes has a different student body, and a different professor usually teaches each course. Students progress through their master’s programs at different rates—one person may finish in two or three years, others may take as long as seven years to graduate. Advisors of graduate students offer varying levels of support. Some may keep a close watch on their students’ progress, although many do not follow up on students who do not come to see them. Unavoidable absences often result in students dropping courses and taking them again at a later date.

Resources and Materials

In a typical course, professors select the materials and resources used by students based on their own understanding and knowledge—textbooks, course packets, and other course materials. In the Learning Community, facilitators help participants select materials and resources based on their needs and interests. Selections are read in common by all participants; individuals read selections from the Learning Community library, which has materials focusing on current educational issues.

Roles of Facilitator/Professor

Professors are typically responsible for determining course content, structure, goals and objectives. They are the experts and the primary disseminators of information. In the Learning Community, the facilitators serve as guides, coaches, co-learners and partners. They help participants reflect on their teaching and learning practice and assist in providing relevant materials and speakers to meet needs and interests determined by students.

Evaluation of Student Work

In the Learning Community, each participant sets individual goals for growth and the criteria for evaluation, based on analysis of his or her professional and personal needs. These needs are determined by assessing where one is in relation to the standards set by the Learning Community. The participant’s advisory group and the facilitators evaluate the work using authentic assessment. Participants’ goals are re-evaluated periodically and may be adjusted to fit circumstances or learning curves different than expected. The program’s final assessment is based on capstone projects, portfolios, and evidence of professional growth in Professional/Personal Improvement Plans.

In the typical master’s program professors evaluate student work, based on criteria set by that professor. These criteria are usually not fitted to the individual student’s needs and classroom situation, and vary from course to course. Final evaluation of the program is through graduate examinations and/or a thesis.

Time and Place

A typical master’s program may take as long as seven years for a student to complete all requirements. An extension of time is occasionally given in unusual circumstances. For each course, classes meet weekly for a semester. Class meetings, scheduled by the university, are based on the larger calendar of events. Students usually attend class in person, although distance education is an option in some courses.

The Learning Community meets all day Saturday and Sunday for one weekend a month; the program is completed in two years. The weekends are scheduled for the greatest convenience of the students and facilitators and meet at a site within the participants’ environment. In this pilot program, meetings were held at Westfield High School; participants taught in Westfield or neighboring school districts.   

Summary

The term “learning community” can be interpreted in different ways; the UWSP School of Education Learning Community falls into the cohort category. This program differs from a typical master’s program in student and faculty roles, authority and integration of knowledge, scheduling, assessment, and structure, and introduces a new paradigm in graduate education to UW-Stevens Point.  

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May 31, 2000