Learning communities in New York State education: implementation and impact

Learning Communities (New York State Education based)

What are they?

What is the mission and purpose?

What are their benefits?

How can they be implemented in the curriculum planning process?

Who established them?

Where did they originate?

When did they become an educational trend?

How do they affect the technology trend?

Strategies to promote the learning culture?

This paper focuses on education-based learning communities, with emphasis on New York State education-based communities. Evaluated are the school district, instructional leaders, teachers, parents, students and community partnerships that comprise the learning community. Learning communities are a not new, but they are gaining popularity as a theoretical framework for developing students' intrinsic motivation and ability to succeed outside the classroom. The premise behind learning communities is the philosophy of integrated learning. Students are encouraged to become active members of their community by engaging in workshops and seminars sponsored by organizations and community programs that teach students real life skills in addition to the textbook learning they acquire through traditional curriculum and educational formats.

What makes learning communities popular in school districts including those in New York is the decreasing numbers of student dropouts and the increased percentage of students who graduate and obtain meaningful and directed employment, employment related to their course of study (Felner, et al., 1997). Should this trend continue, it is likely students will be more prepared than in times of old to graduate and become active and participating citizens and competent, career-oriented, lifelong learners. To understand these concepts further, an analysis and overview of learning communities is provided below.

What are they?

What learning communities are depends on who you talk to. Most define learning communities as experiential type learning programs encouraging students to adopt a self-directed approach to learning, one that engages them inside the classroom and outside the classroom. Driven by an increasing need for students to develop "real life" skills in a dynamic, often changing and culturally diverse market, learning communities embrace community members, organizations and families as part of the key components critical to the successes and failures of students at all levels of the academic chain, from k-12 through higher education.

Bielaczyc & Collins (1999) suggest learning communities are an approach to education where practices in the community emerge through "interaction with different knowledge sources and co-construction and negotiation among members of the community" (p.23) They are a means whereby communities develop a common language that helps shape and articulate the "learning process, plans, goals and assumptions" of education. This compares with traditional models of learning where teachers tend to "promulgate a formal language" students must learn and adopt (Bielaczyc & Collins, 1999:22).

Learning communities are established on the premise that students are better prepared for living a productive life if they learn not only within the school, but within their community. Experiences of their community help children grow into adults that are more readily able to connect with and become active and participating members of their communities. Learning communities are literally communities comprised of faculty, staff, students, administrators, family members, community agencies and organizations. Also important to learning communities are regional, state and national government representatives whose job it is to continue to provide funding and grants that support experiential and community-based learning (Felner, et al., 1997).

What is the mission and purpose?

Bielaczyc & Collins (1999) note the mission and purpose of learning communities is to encourage the facilitation of student-directed activities, and to encourage a move away from teacher directed activities. This in turn removes traditional "power" relationships and students are able to become more responsible for learning and helping others in their learning community excel (Dede, 2004:12).

The mission of learning-based communities in New York is to enable students an opportunity to experience a wider range of learning experiences, including those derived from the communities in which they live. Public schools must rely on the communities they serve to enable students the opportunity to achieve at the highest level possible and to become participating members of their community (Felner, et al., 1997). Learning communities seek to integrate all members of the community so that exchange networks are created, where information is clearly disseminated to students, to teachers and to the communities they serve. Through clearer knowledge sharing and clearer guidelines established for what is expected of students following graduation, learning communities provide students an opportunity to thrive and excel in their future, and in their future communities.

How can they be implemented in the curriculum planning process?

Felner et al. (1997) provides a detailed overview of learning communities implemented at the national and state level. The researchers suggest learning communities can be implemented into the curriculum planning process in many ways. First, the authors recommend creating smaller and more personalized "communities" for learning; next, they recommend offering students a core academic program; then, schools are encouraged to work with and connect with their communities, and to reengage family members in the education process so that all people are involved in a student's education (Felner, et al. 1997:520). Anthony Jackson, program officer for the Carnegie Corporation of New York, suggests that to help schools' reforms, the state must establish an infrastructure supporting professional and organizational development, which may included company sponsored weeklong summer institutes whose purpose is to improve curriculum, instruction and assessment of students (Felner, et al., 1997:520). Further, the New York representative suggests professional development seminars be initiated and facilitated by faculty members throughout New York school districts, so that exchange networks can be created to disseminate and share information (Felner, et al., 1997:520).

Who established them?

Learning communities arose from the need for school reform, reform that "creates educational contexts in which all children and youths are nurtured and challenged in ways that lead them to be productive citizens in the democracy" (Felner, et al., 1997:520). For year's educators, state and national officials have been working to implement a new model of reform that will prepare students to become active members of their communities and society at large. In time previous, reform efforts had not recognized the role corporations, businesses, communities and family had on public education. More so than ever, especially during the 1990s, educators began to realize a strong link existed between learning and student's future participation in society and with the economy (Felner, et al., 1997).

It is difficult to credit one single entity for establishing learning communities, because the concept of experiential learning has existed for some time. Businesses are now pushing more so than ever before for schools and educators to adopt a community or learning community based approach to student education, in the hopes students will graduate with more applicable skill sets they can apply to the immediate global workplace.

Where did they originate?

Learning communities originated from "theory-drive evaluation" research focusing on school reform initiated by education policy specialists (Felner, et al., 1997:520). The idea was to create a central idea that would link students, educators, families, communities and businesses with each other so that information sharing and exchange networks could be created. The purposes of these networks was to prepare students for the future. The theory underlying this was one that established how important it was to understand the context in which children grow, develop and actively participate as members of society (Felner, et al., 1997). These ideas begin originated as early as the early 1980s (Bucknam & Brand, 1983) when researchers began meta-analysis of the successes and potential for experiential-based learning in the classroom. What researchers began to realize was experience-based education linked to community participation resulted in greater achievement, motivation and success following a student's academic career (Bucknam & Brand, 1983).

When did they become an educational trend?

Learning communities are now becoming part of educational reform, a new trend taking over higher education specifically (Shapiro, 2006). The National and Community Service Act, initiated in 1990 and later amended in 1993, began the trend of service or community-based learning programs. It did so as a method of "teaching and learning" that enabled youths to develop through service experiences in the community and through an integrated approach to the academic curriculum that enabled students to extend classroom learning to real-life learning, or experience-based learning (Alliance for Service-Learning in Education, 1993: 971; Owens & Wang, 1996). Learning communities are being adopted as educators begin realizing they can provide solutions to many problems existing in education, including the changing demographics of educational institutions reflecting a more diverse population base inclusive of individuals of differing ethnicities, cultures, economical status' and more (Laufgraben & Shapiro, 2004).

As the global market continues to become increasingly complex and diverse, learning communities will undoubtedly continue to grow in popularity and stature regionally, nationally and globally.

How do they affect the technology trend?

The technology trend is encouraging more and more schools to create new types of learning communities, ones that incorporate media and "virtual environments" to offer opportunities for "a national mix of kids working together to create online encyclopedias" and more (Dede, 2004). Dede (2004) notes the following, extracted from Bielczyc & Collins (1999): "The defining quality of a learning community is there is a culture of learning where everyone is involved in collective efforts of understanding" (p.10).

Dede (2004) suggests one of the biggest challenges educational institutions and the "system" faces in modern times is enabling students the ability to grasp "21st century skills and knowledge" so learners are prepared to participate in the new, technologically oriented, "global, knowledge-based civilization" (p.12). This means educators must understand technological innovations and engage in "just-in-time" learning and "information filtering" (Dede, 2004:12). Teachers can use computers to help discover information about subjects covered n the classroom, and also to engage in continuing education so they are abreast of the latest trends in learning and education. Computers and technology also offer educators and students alike the opportunity to participate in supportive forums that affirm the significance of keeping up-to-date with modern "instructional approaches" to keep students motivated and interested, rather than bored (Dede, 2004:12). Text-based multi-user virtual environments developed around modern stories and classical authors, including C.S. Lewis and even Harry Potter, are now common in educational institutions in New York and elsewhere as technology shapes and integrates within educational communities (Dede, 2004; 2003).

The introduction of technology has resulted in higher motivation and increased attendance, with parents reporting they are "more impressed by the complex material and sophisticated skills" their children learned in school and in urban areas of New York and other school communities (Dede, 2004:12).

Dede (2004) also notes that technology incorporated in the classroom also enables students to wear a "mask of technology" where "children's and teachers avatars could mingle without cultural constraints" leading to greater self-appreciation and motivational behaviors in the classroom (p.12).

How do they create a learning culture?

Gabelnick, MacGregor, Matthews & Smith (1990) note more and more university students reflect a diverse population, ranging in age from very young to very old, often falling outside of the context of the "traditional" college student, which usually encompasses an individual between "eighteen and twenty-two" and engaged in full-time learning on campus (p.6). This compared with the modern learner who may work part or full-time and engage in online and offline studies, attend multiple college and study differing majors (Shapiro, 2006).

Strategies to promote the learning culture?

Key to successful development of learning communities and the promotion of culture are five critical or core practices or elements, defined as: "community, diversity, integration, active learning and assessment" (Gabelnick, MacGregor, Matthews & Smith, 1990:102). These elements represent an "interlocking circle" and the "relationship between and among core practices" (Shapiro, 2006:550). To promote culture learning communities emphasize the role of faculty in supporting learning communities and creating culture, suggesting high school and college curricula and policies should align to foster greater success among students as they continue their academic career (Shapiro, 2006). Further, this streamlining of educational theory can be applied even at the elementary level, where students are first exposed to diverse cultural, ethnic and other demographic influences that help shape the culture of a learning community.

Dede (2003) comments a learning community culture is influenced by the diversity of expertise among people involved in the community and willing to help, the ability of the community to adopt a shared objective that will enhance collective knowledge and skills, and an emphasis on helping others "learn how to learn" (p.10).

Conclusions

Learning communities grew out of theoretical research suggesting the context for learning should be one that encourages students to develop practical education through integrated learning and community-based experiences. Students in New York and other school districts engaged in community-based learning or learning communities learn that education is not limited to the classroom, but instead extends to the community they live in, the businesses that serve them and the families that support them throughout the academic process. Learning communities encourage greater participation and higher success and achievement among students and teachers alike, thus are likely to become a lasting "trend" in educational reform and development. The link in the chain that needs to remain firm is support offered by federal and state agencies interested in seeing school reform that creates motivated and participative students.