CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Learning communities have been a significant force in higher education for the last two decades. Colleges and universities across the country report benefits for both learners and teachers involved in the many innovative examples of learning communities that are seeming to revitalize higher education. Learning communities are curricular programs designed to improve the educational experience by creating a more coherent, unified learning experience for targeted groups of students. This is accomplished by restructuring the curriculum and providing opportunities for increased collaboration and academic interaction for students and faculty. Researchers and practitioners agree that learning communities can result in increased social and intellectual interaction between students and faculty, greater personal development and increased academic achievement for student participants, and a wealth of opportunities for faculty to restructure, renew, and redesign curriculum.
Learning communities are definitely considered a positive trend in higher education. In a speech presented to the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, Roberta Matthews (1994) characterized learning communities as "remarkably versatile, reassuringly cost efficient, [with] outcomes for both students and faculty [that] are extraordinarily positive" (p.5). Shapiro and Levine (1999) suggest that learning communities "significantly enrich the educational experience and success of undergraduate students and contribute to a climate for reconsidering the nature of pedagogy and scholarship" (p. xiv). John Gardner, founder of the First Year Experience and the modern freshman seminar, has called learning communities the "structural and pedagogical innovation currently being developed in American higher education [that] may hold the greatest promise for improving first-year student academic performance and retention." (1999, p.v).
As learning communities have proliferated in colleges and universities, many articles and papers have been written about these programs. The literature is teeming with descriptive studies of individual learning communities and their successes. No two learning communities are alike -- they are remarkably diverse in the ways in which they are implemented and evaluated. Learning community models described range from simple linkages between two courses to fully integrated, multi-disciplinary cohort programs, some of which even include a residential component. Proponents of learning communities measure the success of these programs in a variety of ways, using both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Student performance factors such as higher grade point averages, increased retention rates, and accelerated intellectual development are reported as well as increased satisfaction of both students and faculty involved in learning communities. Judging by these enthusiastic reports, learning communities clearly do improve the educational experience for their participants. As more and more learning communities are implemented in higher education, the impact on higher education could be dramatic.
Background of the Problem
Just as there is no one recipe to follow for designing and implementing a curricular learning community, there is also no widely accepted standard for determining what are the core components of these communities. Practitioners have learned by following other institution's models and from their own experiences. There are many descriptions of learning communities, and several people have written about the common features of learning communities; however, there does not appear to be an accepted standard or common set of learning community features. To consider this problem, it may be useful to first look at what is known about learning communities.
What Are Learning Communities?
Learning communities are, simply put, "processes for linking learners" (ERIC, 1998, pg. 1). There are different types of learning communities, such as international learning communities, where people from different countries are linked; technological learning communities, where the internet is used to link students and faculty; and curricular, the most prevalent type, where the curriculum is changed or restructured to create the learning community (ERIC). Barbara Leigh Smith defines a curricular learning community as one in which the curriculum is purposefully restructured to link together courses so that students experience "greater coherence in what they are studying and … increased intellectual interaction with faculty members and other students" (1991, p.42). Curricular learning communities often involve such strategies as team teaching and interdisciplinary courses. A more complete definition is offered by the National Resource Center for First-Year Experience:
A variety of approaches that link or cluster classes during a given
term, often around an interdisciplinary theme, that enroll a common cohort
of students. This represents an intentional restructuring of students' time,
credit, and learning experiences to foster more explicit intellectual connections
between students, between students and their faculty, and between disciplines
(1999, p. 5).
Different models of curricular learning communities exist. The simplest model is the linked courses model, which generally involves linking a skills course to a content course. Other examples include the cluster model, which expands on the linked course model to include three or four courses with a common theme and freshman interest groups, which link courses around a theme or major interest and add an advising component. A more complex type of learning community, referred to as a coordinated studies program, involves faculty from different disciplines cooperating to present a fully integrated, common curriculum to small cohort groups of students (Smith, 1991; Learning Communities Directory, 2000). One more type of learning community is a residential or living-learning community. This curricular learning community adds yet another facet to the community experience by requiring that student cohort groups, and sometimes faculty, tutors, or other facilitators of learning, live in common residence halls.
What Happens in Learning Communities?
Studies have shown that students who participate in learning communities experience a number of positive outcomes. Researchers have used both quantitative and qualitative measures to show that students enrolled in learning communities earn higher grade point averages, persist and graduate at higher rates, and experience greater growth and intellectual development than do students in more traditional educational programs. Studies have also shown that these students have greater interaction and involvement with faculty and peers both inside and outside of class, participate more actively while in class, and spend more time studying than their cohorts do who are not enrolled in learning communities (Goodsell Love & Tinto, 1995; Gardiner, 1994; Pascarella, 1982; Tinto & Russo, 1994, Shapiro & Levine, 1999).
Faculty are also experiencing the benefits of learning community participation. Faculty report that they are revitalized and re-energized by the experiences of working together, re-working curriculum, and increased student contact (Smith, 1991; Evenbeck, Jackson, & McGrew, 1999). Though implementing learning communities can be costly, institutions also benefit in the long run from the increased student performance and retention and the increased productivity and connectedness of faculty (Shapiro & Levine, 1999).
Why Do Learning Communities Work?
Several persons have offered theories on the success of learning communities. Some attribute the positive outcomes to the increased effort and involvement of the students and faculty involved (Smith, 1991; Gardiner, 1994). Others point to the fact that the implementation of curricular learning communities in higher education serves to "bridge the gap" between the academic and social worlds of the students involved (Tinto & Russo, 1993; Tinto & Goodsell Love, 1995), thus relieving the tension usually experienced by students caught between these two worlds. Still others write about the pedagogical methods used in learning communities -- methods that are likely to encourage active, cooperative, collaborative learning and a high rate of student participation -- as the key to the success of learning communities (Cross, 1998: Hatfield & Hatfield, 1995).
What are the Essential Characteristics of a Learning Community?
An examination of the descriptions of the many learning community models and programs currently in existence reveals that common characteristics are shared among learning communities. These characteristics or features appear as recurrent phrases in the literature on learning communities. Some researchers have also created lists of key features or characteristics of learning communities (National Institute of Education (NIE), 1984; Barefoot, Fidler, Gardner, Moore, and Roberts, 1991; Smith, 1992; Lin, Bransford, Hmelo, Kantor, Petrosino, Goldman, and the Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt, 1998; Tinto, 1998; Goodsell Love and Tokuno, 1999; Shapiro and Levine, 1999; Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education, 2000).
The characteristics given generally fall within four categories. Those categories are listed below:
1. Curricular Features: Learning communities are often characterized as having an integrated and interdisciplinary curriculum. Often courses are linked by themes and may even be presented as a "block" or "core" curriculum rather than as separate, stand-alone courses.
2. Pedagogical Features: Active, cooperative, and collaborative learning are frequently mentioned as important features of learning communities. Teaching in these programs is characterized by faculty interaction and collaboration.
3. Structural: Learning communities are usually described as smaller, cohort-based units with shared physical settings. Institutionalization and a regular program of assessment and evaluation are noted as important to the structure of learning community programs.
4. Environmental: A high degree of student and faculty interaction –both social and academic - and a strong sense of community are frequently mentioned as characteristic features of the environment of learning communities.
Statement of the Problem
There is a gap in the literature on learning communities. The data that have been gathered have focused largely on identifying and measuring outcomes and benefits to the students enrolled in learning communities. These data show that students experience greater intellectual growth and academic achievement than do their counterparts in more traditional programs. There is also a great deal of description of different models and types of learning communities. Some common components have emerged; however, these components have not been classified or analyzed to discover the relationships between them. Lists of features or characteristics of curricular learning communities have been offered but have not been based on a study of the data. An accepted list of essential elements of learning communities has not been generally subscribed to by learning community researchers and practitioners. Nor have researchers agreed on which are the essential characteristics that are necessary to create and sustain a curricular learning community program. Little is known about the essential characteristics of curricular learning communities.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the present study is to identify the essential characteristics of curricular learning communities. The writer will collect data by conducting a four-round Delphi study. Use of the Delphi method will allow for the participation and collaboration of an expert panel of learning community practitioners and researchers. The data will be methodically collected and analyzed, using a four-round reiterative process, to determine what these characteristics are and how essential they are to the creation and sustenance of curricular learning communities in higher education. The goal is to provide information that may be useful to practitioners involved in designing, implementing, and evaluating curricular learning communities in higher education settings.
Research Questions
The following research questions will be addressed:
What are the key curricular, pedagogical, structural, and environmental characteristics of curricular learning communities?
Which of these characteristics are essential to the creation of curricular learning communities?
Which of these characteristics are essential for the continued growth and development of curricular learning communities?
Definition of Terms
Curricular Learning Community: For the purposes of this study, learning community refers to a program in a higher education institution that utilizes some combination of features such as restructured curriculum, cohort groups, themed or interdisciplinary courses, and participatory teaching and learning environments in an effort to improve and enhance the student experience.
Curricular Features: Characteristics of learning community programs that have to do with the way the curriculum is developed, structured, and presented to students in the programs.
Pedagogical Features: Characteristics that involve and describe the teaching and learning practices and processes that occur in learning community programs.
Structural Features: Characteristics of learning community programs that have to do with the way the programs are designed, developed, structured, and implemented, including the administrative processes and procedures connected with the programs.
Environmental Features: Characteristics of the climate and culture of learning community programs.
Summary
The implementation of curricular learning communities is generally considered to be an effective way to enhance the undergraduate experience of students entering higher education. Various models of learning communities exist in colleges and universities throughout the country. Researchers and practitioners report many positive outcomes resulting from participation in these learning communities. Persons involved in or studying these programs have developed lists of important features or characteristics of learning communities and have offered theories to explain the success of these programs. There is no general agreement on these key features, and the lists of characteristics that have emerged have not been based on data. This study proposes to determine those essential characteristics and develop a theory of the core components of learning communities by a methodical process of collecting and analyzing data.
The present research will be made up of five chapters. Chapter I presents the context of the study and introduces the research problem. Chapter II provides a review of related literature, including research on the history of learning communities, the conditions leading to the learning community movement, models and benefits of existing learning communities, and theories and characteristics of learning communities. Chapter III discusses the methodology of the study, including participant identification and selection, data collection, and data analysis methods. Chapter IV presents the results of the data analysis, and Chapter V offers theory, conclusions, and recommendations resulting from the research.
APPENDIX A: Institutional Review Board Letter of Exemption
APPENDIX B: Letter to Participants
Dear _________________,
You are invited to take part in a research study to identify the essential characteristics of curricular learning communities in higher education. You were selected as a possible participant because you are a dedicated and highly experienced learning community practitioner and/or researcher. My name is Barbara Oertel – I am a doctoral candidate at the University of Minnesota and also the Director of Advising at Winona State University in Minnesota.
I have been reading about and researching curricular learning communities in higher education for about three years now, and I know that you are a person who has made significant contributions to the learning community movement. I would like to make my own contribution to the research on learning communities by focusing on the essential characteristics of curricular learning communities. To do this, I plan to conduct a Delphi study that will involve a short open survey followed by three questionnaires. The study is designed to identify features that learning community experts and practitioners agree are essential to curricular learning communities in higher education.
Participation in this study is voluntary. I plan to conduct this study via e-mail beginning with the first open survey in about three weeks. I will follow that survey with three questionnaires, one sent out every two to three weeks, asking for each to be returned by e-mail within about ten days. The records of this study will be kept private. Each questionnaire will include feedback from the group as a whole – no individual opinions or responses will be identified.
I estimate that thoughtful responses to each questionnaire will require about 30 to 60 minutes of your time. I know that your time is valuable, but I hope you will agree to participate and contribute your expertise and knowledge. I genuinely believe the end result will be valuable to all learning community supporters and practitioners. I plan to share the results of the study with all participants.
Please respond to this letter if you are willing to participate in this study. If you would like to talk with me about my research design or if you have questions about your participation, please don’t hesitate to call me during the day at (507) 457-5600. Or, I can call you day or evening if you provide me with a phone number and a convenient time to reach you. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this study and would like to talk to someone other than the researcher, contact Research Subjects’ Advocate line, D528 Mayo, 420 Delaware Street Southeast, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55455; telephone (612) 625-1650.
I have provided my e-mail and my postal address below. I hope to hear from you very soon! Thank you for your time and consideration.
Barbara Oertel
boertel@winona.edu
Winona State University
P.O. Box 5838
Winona, Minnesota 55987
APPENDIX C : Survey 1
Identifying the Essential Characteristics of Curricular Learning Communities
in Higher Education: A Delphi Study
Survey 1
Your Name ___________________________________________
Please answer the following questions by checking the most appropriate response. Direct any questions to Barbara Oertel, boertel@winona.edu, (507) 457-5600.
1. Please identify which type of college or university you are currently affiliated with.
_____ 2 year private
_____ 2 year public
_____ 4 year private
_____ 4 year public
_____ I am not currently affiliated with a college or university
2. What is the enrollment of the college or university you are currently affiliated with?
_____ Under 1,000
_____ 1001 – 5000
_____ 5001 – 10,000
_____ Over 10,0000
_____ I am not currently affiliated with a college or university
3. Which of the following best describes your experience with curricular learning
communities?
_____ participant (faculty member)
_____ administrator
_____ researcher
_____ other ________________________________________________
4. What type of learning community have you had the most exposure to or
experience with?
_____ Linked courses model
_____ Cluster model
_____ Freshman Interest Group (FIG) model
_____ Coordinated Studies Program
_____ Residential model
_____ Other _______________________________________________
5. In your opinion and based on your experience with learning communities, what are the essential characteristics of a learning community program? Consider factors such as the curriculum, the teaching and learning methods, the way the program is structured, and the environment or climate of the program. Please list 5 –10 features.
APPENDIX D : Questionnaire 1
APPENDIX E : Questionnaire 2
APPENDIX F : Questionnaire 3