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Contacts

THE Consortium
Phone: 614-447-0844
FAX:  614-447-9043

• Illinois
• City of Rockford Human Services Department, Head Start; Rockford
• Project Now / Head Start; Silvis
• Southern Seven Health Department; Ullin
• Indiana
• Child-Adult Resource services, Inc.; Rockville
• Floyd County Community Action Head Start; New Albany
• Ohio
• Hamilton County Educational Service Center, Head Start Program; Cincinnati
• Highland County Community Action Organization, Inc.; Hillsboro
• Miami Valley Child Development Centers, Inc.; Dayton
• Child Development Council of Franklin County, Inc.; Columbus
• Columbus Metropolitan Area Community Action Organization (CMACAO); Columbus
• Kokosing Early Childhood Centers; Mt. Vernon
• Council on Rural Service Programs; Piqua

Currently, there is no one distinct definition of what a community of learners is (also called learning communities and communities of practice), but they tend to be defined instead by those individuals who create them, participate in them, and teach in them. Here, however, are some definitions of learning communities found in the literature:

In order for any community of learners to evolve, it must have a goal or purpose for bringing participants and instructors together. For instance, many colleges and universities use learning communities to help incoming freshman make the transition from high school to college, interact in a smaller classroom (away from large lecture halls which may intimidating at first), and establish social networks with peers and faculty that may not have been possible in larger classes.

With time, learning communities begin to resemble a family-like environment (Matthews, 1986) which allows for unique opportunities of support from not only peers, but also faculty. In addition, learning communities provide an open forum for honest dialogue and critique to take place. Through such interactions, students gain ideas and insights from faculty members, as well as their peers.

Baker, P. "Creating learning communities: The unfinished agenda." In B. Pescosolido & R. Aminzade (Eds.). The social worlds of higher education (pp. 35-46). Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.

Decker, L. E. & Associates (1995). "Creating learning communities: An introduction to community education." ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 389 426.

Gabelnick, F., MacGregor, J., Matthews, R. S., & Smith, B. L. (1990). Learning communities: Creating cinnections among students, faculty, and disciplines. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Groff, W. H. (1995). "Creating and sustaining learning communities." ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 389 890.

Groff, W. H. (1996). "Creating and sustaining learning communities in the digital era." ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 396 188.

Hill, P. J. (1982). "Communities of learners: Curriculum as the infrastructure of academic communities." In J. W. Hall & B. L. Kelves, (Eds.). In opposition to core curriculum: Alternative models for undergraduate education (pp.107-133). Contributions to the study of education series, No. 4. Westport, CN: Greenwood Press.

Lenning, O. T. & Ebbers, L. H. (1999). "The Powerful potential of learning communities: Improving education for the future." ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report Volume 26, No. 6. Washington, D.C.: George Washington University, Graduate School of Education and Human Development.

Matthews, R. (1986). "Learning communities in the Community College." Community, Technical, and Junior College Journal, 57(2), 44-47.

Nieto, S. (1999). The light in their eyes: Creating Multicultural learning communities. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University. Teachers College Press.

Putnam, R. T., & Borko, H. (2000). "What do new views of knowledge and thinking have to say about research on teacher learning?" Educational Researcher, 29(1):4-15.

Shapiro, N. S., & Levine, J. H. (1999). Creating learning communities: A practical guide to winning support, organizing change, and implementing programs. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Smith, B. L. & Hunter, M. R. "Learning communities: A paradigm for educational revitalization." Community College Review, 15(4), 45-51.

Vasquez, J. A. & Wainstein, N. (1999). "Instructional responsibilities of college faculty to minority students." In Bernice A. Pescosolido and Ronald Aminzade (Eds.). The social worlds of higher education: Handbook for teaching in a new century. pp.137-147. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge

URL: http://www.thecol.org/