essay on learning communities

Key Concepts

Learning Communities

Learning communities provide a space and a structure for people to align around a shared goal. Effective communities are both aspirational and practical. They connect people, organizations, and systems that are eager to learn and work across boundaries, all the while holding members accountable to a common agenda, metrics, and outcomes. These communities enable participants to share results and learn from each other, thereby improving their ability to achieve rapid yet significant progress.

There are large, well-researched bodies of knowledge about learning communities, communities of practice and purpose, and collective impact. At the Center, we draw from that expert knowledge and apply it to our innovation approach. We see learning communities as critical components for building distributed leadership and scaling promising practices by connecting organizations, agencies, and philanthropies who both share the community’s goal and have the capability to operate at scale. The features of learning communities most relevant to our work are described below.

What does a learning community do?

Jessica Sager, Co-Founder and Executive Director of All Our Kin, shares the benefits of participating in FOI and its learning community.

• It connects people. Learning communities convene change agents across sectors, disciplines, and geographies to connect, share ideas and results, and learn from each other. Communities may work together in-person and virtually.
• It sets goals and measures collective progress. These communities align participants around common goals, metrics (ways of measuring achievement), theories of change , and areas of practice.
• It enables shared learning. Communities share learning from both successful and unsuccessful experiences to deepen collective knowledge.
• It supports distributed leadership . The scope of a learning community allows it to offer a wide range of leadership roles and skill-building opportunities.
• It accelerates progress toward impact at scale . These communities facilitate fast-cycle learning, measure results to understand what works for whom, and bring together the key stakeholders who can achieve systems-level change.

Why are learning communities important?

Achieving widespread change in the early childhood field requires tackling an interrelated set of complex social problems. To solve these problems, the field needs a strong community of learning and practice that will work to identify multiple intervention strategies for different groups of children and families. Rather than replicate “successful” programs in different contexts — where they may or may not achieve the same results — learning communities share results and metrics to figure out what works best for whom and why.  This approach provides a highly targeted and effective way to achieve impact at scale.

View Learning Communities in Action

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How Do You Define a Community?

Richard E. West & Gregory S. Williams

Editor’s note:  The following article was first published under an open license in  Educational Technology Research and Development with the following citation:

West, R. E. & Williams, G. (2018). I don’t think that word means what you think it means: A proposed framework for defining learning communities.  Educational Technology Research and Development . Available online at  https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11423-017-9535-0 .

A strong learning community “sets the ambience for life-giving and uplifting experiences necessary to advance an individual and a whole society” (Lenning and Ebbers 1999 ); thus the learning community has been called “a key feature of 21st century schools” (Watkins 2005 ) and a “powerful educational practice” (Zhao and Kuh 2004 ). Lichtenstein ( 2005 ) documented positive outcomes of student participation in learning communities such as higher retention rates, higher grade point averages, lower risk of academic withdrawal, increased cognitive skills and abilities, and improved ability to adjust to college. Watkins ( 2005 ) pointed to a variety of positive outcomes from emphasizing the development of community in schools and classes, including higher student engagement, greater respect for diversity of all students, higher intrinsic motivation, and increased learning in the areas that are most important. In addition, Zhao and Kuh ( 2004 ) found learning communities associated with enhanced academic performance; integration of academic and social experiences; gains in multiple areas of skill, competence, and knowledge; and overall satisfaction with the college experience.

Because of the substantial learning advantages that research has found for strong learning communities, teachers, administrators, researchers, and instructional designers must understand how to create learning communities that provide these benefits. Researchers and practitioners have overloaded the literature with accounts, studies, models, and theories about how to effectively design learning communities. However, synthesizing and interpreting this scholarship can be difficult because researchers and practitioners use different terminology and frameworks for conceptualizing the nature of learning communities. Consequently, many become confused about what a learning community is or how to measure it.

In this chapter we address ways learning communities can be operationalized more clearly so research is more effective, based on a thorough review of the literature described in our other article (West & Williams, 2017).

Defining learning communities

Knowing what we mean when we use the word community is important for building understanding about best practices. Shen et al. ( 2008 ) concluded, “[H]ow a community of learners forms and how social interaction may foster a sense of community in distance learning is important for building theory about the social nature of online learning” (p. 18). However, there is very little agreement among educational researchers about what the specific definition of a learning community should be. This dilemma is, of course, not unique to the field of education, as rural sociologists have also debated for decades the exact meaning of community as it relates to their work (Clark 1973 ; Day and Murdoch 1993 ; Hillery 1955 ).

In the literature, learning communities can mean a variety of things, which are certainly not limited to face-to-face settings. Some researchers use this term to describe something very narrow and specific, while others use it for broader groups of people interacting in diverse ways, even though they might be dispersed through time and space. Learning communities can be as large as a whole school, or as small as a classroom (Busher 2005 ) or even a subgroup of learners from a larger cohort who work together with a common goal to provide support and collaboration (Davies et al. 2005 ). The concept of community emerges as an ambiguous term in many social science fields.

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of researching learning communities is the overwhelming acceptance of a term that is so unclearly defined. Strike ( 2004 ) articulated this dilemma through an analogy: “The idea of community may be like democracy: everyone approves of it, but not everyone means the same thing by it. Beneath the superficial agreement is a vast substratum of disagreement and confusion” (p. 217). When a concept or image is particularly fuzzy, some find it helpful to focus on the edges (boundaries) to identify where “it” begins and where “it” ends, and then work inward to describe the thing more explicitly. We will apply this strategy to learning communities and seek to define a community by its boundaries.

However, researchers have different ideas about what those boundaries are (Glynn 1981 ; Lenning and Ebbers 1999 ; McMillan and Chavis 1986 ; Royal and Rossi 1996 ) and which boundaries are most critical for defining a learning community. In our review of the literature, we found learning community boundaries often defined in terms of participants’ sense that they share access, relationships, vision, or function (see Fig. 1 ). Each of these boundaries contributes in various ways to different theoretical understandings of a learning community.

Community defined by access

Access might have been at one point the easiest way to define a community. If people lived close together, they were a community. If the children attended the same school or classroom, then they were a school or class community. Some researchers and teachers continue to believe that defining a community is that simple (For example, Kay et al., 2011 ).

This perception about spatial/geographic communities is common in community psychology research, but also emerges in education when scholars refer to the “classroom community” as simply a synonym for the group of students sitting together. Often this concept is paired with the idea of a cohort, or students entering programs of professional or educational organizations who form a community because they share the same starting time and the same location as their peers.

However, because of modern educational technologies, the meaning of being “present” or having access to one another in a community is blurred, and other researchers are expanding the concept of what it means to be “present” in a community to include virtual rather than physical opportunities for access to other community members.

Rovai et al. ( 2004 ) summarized general descriptions of what it means to be a community from many different sources (Glynn 1981 ; McMillan 1996 ; Royal and Rossi 1996 ; Sarason 1974 ) and concluded that members of a learning community need to have “ready access” to each other (Rovai et al. 2004 ). He argued that access can be attained without physical presence in the same geographic space. Rovai ( 2002 ) previously wrote that learning communities need a common meeting place, but indicated that this could be a common virtual meeting place. At this common place, members of the community can hold both social and intellectual interactions, both of which are important for fostering community development. One reason why many virtual educational environments do not become full learning communities is that although the intellectual activity occurs in the learning management system, the social interactions may occur in different spaces and environments, such as Twitter and Facebook—thus outside of the potential community.

The negotiation among researchers about what it means to be accessible in a learning community, including whether these boundaries of access are virtual or physical, is still ongoing. Many researchers are adjusting traditional concepts of community boundaries as being physical in order to accommodate modern virtual communities. However, many scholars and practitioners still continue to discuss communities as being bounded by geographic locations and spaces, such as community college math classrooms (Weissman et al. 2011 ), preservice teachers’ professional experiences (Cavanagh and Garvey 2012 ), and music educator PhD cohorts (Shin 2013 ). More important is the question of how significant physical or virtual access truly is. Researchers agree that community members should have access to each other, but the amount of access and the nature of presence needed to qualify as a community are still undefined.

Community defined by relationships

Being engaged in a learning community often requires more than being present either physically or virtually. Often researchers define learning communities by their relational or emotional boundaries: the emotional ties that bind and unify members of the community (Blanchard et al. 2011 ). Frequently a learning community is identified by how close or connected the members feel to each other emotionally and whether they feel they can trust, depend on, share knowledge with, rely on, have fun with, and enjoy high quality relationships with each other (Kensler et al. 2009 ). In this way, affect is an important aspect of determining a learning community. Often administrators or policymakers attempt to force the formation of a community by having the members associate with each other, but the sense of community is not discernible if the members do not build the necessary relational ties. In virtual communities, students may feel present and feel that others are likewise discernibly involved in the community, but still perceive a lack of emotional trust or connection.

In our review of the literature, we found what seem to be common relational characteristics of learning communities: (1) sense of belonging, (2) interdependence or reliance among the members, (3) trust among members, and (4) faith or trust in the shared purpose of the community.

Members of a community need to feel that they belong in the community, which includes feeling like one is similar enough or somehow shares a connection to the others. Sarason ( 1974 ) gave an early argument for the psychological needs of a community, which he defined in part as the absence of a feeling of loneliness. Other researchers have agreed that an essential characteristic of learning communities is that students feel “connected” to each other (Baker and Pomerantz 2000 ) and that a characteristic of ineffective learning communities is that this sense of community is not present (Lichtenstein 2005 ).

Interdependence

Sarason ( 1974 ) believed that belonging to a community could best be described as being part of a “mutually supportive network of relationships upon which one could depend” (p. 1). In other words, the members of the community need each other and feel needed by others within the community; they feel that they belong to a group larger than the individual self. Rovai ( 2002 ) added that members often feel that they have duties and obligations towards other members of the community and that they “matter” or are important to each other.

Some researchers have listed trust as a major characteristic of learning communities (Chen et al. 2007 ; Mayer et al. 1995 ; Rovai et al. 2004 ). Booth’s ( 2012 ) focus on online learning communities is one example of how trust is instrumental to the emotional strength of the learning group. “Research has established that trust is among the key enablers for knowledge sharing in online communities” (Booth 2012 , p. 5). Related to trust is the feeling of being respected and valued within a community, which is often described as essential to a successful learning community (Lichtenstein 2005 ). Other authors describe this feeling of trust or respect as feeling “safe” within the community (Baker and Pomerantz 2000 ). For example, negative or ineffective learning communities have been characterized by conflicts or instructors who were “detached or critical of students and unable or unwilling to help them” (Lichtenstein 2005 , p. 348).

Shared faith

Part of belonging to a community is believing in the community as a whole—that the community should exist and will be sufficient to meet the members’ individual needs. McMillan and Chavis ( 1986 ) felt that it was important that there be “a shared faith that members’ needs will be met through their commitment to be together” (p. 9). Rovai et al. ( 2004 ) agreed by saying that members “possess a shared faith that their educational needs will be met through their commitment to the shared goals and values of other students at the school” (p. 267).

These emotional boundaries not only define face-to-face learning communities, but they define virtual communities as well—perhaps more so. Because virtual communities do not have face-to-face interaction, the emotional bond that members feel with the persons beyond the computer screen may be even more important, and the emergence of video technologies is one method for increasing these bonds (Borup et al. 2014 ).

Community defined by vision

Communities defined by shared vision or sense of purpose are not as frequently discussed as boundaries based on relationships, but ways members of a community think about their group are important. Rather than feeling like a member of a community—with a sense of belonging, shared faith, trust, and interdependence—people can define community by thinking they are a community. They conceptualize the same vision for what the community is about, share the same mission statements and goals, and believe they are progressing as a community towards the same end. In short, in terms many researchers use, they have a shared purpose based on concepts that define the boundaries of the community. Sharing a purpose is slightly different from the affective concept of sharing faith in the existence of the community and its ability to meet members’ needs. Community members may conceptualize a vision for their community and yet not have any faith that the community is useful (e.g., a member of a math community who hates math). Members may also disagree on whether the community is capable of reaching the goal even though they may agree on what the goal is (“my well intentioned study group is dysfunctional”). Thus conceptual boundaries of a community of learners are distinct from relational ties; they simply define ways members perceive the community’s vision. Occasionally the shared conception is the most salient or distinguishing characteristic of a particular learning community.

Schrum et al. ( 2005 ) summarized this characteristic of learning communities by saying that a community is “individuals who share common purposes related to education” (p. 282). Royal and Rossi ( 1996 ) also described effective learning communities as rich environments for teamwork among those with a common vision for the future of their school and a common sense of purpose.

Community defined by function

Perhaps the most basic way to define the boundaries of a learning community is by what the members do. For example, a community of practice in a business would include business participants engaged in that work. This type of definition is often used in education which considers students members of communities simply because they are doing the same assignments: Participants’ associations are merely functional, and like work of research teams organized to achieve a particular goal, they hold together as long as the work is held in common. When the project is completed, these communities often disappear unless ties related to relationships, conceptions, or physical or virtual presence [access] continue to bind the members together.

The difference between functional boundaries and conceptual boundaries [boundaries of function and boundaries of vision or purpose] may be difficult to discern. These boundaries are often present simultaneously, but a functional community can exist in which the members work on similar projects but do not share the same vision or mental focus about the community’s purpose. Conversely, a group of people can have a shared vision and goals but be unable to actually work together towards this end (for example, if they are assigned to different work teams). Members of a functional community may work together without the emotional connections of a relational community, and members who are present in a community may occupy the same physical or virtual spaces but without working together on the same projects. For example, in co-working spaces, such as Open Gov Hub in Washington D.C., different companies share an open working space, creating in a physical sense a very real community, but members of these separate companies would not be considered a community according to functional boundaries. Thus all the proposed community boundaries sometimes overlap but often represent distinctive features.

The importance of functional cohesion in a learning community is one reason why freshman learning communities at universities usually place cohorts of students in the same classes so they are working on the same projects. Considering work settings, Hakkarainen et al. ( 2004 ) argued that the new information age in our society requires workers to be capable of quickly forming collaborative teams (or networked communities of expertise) to achieve a particular functional purpose and then be able to disband when the project is over and form new teams. They argued that these networked communities are increasingly necessary to accomplish work in the 21st Century.

Relying on functional boundaries to define a learning community is particularly useful with online communities. A distributed and asynchronously meeting group can still work on the same project and perhaps feel a shared purpose along with a shared functional assignment, sometimes despite not sharing much online social presence or interpersonal attachment.

Many scholars and practitioners agree that learning communities “set the ambience for life-giving and uplifting experiences necessary to advance an individual and a whole society” (Lenning and Ebbers 1999 ). Because learning communities are so important to student learning and satisfaction, clear definitions that enable sharing of best practices are essential. By clarifying our understanding and expectations about what we hope students will be able to do, learn, and become in a learning community, we can more precisely identify what our ideal learning community would be like and distinguish this ideal from the less effective/efficient communities existing in everyday life and learning.

In this chapter we have discussed definitions for four potential boundaries of a learning community. Two of these can be observed externally: access (Who is present physically or virtually?) and function (Who has been organized specifically to achieve some goal?). Two of these potential boundaries are internal to the individuals involved and can only be researched by helping participants describe their feelings and thoughts about the community: relationships (Who feels connected and accepted?) and vision (who shares the same mission or purpose?).

Researchers have discussed learning communities according to each of these four boundaries, and often a particular learning community can be defined by more than one. By understanding more precisely what we mean when we describe a group of people as a learning community—whether we mean that they share the same goals, are assigned to work/learn together, or simply happen to be in the same class—we can better orient our research on the outcomes of learning communities by accounting for how we erected boundaries and defined the subjects. We can also develop better guidelines for cultivating learning communities by communicating more effectively what kinds of learning communities we are trying to develop.

Application Exercises

• Evaluate your current learning community. How can you strengthen your personal learning community? Make one commitment to accomplish this goal.
• Analyze an online group (Facebook users, Twitter users, NPR readers, Pinners on Pinterest, etc.) that you are part of to determine if it would fit within the four proposed boundaries of a community. Do you feel like an active member of this community? Why or why not?

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Foundations of Learning and Instructional Design Technology Copyright © 2018 by Richard E. West & Gregory S. Williams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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The Importance of Learning Communities for K-12 Students

• May 24, 2022

Strong learning communities can foster an environment of academic risk-taking and growth, but students aren’t the only ones who benefit.

A sense of community is crucial to any successful classroom. Whether it’s in a traditional, blended or virtual environment, creating strong learning communities can foster an environment of academic risk-taking, creativity and growth. But students aren’t the only ones who benefit from a strong community at school: parents, guardians and teachers also gain from better communication, higher trust and shared responsibility.

In this blog, we discuss learning communities and why they matter, while taking an in-depth look at some of the benefits.

• What Are Learning Communities in K-12 Schools?

A learning community is an environment that connects the stakeholders of a learning journey. That includes students, teachers and parents. In an effective learning community, each of these groups works toward and is accountable for common goals. In the case of a K-12 learning community , that means a robust learning environment for children, a fulfilling and exciting opportunity for teachers and a highly communicative relationship for a parent. Learning communities promote and value learning as an ongoing, active, collaborative process with dynamic dialogue between all members.

• Why Strong Learning Communities Matter

There is plenty of evidence supporting the value of engaged learning communities. One way this engagement manifests is through students’ sense of belonging among their peers and teachers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) , students who feel a higher sense of school connectedness are less likely to engage in risky behavior and more likely to have higher grades and better attendance.

Teachers reap the rewards of connected students, too. A recent study from the University of Missouri found that teaching behavior was affected by high-quality relationships with students and actually resulted in better teaching practices. The study found that “students who reported having more positive relationships with their teachers also reported that their teachers used more high-impact teaching practices linked with student academic achievement.”

Parents and guardians also play a crucial role in a successful learning community. Research cited by Waterford , an educational nonprofit based in Utah, noted that parental involvement and home encouragement of learning are the best predictors of future academic success. Ensuring that parents and guardians are engaged can help students stay on track with their assignments and homework while also helping them develop an intrinsic love for learning.

When parents and students are engaged with one another in learning, it can help foster richer and more meaningful conversations. Open-ended questions about schooldays can leave a lot out of the conversation compared to specific questions about subjects and class topics. These conversations can serve as a form of enrichment as students learn more and get excited about learning even after class is done.

• The Benefits of Strong Learning Communities

Beyond these benefits, there are others that can improve the quality and outcomes of learning journeys as students work their way through K-12 classrooms.

Shared Responsibilities

An effective learning community spreads responsibility among those involved. While teachers still assign homework, students take ownership of their learning and parents encourage time spent on assignments. Instead of parents calling a teacher to find out their child’s progress, regular communication ensures that there are no surprises come report card time. And rather than students feeling the pressure of schoolwork and socialization on their own, they feel supported by parents and teachers when issues and difficulties arise.

Sharing this responsibility among the stakeholders can lead to several positive outcomes. Students feel empowered in their own learning, parents feel connected to the process and teachers feel less burden at a time when many are feeling burnt out and stressed . When each party feels accountable in a learning community, they feel more engaged and more empowered to succeed.

Improved Learning Practices

A hallmark of learning communities is the space they provide to explore, understand and improve teaching and learning practices. Students who are part of a strong learning community may feel more autonomy, resulting in more self-directed learning. Involved parents can provide opportunities for enrichment and supplementary learning, while teachers can encourage creativity and pushed boundaries.

With equal commitment to a unified goal, students can thrive in new circumstances, like blended learning environments. In this case, the buy-in from each party ensures that students can still learn effectively, while opening the door to personalized learning practices , thanks in part to the additional support. Engaged learning communities can create opportunities for students to excel in new ways that suit them best, a reality that relieves pressure and stress for teachers, parents and guardians alike.

More Supportive Environments

When a whole learning community comes together, the members naturally support one another because they have a shared goal: the success of each student. In order to best achieve that, collaboration and cooperation are key.

A supportive environment makes it easier to teach and helps students feel empowered to take chances and even fail. In a classroom, this can happen when a student feels comfortable trying to answer a question, even if they aren’t completely confident in their answer. In that instance, the student trusts their peers not to make fun of them for their wrong answer and trusts their teacher to prevent that from happening. This kind of environment can lead to happier, more confident students, something that can translate to home and a student’s community.

• Use Tech-Enhanced Learning to Build Strong Communities

Read our free infographic on how using tech-enhanced learning can benefit students, teachers, parents and guardians .

Written by:

Chase Banger is a Content Marketing Specialist at D2L. An award-winning journalist and former communications specialist, he has a passion for helping people through education.

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Center for Engaged Learning

Learning communities.

Learning communities emphasize collaborative partnerships between students, faculty, and staff, and attempt to restructure the university curriculum to address  structural  barriers to educational excellence.

In their 1990 publication  Learning Communities: Creating Connections Among Students, Faculty, and Disciplines,  Faith Gabelnick, Jean MacGregor, Roberta S. Matthews, and Barbara Leigh Smith describe a learning community as “any one 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 and integration of the material they are learning, and more interaction with one another and their teachers as fellow participants in the learning enterprise” (1990, p. 19). The authors promote the idea that learning communities can “purposefully restructure the curriculum to link together courses or course work so that students find greater coherence in what they are learning as well as increased intellectual interaction with faculty and fellow students” and that they “can address some of the structural features of the modern university that undermine effective teaching and learning” (1990, p.5).  As a necessarily collaborative enterprise, learning communities usually incorporate “collaborative and active approaches to learning, some form of team teaching, and interdisciplinary themes” (Gabelnick, et al., 1990, p. 5).

Nancy Shapiro and Jodi Levine (1999) cite Alexander Astin’s  (1985, p. 161) view of learning communities:

Such communities can be organized along curricular lines, common career interests, avocational interests, residential living areas, and so on. These can be used to build a sense of group identity, cohesiveness, and uniqueness; to encourage continuity and the integration of diverse curricular and co-curricular experiences; and to counteract the isolation that many students feel.

They expand on Astin’s definition to assert basic characteristics that learning communities share:

• Organizing students and faculty into smaller groups
• Encouraging integration of the curriculum
• Helping students establish academic and social support networks
• Providing a setting for students to be socialized to the expectations of college
• Bringing faculty together in more meaningful ways
• Focusing faculty and students on learning outcomes
• Providing a setting for community-based delivery of academic support programs
• Offering a critical lens for examining the first-year experience (Shapiro & Levine, 1999, p. 3).

Finally, Lenning et al. (2013) define a learning community as an “intentionally developed community that exists to promote and maximize the individual and shared learning of its members. There is ongoing interaction, interplay, and collaboration among the community’s members as they strive for specified common learning goals” (Lenning, et al., 2013, p. 7).

More broadly, Kuh (1996) describes any  educationally purposeful activity , such as learning communities, as “undergraduate activities, events, and experiences that are congruent with the institution’s educational purposes and a student’s own educational aspirations.” In a later study he and his co-author describe a learning community as “a formal program where groups of students take two or more classes together, [that] may or may not have a residential component” (Zhao and Kuh, 2004, p. 119). They cite four generic forms of learning communities: curricular, classroom, residential, and student-type (p. 116).

In the 2008 publication High-Impact Educational Practices: What They Are, Who Has Access to Them, and Why They Matter,  George Kuh states the key goals for learning communities are “to encourage integration of learning across courses, and to involve students with ‘big questions’ that matter beyond the classroom. Students take two or more linked courses as a group and work closely with one another and with their professors. Many learning communities explore a common topic and/or common readings through the lens of different disciplines. Some intentionally link ‘liberal arts’ and ‘professional courses’; others feature service learning” (p. 10).

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What makes it a high-impact practice?

High-impact educational activities, such as learning communities,  share common characteristics that make them especially effective with students . In  Adding Value: Learning Communities and Student Engagement , Chun-Mei Zhao and George D. Kuh (2004, p. 124) enumerate the benefits of participating in learning communities in particular. Specifically, participating in learning communities is uniformly and positively linked with:

• Student academic performance
• Engagement in educationally fruitful activities (e.g., academic integration, active and collaborative learning, interaction with faculty members)
• Gains associated with college attendance
• Overall satisfaction with the college experience.

Pulling from multiple sources, Lenning and Ebbers (1999, p. 51-52) cite the numerous benefits for college students participating in learning communities. Well-designed learning communities emphasizing collaborative learning result in improved GPAs, and higher retention and satisfaction for undergraduate students. In addition, various studies have verified other significant benefits:

• A lower number of students on academic probation;
• Amount and quality of learning;
• Validation of learning;
• Academic skills;
• Self-esteem;
• Satisfaction with the institution, involvement in college, and educational experiences;
• Increased opportunity to write and speak;
• Greater engagement in learning;
• The ability to meet academic and social needs;
• Greater intellectual richness;
• Intellectual empowerment;
• More complex thinking, a more complex world view, and a greater openness to ideas different from one’s own;
• Increased quality and quantity of learning;
• The ability to bridge academic and social environments; and
• Improved involvement and connectedness within the social and academic realms.

Research-Informed Practices

In looking at high-impact educationally purposeful activities, Kuh (2008, p. 19-20) strongly recommends that institutions “make it possible for every student to participate in  at least two high-impact activities  during his or her undergraduate program, one in the first year, and one taken later in relation to the major field. The obvious choices for incoming students are first-year seminars, learning communities, and service learning… Ideally, institutions would structure the curriculum and other learning opportunities so that  one high-impact activity is available to every student every year”  (Kuh, 2008, p. 19-20).

Schroeder and Mable (1994, p. 183) offer six specific principles or themes that should be incorporated in the development of learning communities. Themes one through three are characteristic of both residential-group communities and learning communities. Themes four through six apply only to residential learning communities.

• Learning communities are generally small, unique, and cohesive units characterized by a common sense of purpose and powerful peer influences.
• Student interaction within learning communities should be characterized by the four I’s – involvement, investment, influence, and identity.
• Learning communities involve bounded territory that provides easy access to and control of group space that supports ongoing interaction and social stability.
• Learning communities should be primarily student centered, not staff centered, if they are to promote student learning. Staff must assume that students are capable and responsible young adults who are primarily responsible for the quality and extent of their learning.
• Effective learning communities should be the result of collaborative partnerships between faculty, students, and residence hall staff. Learning communities should not be created in a vacuum; they are designed to intentionally achieve specific educational outcomes.
• Learning communities should exhibit a clear set of values and normative expectations for active participation. The normative peer cultures of learning communities enhance student learning and development in specific ways.

Gabelnick, et al. (1990, p. 51) also offers guidelines for how to create learning communities that achieve the best possible results for learners:

• Broad support from both faculty and staff is essential — collaboration must be present from the inception of the learning community development process.
• Stable leadership and an administrative “home” will ensure a greater chance for long-term stability and success.
• Selection of an appropriate design and theme to appeal to students’ academic and personal goals is important. Learning communities should utilize required general courses or pre-major courses, such as pre-law, pre-health, and pre-engineering.
• Choose a faculty team with complementary skills and roles.
• Properly manage enrollment expectations and faculty load.
• Develop effective strategies for recruitment, marketing, and registration.
• Ensure appropriate funding, space, and teaching resources.

Golde & Pribbenow (2000) investigated the experiences of faculty members in residential learning communities, from which they formulated recommendations for navigating the sometimes dicey waters that separate faculty from administrative staff. Some of their recommendations included:

• Faculty hold a deep concern for undergraduate education, and wish to know students better. However, some were surprised about the desire of students to be more personal than faculty had expected (p. 32, 36).
• Faculty were enticed by the idea of participating in interdisciplinary and innovative education (p. 32).
• They were also both excited and concerned with being accepted into the learning community, both by students and veteran faculty members (p. 32, 33)

Some barriers to faculty participation in learning communities included familiar challenges:

• Time — faculty reward system must be addressed and taken into account when expecting faculty participation in learning communities (p. 32)
• Faculty had little awareness of, and in some cases little respect for, the work of student affairs professionals on their campus. Similarly, student affairs staff held a limited view of how faculty might contribute in a residential setting (p. 35).

Golde and Pribbenow conclude that faculty are the best recruiters of other faculty into learning community participation, and that it is important to both include faculty in planning efforts, but also to give them well-defined roles within the community (p. 37-38).

The  National Resource Center for Learning Communities website , hosted by the Washington Center at The Evergreen State College,  identifies three essential components of effective learning communities :

• “A strategically-defined cohort of students taking courses together which have been identified through a review of institutional data
• “Robust, collaborative partnerships between academic affairs and student affairs
• “Explicitly designed opportunities to practice integrative and interdisciplinary learning”

The National Resource Center also emphasizes that learning communities should be designed with attention to an institution’s unique goals and priorities.

Embedded and Emerging Questions for Research, Practice, and Theory

In their exhaustive review of previous learning community assessment studies,  Learning Community Research and Assessment: What We Know Now , Taylor et al. (2003) indicated four key future directions for learning community research and assessment:

• Identifying and assessing a broader scope of learning community outcomes – for students, faculty, and institutions;
• Exploring the specific pedagogical and structural characteristics that lead to positive outcomes;
• Pursuing longitudinal inquiry to examine the long-term impact of learning communities – for students, faculty, and institutions; and
• Improving presentations and publications about learning community research. Taylor et al. (2003, pp. 65-66) note that studies should describe the learning communities program, its institutional context, and its participants; identify inquiry questions and methods; clearly communicate results and corresponding recommendations; exhibit critical self-reflection; and be accessible to readers.

Lenning & Ebbers (1999, p. 88) offer ideas about further areas of study, given that evidence at the time suggested some learning communities are more effective than others, but existing studies were not clear cut in their evidence and were not intended as comparative studies:

• Which student learning communities and combinations thereof are most effective?
• How do we optimize the performance and effectiveness of student learning communities of different kinds?
• How do we motivate faculty to participate fully in student learning communities?
• What do we know about the characteristics of students who do not participate, and how to motivate them?

The allocation of resources also raises concerns for the success of learning communities on campus, if universities continue to be evaluated on the kinds of students they admit, rather than the kinds of leaders they graduate. The current definition of quality in higher education preferences schools that accept excellent high school students with excellent ratings. However, there is no value placed on what happens during college. A school could accept excellent high school students and teach them nothing and receive high ratings, while another school may accept mediocre students and teach them a great deal. In the current valuation system, a campus that wants to increase its prestige shifts resources to competitive admissions, not practices to improve learning. These criteria of excellence do little to encourage schools to create supportive learning environments for the diverse groups now in college ( Greater Expectations , 2002, p. 17).

Key Scholarship

Benjamin, Mimi, ed. 2015. Learning communities from start to finish: New directions for student services, Number 149. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

About this Edited Book:

This edited collection provides theoretical foundations for learning communities and recent research on institutional structures that foster success in implementing, maintaining, and assessing learning communities. Chapters include:

• “A history of learning communities within American higher education” by John e. Fink and Karen Kurotsuchi Inkelas
• “Theoretical foundations of learning communities” by Jody E. Jessup-Anger
• “With educational benefits for all: Campus inclusion through learning communities designed for underserved student populations” by John E. Fink and Mary L. Hummel
• “Aligning needs, expectations, and learning outcomes to sustain self-efficacy through transfer learning community programs” by Jennifer R. Leptien
• “Utilizing online learning communities in student affairs” by Daniel W. Calhoun and Lucy Santos Green
• “Utilizing peer mentor roles in learning communities” by Laura Jo Rieske and Mimi Benjamin
• “Assessing the ‘learning’ in learning communities” by Ann M. Gansemer-Topf and Kari Tietjen
• “Learning community literature: Annotated bibliography” by Sarah Conte

Gabelnick, Faith, Jean MacGregor, Roberta S. Matthews, and Barbara L. Smith, eds. 1990. Learning Communities: Creating Connections Among Students, Faculty, and Disciplines. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, #41. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

In this early comprehensive look at learning communities, the authors draw from the foundational work of Dewey, Meiklejohn, and Tussman and present five basic models of learning communities: linked courses, learning clusters, freshman interest groups, federated learning communities, and coordinated studies. Learning communities are defined as “any one of a variety of curricular structures that link together several existing courses, or restructure the curricular material entirely, so that students have opportunities for deeper understanding and integration of the material they are learning, and more interaction with one another and their teachers as fellow participants in the learning process.” They assert that students should experience a learning community at least once and early in their college career, and that membership in at least one such supportive community may be enough to ensure a student’s persistence. They offer a practical checklist for issues of implementation and sustainability, and address strategies and difficulties related to teaching in learning communities through collaborative design and planning. Two chapters of the book address student and faculty experiences and responses to learning communities, and the final chapter looks ahead to the future of learning communities and curricular reform. There is also a section of resources provided.

Kuh, George D. 1996. “Guiding Principles for Creating Learning Environments for Undergraduates.” Journal of College Student Development 37 (2): 135-148.

About this Journal Article:

The author presents six principles “to guide institutional efforts to enhance student learning and personal development by more purposefully integrating curricular goals and outcomes with students’ experiences outside the classroom.” Based on existing research, the author shares ten conditions that foster student learning and personal development that when implemented together represent an institution with a seamless learning environment, that is, an environment that takes once separate parts of the academic experience (e.g., in-class and out-of-class, academic and non-academic, curricular and co-curricular, on- and off-campus experiences) and blends them into a whole and continuous experience. The six principles reflect the broad scope of activities that must be implemented to move toward an ethos of learning: generate enthusiasm for institutional renewal; create a common vision for learning; develop a common language; foster collaboration and cross-functional dialogue; examine the influence of student cultures on student learning; and focus on systemic change. Some institutions may require additional interventions not described in the six principles. The principles are also not presented as a “hierarchy of activities” – an institution may begin with any one of the activities to move toward an ethos of learning, though all must be addressed.

Leary, Margaret, Tina M. Muller, Samantha Kramer, John Sopper, Richard D. Gebauer, and Mary Ellen Wade. 2022. “Defining Collaboration Through the Lens of a Delphi Study: Student Affairs and Academic Affairs Partnerships in Residential Learning Communities.” The Qualitative Report 27 (3): 664-690. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2022.5276 .

A multi-institutional research team from the 2017-2019 research seminar on Residential Learning Communities as a High-Impact Practice examines collaboration between student affairs and academic affairs. Using a Delphi method, the team explored how academic and student affairs professionals define collaboration in residential learning communities and distilled a definition through multiple rounds of feedback. The research team’s resulting definition is: “Collaboration between academic and student affairs is the continuous process of cultivating an independent relationship where each stakeholder is mutually committed to working toward the shared purpose of holistic student learning” (p. 671).

Lenning, Oscar T., Denise M. Hill, Kevin P. Saunders, Alisha Solan, and Andria Stokes. 2013. Powerful Learning Communities: A Guide to Developing Student, Faculty and Professional Learning Communities to Improve Student Success and Organizational Effectiveness. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

About this Book:

A current, comprehensive and highly practical guidebook for the planning and implementation of learning communities, this book moves through the entire process of creating learning communities from introducing concepts and key terms, to defining the scope and types of learning communities, to preparing for and planning, all the way through to assessing outcomes and preventing potential problems. The authors also offer chapters on creating optimal face-to-face, virtual, and hybrid learning communities; conceptual frameworks; achieving optimal student success using the various types of learning communities; and legal and ethical considerations. There are also extensive appendices that provide further information and tools for institutions. Each chapter begins with a “What’s the Story?” feature that highlights a real-life scenario that gives context to the chapter’s content, with a corresponding “The Rest of the Story” section that offers a recap of the scenario and possible actions and solutions. A 90-page PDF companion resource is also available online .

Shapiro, Nancy S., and Jodi H. Levine. 1999. Creating Learning Communities: A Practical Guide to Winning Support, Organizing for Change, and Implementing Programs. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Shapiro and Levine present a comprehensive handbook for the implementation of learning communities on college campuses. In the first two chapters they define and describe the characteristics of learning communities, highlight historical influences and contemporary settings, and describe current models and approaches to learning communities. The next three chapters articulate the types of transformative changes that need to occur for learning communities to take root and flourish in higher education environments, which includes practical advice on human and fiscal resources, curricular implications, and the importance of changing faculty roles and reward structures. Chapters six and seven deal in the practical aspects of administrative partnerships and logistics – planning, registration, marketing, and community building. Following that are two chapters devoted to evaluation and assessment, with the final chapter offering helpful lessons and advice.

Zhao, Chun-Mei, and George D. Kuh. 2004. “Adding Value: Learning Communities and Student Engagement.” Research in Higher Education 45 (2): 115-138.

This study was conducted in order to determine whether student success can be linked to participation in a learning community, success being defined as student engagement in educationally purposeful activities, self-reported gains in a variety of outcomes, and overall satisfaction with the college experience. For the purposes of the study, a learning community was defined as a formal program where groups of students take two or more classes together, that may or may not have a residential component. The study used the National Survey for Student Engagement (NSSE), an annual survey of first-year and senior students, that measures the degree to which students participate in educational practices linked to the desired outcomes of college. The survey sample was 80,479 randomly selected first-year and senior students from 365 4-year colleges and universities who completed the survey in the spring of 2002. The results support the assertion that participating in learning communities is “uniformly and positively linked with student academic performance, engagement in educationally fruitful activities, gains associated with college attendance, and overall satisfaction with the college experience.” The article goes on to describe these effects in detail.

Limitations of the study include the wording of the question (it is impossible to determine if students had already participated in a learning community or if they were planning to do so); inability to distinguish between the different types of learning communities in which students had participated; the reliability of some of the scales employed in the study; and the measures are based on self-reported data. The study does, however, provide evidence that learning communities do warrant classification as a high-impact educational practice, and based on this the authors recommend two actions: 1) every campus should evaluate how many and what kinds of learning communities exist on campus and the numbers of different groups of students who are participating in them; 2) efforts should be focused on creating additional learning communities and attracting underrepresented students to participate them, such as male students, transfer students, and part-time students as these are the groups least likely to participate in learning communities before graduation.

See all Learning Communities entries

Model Programs

• Elon University Living-Learning Communities
• Evergreen State College Learning Communities
• Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis Themes Learning Communities
• LaGuardia Community College Liberal Arts Clusters
• Seattle Central College Learning Communities
• University of Missouri – Columbia Research Learning Communities and Freshmen Interest Groups
• The University of Texas at Austin  First-Year Interest Groups  and  TIP Scholars
• University of Washington First-Year Interest Groups
• US News & World Report  College Ranking Lists>Learning communities

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Featured Resources

Elon statement on residential learning communities as a high-impact practice.

Download a printer-friendly [PDF] copy of the Elon Statement on Residential Learning Communities By Mimi Benjamin, Jody Jessup-Anger, Shannon Lundeen, and Cara Lucia Twenty scholars participated in the Center for Engaged Learning research seminar on Residential Learning Communities (RLCs) as…

Association of American Colleges & Universities. 2002. Greater Expectations: A New Vision for Learning as a Nation Goes to College. Washington, DC.

Astin, A.W. 1985. Achieving Educational Excellence , San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Gabelnick, F. MacGregor, J. Matthews, R.S., and Smith, B.L. (eds). 1990. Learning Communities: Creating Connections Among Students, Faculty, and Disciplines . New Directions for Teaching and Learning, no. 41. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Golde, C.M. and Pribbenow, D.A. 2000. “Understanding faculty involvement in residential learning communities.” Journal of College Student Development , 41(1), 27-40.

Kuh, G.D. 1996. Guiding principles for creating learning environments for undergraduates. Journal of College Student Development, 37(2), 135-148 .

Kuh, G.D. 2008. High-Impact Educational Practices: What They Are, Who Has Access to Them, and Why They Matter . Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges & Universities.

Lenning, O.T. and Ebbers, L.H. 1999. The Powerful Potential of Learning Communities: Improving Education for the Future . ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Reports, 26.

Lenning, O.T., Hill, D.M., Saunders, K.P., Solan, A., and Stokes, A. 2013. Powerful Learning Communities: A Guide to Developing Student, Faculty and Professional Learning Communities to Improve Student Success and Organizational Effectiveness . Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Schroeder, C.C. and Mabel, P. 1994. Realizing the Educational Potential of Residence Halls. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Shapiro, N.S., and Levine, J.H. 1999. Creating Learning Communities: A Practical Guide to Winning Support, Organizing for Change, and Implementing Programs . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Taylor, K., Moore, W.S., MacGregor, J. and Lindblad, J. 2003. What We Know Now about Learning Community Research and Assessment. National Learning Communities Project Monograph Series. Olympia, WA: Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education, The Evergreen State College.

Zhao, C. and Kuh, G.D. 2004. “Adding value: Learning communities and student engagement.” Research in Higher Education , 45(2), 115-138.

The Center thanks Stacie Dooley for contributing the initial content for this resource.

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Revisiting learning communities: innovations in theory and practice

• Published: 10 July 2018
• Volume 46 , pages 489–506, ( 2018 )

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• Yotam Hod   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7353-4052 1 ,
• Katerine Bielaczyc 2 &
• Dani Ben-Zvi 1  

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Research on learning communities has been largely influenced by the sociocultural turn in educational scholarship approximately three decades ago. Here, we present a wider history of research and practice on learning communities as we revisit this highly generative and central topic in the learning sciences. Using this to frame our perspective, we examine several central themes in learning communities by comparing and contrasting four cutting-edge conceptions and innovations. We conclude by asking and providing preliminary answers to three key questions in scholarship on learning communities: (1) Where are the learning and instructional sciences going? (2) Where is education going? (3) Where is the world going? Altogether, this paper can serve as an orientation to the topic of learning communities as research and practice moves forward.

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Hod, Y., Bielaczyc, K. & Ben-Zvi, D. Revisiting learning communities: innovations in theory and practice. Instr Sci 46 , 489–506 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-018-9467-z

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How to Write Stanford’s “Excited About Learning” Essay

This article was written based on the information and opinions presented by Johnathan Patin-Sauls and Vinay Bhaskara in a CollegeVine livestream. You can watch the full livestream for more info.

What’s Covered:

Choosing an idea vs. an experience, learning for the sake of learning, learning as a means to other ends, be specific.

Stanford University’s first essay prompt asks you to respond to the following:

“ The Stanford community is deeply curious and driven to learn in and out of the classroom. Reflect on an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning. (100-250 words)”

For this short answer question, your response is limited to a maximum of 250 words. In this article, we will discuss considerations for choosing to write about an idea or experience, ways to demonstrate a love or enthusiasm for learning, and why you should be as specific. For more information and guidance on writing the application essays for Stanford University, check out our post on how to write the Stanford University essays .

Regardless of if you choose either an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning as a topic, there are a few considerations for each.  

Most people gravitate towards writing about an idea. One challenge that arises with an idea-focused essay is that applicants who are passionate about an idea often become hyper focused on explaining the idea but neglect to connect this idea to who they are as a person and why this idea excites them. 

When writing about an experience, it is important to strike a balance between describing the experience and analyzing the impact of the experience on you, your goals, and your commitment to learning.

This essay question allows you to expand on your joy for learning and your genuine curiosity. Stanford is searching for students who are naturally curious and enjoy the process of learning and educating themselves. For example, a compelling essay could begin with a riveting story of getting lost while hiking the Appalachian Trail and describing how this experience led to a lifelong passion for studying primitive forms of navigation. 

There is a strong tendency among applicants to write about formal academic coursework, however, the most compelling essays will subvert expectations by taking the concept of learning beyond the classroom and demonstrating how learning manifests itself in unique contexts in your life.

If you’re someone for whom learning is a means to other ends, it is important that you convey a sense of genuine enthusiasm and purpose beyond, “I want to go to X school because it will help me get Y job for Z purpose.” You may be motivated to attend college to obtain a certain position and make a comfortable income, however these answers are not necessarily what admissions officers are looking for. Instead, it can be helpful to relate an idea or experience to something more personal to you.

Academic & Professional Trajectory

Consider relating the idea or experience you choose to a major, degree program, research initiative, or professor that interests you at Stanford. Then go beyond the academic context to explain how the idea or experience ties into your future career. 

For instance, if you are interested in the concept of universal health care, then you might describe your interest in applying to public health programs with faculty that specialize in national health care systems. You might then describe your long term career aspirations to work in the United States Senate on crafting and passing health care policy.

Personal Values & Experiences

Another way to tie the ideas in this essay back to a more personal topic is to discuss how the idea or experience informs who you are, how you treat others, or how you experience the world around you. 

You could also focus on an idea or experience that has challenged, frustrated, or even offended you, thereby reinforcing and further justifying the values you hold and your worldview.

Community Building & Social Connectedness

You may also explore how this idea or experience connects you to a particular community by helping you understand, build, and support members of the community. Stanford is looking to find students who will be engaged members of the student body and carry out the community’s core mission, values, and projects, so this essay can be an opportunity to highlight how you would contribute to Stanford. 

Be specific in your choice of idea or the way in which you describe an experience. For example, a response that focuses on the joys of learning philosophy is too broad to be particularly memorable or impactful. However, the mind-body problem looking at the debate concerning the relationship between thought and consciousness is a specific philosophical idea that lends itself to a rich discussion. 

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

Classroom Q&A

With larry ferlazzo.

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to [email protected]. Read more from this blog.

Response: The Value of ‘Small Learning Communities’

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This week’s question is:

What are ‘Small Learning Communities’ (dividing large campuses into special interest small schools) and how do they work?

Having worked for the past ten years in a school that is divided into “Small Learning Communities,” I can’t imagine teaching in any other kind of environment. I’ll leave it to Ted Appel, the extraordinary principal of our school, to explain how it works in today’s first response. Educators ReLeah Cossett, PJ Caposey and Tom Hoerr also contribute their commentaries today sharing different perspectives on what a “small learning community” might look like. Plus, you can listen to a ten-minute conversation I had with Ted and ReLeah on this topic at my BAM! Radio Show .

I’ve collected additional materials at The Best Resources For Learning About Small Learning Communities .

Response From Ted Appel

Ted Appel is the principal of Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, California:

In 2001, the Sacramento City Unified School district launched an initiative for high school reform. The initiative. which was supported by a grant from the Carnegie Foundation, resulted in Luther Burbank High School reorganizing its 2000 students and approximately 100 teachers from a centrally organized and administrated program into eight small learning communities. Each small learning community consists approximately 250 students who take all their core classes (English, Math, Social Science and some science) with teachers assigned to the small learning community. Each SLC has a dedicated counselor assigned to it. There is a career path theme to each small learning community such as Law and Social Justice or Health and Medical Sciences. Electives are aligned to the career path theme.

The most fundamental aspect of the small learning community is the opportunity for teachers to believe they have an opportunity to have an impact on the success of the students in their community and the belief that their actions make a significant contribution to the community. In my view, the most significant motivator you can give a teacher is the opportunity to make a difference. Because teachers work collaboratively with other teachers and counselors , and because they can engage with their students beyond one period a day for one semester or year, they believe their ongoing work can have that impact. They establish relationships that reflect a concern for their students beyond the short period of time the student may be in their class. This, in turn, changes the way the students think about their teachers.

Additionally, SLCs provide teachers with more varied opportunities to lead and be part of the school community. Each small learning community creates an assortment of roles and responsibilities for teachers. These include facilitation of SLC meetings, chairing a career day or awards celebration and monitoring parent contacts. Giving teachers roles and responsibilities for the betterment of their community connects teachers to the overall community success.

Finally, small learning communities make teachers and students less anonymous. In a large school some teachers and many students believe they can exist unnoticed. For both, this can mean feeling like you can get away with doing less than your best. It is much more difficult to pass unnoticed when you collaborate with colleagues on regular basis and each student knows that each teacher knows all of their other teachers. This breakdown of anonymity is the first step toward accountability.

Response From ReLeah Cossett

ReLeah Cossett Lent is an educational consultant, speaker, and author of numerous articles and books , including Literacy Learning Communities , Overcoming Textbook Fatigue , and, most recently, Common Core CPR :

Small learning communities can effectively change the impersonal nature of large schools, but their success depends upon the unique population of students as well as the interests and expertise of the faculty. Many schools seeking the advantages of “schools within schools"--lower drop-out rates, higher achievement, reduced isolationism (for teachers as well as students), and a surge in engagement-- create academy-type programs related to particular themes such as technology, law, music, international studies or fine arts. Though academy students must accrue appropriate credits, the coursework is more closely related to the theme of the academy, and often courses are multi-year, allowing participants to delve more deeply into topics than they might in traditional classes. The process for applying to such programs may be a learning experience in itself. Students sometimes undergo a rigorous interview along with the presentation of a portfolio that includes sample work, letters of application, and teacher recommendations.

The smaller community concept is at the heart of many well known “school within school” programs, for example the International Baccalaureate program which targets high-achieving students and provides an international context for learning. Similarly, STEM programs offer an academic focus, specifically on science, technology, engineering and math. Ninth-grade academies are popular all across the nation and are sometimes physically removed from the rest of the high school population. The most successful learning communities have their own budget, faculty, administrators, and governance, making it a true school within a school.

Strong support networks and personalized attention are generally hallmarks of any smaller community, components of learning that are especially important if there is little support at home. Students often develop lasting relationships not only with other students, but with teachers and community partners. In one school, for example, the local bar association created a law library at the school and offered internships during the summer for students in the law academy. If project-based, interdisciplinary learning is a component of study, as it often is, students have increased opportunities to apply what they’ve learned and prepare for college and career in authentic ways.

Teachers seem to flourish in smaller communities as well since they often are free to try new approaches and work more closely with their colleagues in planning curriculum and sharing tasks.

As might be expected, there seem to be few downsides to this “smaller” approach to learning, one that values individuals, relationships, autonomy, and shared interests.

Response From Tom Hoerr

We learn best under the same conditions as do our students. We learn best when the content is developmentally appropriate, relevant, and engaging. And we flourish when we are part of a smaller group so that we can be part of a team, learning with and from one another. That last phrase, “learning with and from one another,” is Roland Barth’s definition of “collegiality” (from his book, Improving Schools from Within). As a school leader, a major task of mine is to create a culture where collegiality is the norm so that our teachers are learners and their students will benefit.

Small learning communities increase the likelihood that collegiality will develop and flourish. Particularly in a large school, it can be difficult to create a feeling of team and a pattern of teamwork among faculty members, and it is hard to develop a sense of trust among everyone. Small work groups, though, more readily become learning communities in which the members get to know, rely upon, and trust one another. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos uses the “two pizza rule” for limiting the size of his work teams: If two pizzas aren’t enough for a meal, the group is too large.

By dividing a faculty into learning groups, we not only gain benefits in collegiality and teamwork, we are also able to simultaneously pursue several thrusts on student achievement. One group could look at how to differentiate instruction, another might investigate how to incorporate non-cognitive skills into the curriculum, and still another at what teachers and principals can do to foster grit, for example. By narrowing the focus for each of these learning communities, they are more likely to succeed in understanding the issue, becoming knowledgeable about needs and resources, and in developing strategies. Depending upon the length of time that these communities operate, periodic reports and updates should take place so that everyone understands what’s happening in each group. It’s important that the work of smaller learning communities be coordinated so that their efforts are in sync and synergy can occur. Ultimately, the learning communities share their findings and recommendations with the school’s administration and the larger faculty.

A small learning community might last for a semester, an entire year, or it might work with a shorter time frame. Regardless, we should be sure that the members are engaged and that their efforts are meaningful.

Response From PJ Caposey

PJ Caposey is an award-winning educator specializing in school culture and evaluation. He is Superintendent of the Meridian (Illinois) School District and a member of the ASCD Emerging Leader class of 2013:

Small Learning Communities can work!! They can serve students wonderfully, increase student achievement, and according to some studies increase student achievement and even enrollment in to post-secondary institutions.

Large learning communities can work!! They can serve students wonderfully and increase student achievement. In fact, according to US News and World Report , the top non-selective enrollment school in my home state of Illinois serves 4,031 students.

So, what gives??

The Gates Foundation champions the success of the Small Learning Community model with more influence by the than any other institution and is often met with critique and opposition. The Gates Foundation in and of itself is polarizing, and this subject too attracts its share of critics, including educational superpower Diane Ravitch. This debate has proven two things - there is plenty of research to support either the ‘in favor’ or the ‘opposed’ perspective and the other qualities the Gates Foundation has deemed essential for a school to be high performing are pretty dead on. It is difficult to argue that schools should not have a common purpose, high expectations, use technology as a learning tool, focus on performance, allow time for collaboration, and have a personalized focus for each student. So - minimally, everyone should be able to agree on some of the core beliefs behind the Small Learning Community movement.

I too have my personal bias - seeing that I have spent the last 6 years of my life serving Districts that house high schools of 600 students or fewer. Do I think small schools and small learning communities potentially provide an experience a large, traditional school cannot - absolutely. I also believe that in the small learning community the following things are what really make the difference - not the enrollment number of the school:

• People - The quality of a school cannot exceed the quality of its teachers. I am not the first to say it, but there is nothing that could possibly make me believe in that statement more. As a school leader, give me great teachers and we can do great things - period.
• Purpose - Leadership provides direction and vision. A school without a clear focus and/or too many foci will not achieve great results. The ability to set out upon a course and stay true without deviation (even when new, shiny initiatives present) is what makes schools great.
• Personalization - Anybody who does not believe that socio-emotional issues impact learning at a nearly unquantifiable rate at the secondary levels simply has not taught in one. The personalization of an education is not just about the things that manifest in to test scores - it is about serving the whole child.
• Resources - Functioning well as a small learning community takes appropriate resources. Being small, poor, and unable to provide the resources necessary to serve kids appropriately solves no problems. The bottom line is that there are haves and have-nots in education - too frequently the have-nots are the schools serving kids who need the most resources.

Thanks to Ted, ReLeah, PJ and Tom for their contributions!

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How to Write the Community Essay – Guide with Examples (2023-24)

September 6, 2023

Students applying to college this year will inevitably confront the community essay. In fact, most students will end up responding to several community essay prompts for different schools. For this reason, you should know more than simply how to approach the community essay as a genre. Rather, you will want to learn how to decipher the nuances of each particular prompt, in order to adapt your response appropriately. In this article, we’ll show you how to do just that, through several community essay examples. These examples will also demonstrate how to avoid cliché and make the community essay authentically and convincingly your own.

Emphasis on Community

Do keep in mind that inherent in the word “community” is the idea of multiple people. The personal statement already provides you with a chance to tell the college admissions committee about yourself as an individual. The community essay, however, suggests that you depict yourself among others. You can use this opportunity to your advantage by showing off interpersonal skills, for example. Or, perhaps you wish to relate a moment that forged important relationships. This in turn will indicate what kind of connections you’ll make in the classroom with college peers and professors.

Apart from comprising numerous people, a community can appear in many shapes and sizes. It could be as small as a volleyball team, or as large as a diaspora. It could fill a town soup kitchen, or spread across five boroughs. In fact, due to the internet, certain communities today don’t even require a physical place to congregate. Communities can form around a shared identity, shared place, shared hobby, shared ideology, or shared call to action. They can even arise due to a shared yet unforeseen circumstance.

What is the Community Essay All About?             

In a nutshell, the community essay should exhibit three things:

• An aspect of yourself, 2. in the context of a community you belonged to, and 3. how this experience may shape your contribution to the community you’ll join in college.

It may look like a fairly simple equation: 1 + 2 = 3. However, each college will word their community essay prompt differently, so it’s important to look out for additional variables. One college may use the community essay as a way to glimpse your core values. Another may use the essay to understand how you would add to diversity on campus. Some may let you decide in which direction to take it—and there are many ways to go!

To get a better idea of how the prompts differ, let’s take a look at some real community essay prompts from the current admission cycle.

Sample 2023-2024 Community Essay Prompts

1) brown university.

“Students entering Brown often find that making their home on College Hill naturally invites reflection on where they came from. Share how an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you, and what unique contributions this might allow you to make to the Brown community. (200-250 words)”

A close reading of this prompt shows that Brown puts particular emphasis on place. They do this by using the words “home,” “College Hill,” and “where they came from.” Thus, Brown invites writers to think about community through the prism of place. They also emphasize the idea of personal growth or change, through the words “inspired or challenged you.” Therefore, Brown wishes to see how the place you grew up in has affected you. And, they want to know how you in turn will affect their college community.

“NYU was founded on the belief that a student’s identity should not dictate the ability for them to access higher education. That sense of opportunity for all students, of all backgrounds, remains a part of who we are today and a critical part of what makes us a world-class university. Our community embraces diversity, in all its forms, as a cornerstone of the NYU experience.

We would like to better understand how your experiences would help us to shape and grow our diverse community. Please respond in 250 words or less.”

Here, NYU places an emphasis on students’ “identity,” “backgrounds,” and “diversity,” rather than any physical place. (For some students, place may be tied up in those ideas.) Furthermore, while NYU doesn’t ask specifically how identity has changed the essay writer, they do ask about your “experience.” Take this to mean that you can still recount a specific moment, or several moments, that work to portray your particular background. You should also try to link your story with NYU’s values of inclusivity and opportunity.

3) University of Washington

“Our families and communities often define us and our individual worlds. Community might refer to your cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood or school, sports team or club, co-workers, etc. Describe the world you come from and how you, as a product of it, might add to the diversity of the UW. (300 words max) Tip: Keep in mind that the UW strives to create a community of students richly diverse in cultural backgrounds, experiences, values and viewpoints.”

UW ’s community essay prompt may look the most approachable, for they help define the idea of community. You’ll notice that most of their examples (“families,” “cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood”…) place an emphasis on people. This may clue you in on their desire to see the relationships you’ve made. At the same time, UW uses the words “individual” and “richly diverse.” They, like NYU, wish to see how you fit in and stand out, in order to boost campus diversity.

Writing Your First Community Essay

Begin by picking which community essay you’ll write first. (For practical reasons, you’ll probably want to go with whichever one is due earliest.) Spend time doing a close reading of the prompt, as we’ve done above. Underline key words. Try to interpret exactly what the prompt is asking through these keywords.

Next, brainstorm. I recommend doing this on a blank piece of paper with a pencil. Across the top, make a row of headings. These might be the communities you’re a part of, or the components that make up your identity. Then, jot down descriptive words underneath in each column—whatever comes to you. These words may invoke people and experiences you had with them, feelings, moments of growth, lessons learned, values developed, etc. Now, narrow in on the idea that offers the richest material and that corresponds fully with the prompt.

Lastly, write! You’ll definitely want to describe real moments, in vivid detail. This will keep your essay original, and help you avoid cliché. However, you’ll need to summarize the experience and answer the prompt succinctly, so don’t stray too far into storytelling mode.

How To Adapt Your Community Essay

Once your first essay is complete, you’ll need to adapt it to the other colleges involving community essays on your list. Again, you’ll want to turn to the prompt for a close reading, and recognize what makes this prompt different from the last. For example, let’s say you’ve written your essay for UW about belonging to your swim team, and how the sports dynamics shaped you. Adapting that essay to Brown’s prompt could involve more of a focus on place. You may ask yourself, how was my swim team in Alaska different than the swim teams we competed against in other states?

Once you’ve adapted the content, you’ll also want to adapt the wording to mimic the prompt. For example, let’s say your UW essay states, “Thinking back to my years in the pool…” As you adapt this essay to Brown’s prompt, you may notice that Brown uses the word “reflection.” Therefore, you might change this sentence to “Reflecting back on my years in the pool…” While this change is minute, it cleverly signals to the reader that you’ve paid attention to the prompt, and are giving that school your full attention.

What to Avoid When Writing the Community Essay  

• Avoid cliché. Some students worry that their idea is cliché, or worse, that their background or identity is cliché. However, what makes an essay cliché is not the content, but the way the content is conveyed. This is where your voice and your descriptions become essential.
• Avoid giving too many examples. Stick to one community, and one or two anecdotes arising from that community that allow you to answer the prompt fully.
• Don’t exaggerate or twist facts. Sometimes students feel they must make themselves sound more “diverse” than they feel they are. Luckily, diversity is not a feeling. Likewise, diversity does not simply refer to one’s heritage. If the prompt is asking about your identity or background, you can show the originality of your experiences through your actions and your thinking.

Community Essay Examples and Analysis

Brown university community essay example.

I used to hate the NYC subway. I’ve taken it since I was six, going up and down Manhattan, to and from school. By high school, it was a daily nightmare. Spending so much time underground, underneath fluorescent lighting, squashed inside a rickety, rocking train car among strangers, some of whom wanted to talk about conspiracy theories, others who had bedbugs or B.O., or who manspread across two seats, or bickered—it wore me out. The challenge of going anywhere seemed absurd. I dreaded the claustrophobia and disgruntlement.

Yet the subway also inspired my understanding of community. I will never forget the morning I saw a man, several seats away, slide out of his seat and hit the floor. The thump shocked everyone to attention. What we noticed: he appeared drunk, possibly homeless. I was digesting this when a second man got up and, through a sort of awkward embrace, heaved the first man back into his seat. The rest of us had stuck to subway social codes: don’t step out of line. Yet this second man’s silent actions spoke loudly. They said, “I care.”

That day I realized I belong to a group of strangers. What holds us together is our transience, our vulnerabilities, and a willingness to assist. This community is not perfect but one in motion, a perpetual work-in-progress. Now I make it my aim to hold others up. I plan to contribute to the Brown community by helping fellow students and strangers in moments of precariousness.    

Brown University Community Essay Example Analysis

Here the student finds an original way to write about where they come from. The subway is not their home, yet it remains integral to ideas of belonging. The student shows how a community can be built between strangers, in their responsibility toward each other. The student succeeds at incorporating key words from the prompt (“challenge,” “inspired” “Brown community,” “contribute”) into their community essay.

UW Community Essay Example

I grew up in Hawaii, a world bound by water and rich in diversity. In school we learned that this sacred land was invaded, first by Captain Cook, then by missionaries, whalers, traders, plantation owners, and the U.S. government. My parents became part of this problematic takeover when they moved here in the 90s. The first community we knew was our church congregation. At the beginning of mass, we shook hands with our neighbors. We held hands again when we sang the Lord’s Prayer. I didn’t realize our church wasn’t “normal” until our diocese was informed that we had to stop dancing hula and singing Hawaiian hymns. The order came from the Pope himself.

Eventually, I lost faith in God and organized institutions. I thought the banning of hula—an ancient and pure form of expression—seemed medieval, ignorant, and unfair, given that the Hawaiian religion had already been stamped out. I felt a lack of community and a distrust for any place in which I might find one. As a postcolonial inhabitant, I could never belong to the Hawaiian culture, no matter how much I valued it. Then, I was shocked to learn that Queen Ka’ahumanu herself had eliminated the Kapu system, a strict code of conduct in which women were inferior to men. Next went the Hawaiian religion. Queen Ka’ahumanu burned all the temples before turning to Christianity, hoping this religion would offer better opportunities for her people.

Community Essay (Continued)

I’m not sure what to make of this history. Should I view Queen Ka’ahumanu as a feminist hero, or another failure in her islands’ tragedy? Nothing is black and white about her story, but she did what she thought was beneficial to her people, regardless of tradition. From her story, I’ve learned to accept complexity. I can disagree with institutionalized religion while still believing in my neighbors. I am a product of this place and their presence. At UW, I plan to add to campus diversity through my experience, knowing that diversity comes with contradictions and complications, all of which should be approached with an open and informed mind.

UW Community Essay Example Analysis

This student also manages to weave in words from the prompt (“family,” “community,” “world,” “product of it,” “add to the diversity,” etc.). Moreover, the student picks one of the examples of community mentioned in the prompt, (namely, a religious group,) and deepens their answer by addressing the complexity inherent in the community they’ve been involved in. While the student displays an inner turmoil about their identity and participation, they find a way to show how they’d contribute to an open-minded campus through their values and intellectual rigor.

What’s Next

For more on supplemental essays and essay writing guides, check out the following articles:

• How to Write the Why This Major Essay + Example
• How to Write the Overcoming Challenges Essay + Example
• How to Start a College Essay – 12 Techniques and Tips
• College Essay

Kaylen Baker

With a BA in Literary Studies from Middlebury College, an MFA in Fiction from Columbia University, and a Master’s in Translation from Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis, Kaylen has been working with students on their writing for over five years. Previously, Kaylen taught a fiction course for high school students as part of Columbia Artists/Teachers, and served as an English Language Assistant for the French National Department of Education. Kaylen is an experienced writer/translator whose work has been featured in Los Angeles Review, Hybrid, San Francisco Bay Guardian, France Today, and Honolulu Weekly, among others.

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Living-Learning Communities: What to Know

Students live and take classes with peers who share a similar academic interest, identity or hobby.

Living-Learning Communities

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These communities are college residential programs that connect students with similar academic interests, like community engagement, outdoor recreation or environmental sustainability.

First-year college students typically have less flexibility in choosing their housing compared to upperclassmen, as many schools require freshmen to live on campus as a way to help ease the adjustment.

Roommates are generally either requested or picked at random once students submit a compatibility survey covering, for example, cleanliness and sleep habits. But there's sometimes another option for first-year students and beyond: applying to a living-learning community.

These residential communities provide students the opportunity to live with peers who share a common academic interest or hobby.

"One of the benefits of living on campus is that you're developing a sense of belonging that is really intended to enhance your academic experience," says Bobbie Denise Cole, assistant vice president of student life and Title IX coordinator at William Peace University in North Carolina and a board member of the Association of College and University Housing Officers – International. "There's so much power in becoming connected to the campus environment and growing as a person outside of the learning that you're doing in the classroom. And so living-learning communities are really intended to kind of take that experience to the next level."

What Are Living-Learning Communities?

Learning communities are college residential programs that connect students with similar academic interests, identity or passions, like community engagement, outdoor recreation or environmental sustainability. These students often live on the same floor or wing of a residence hall. Depending on demand, some schools have entire buildings for living-learning community cohorts to live together.

Each community has different requirements, including enrolling in classes together, upholding a certain GPA or attending planned themed activities or workshops throughout the semester. Off-campus excursions are typically covered by the residence life office or college, but sometimes students must pay fees.

In many ways, being part of a living-learning community is similar to living in a traditional residential setting. However, the programming for living-learning communities is more intentional, says Victoria Gebel, director of residence life and community standards in residence life at Nazareth College in New York.

"The events that the (residential advisors) put on are going to be more catered towards that student's particular interest," she adds. "So for example, students who are interested in the leadership living-learning community may have bulletin boards or programs that are specifically geared towards growing their leadership skill set."

Not only do living-learning communities provide an opportunity to build relationships with peers, they also connect students with faculty members outside the classroom.

"The faculty are a huge part of our living-learning communities," says Ariel Leget, assistant director for academic initiatives and diversity education in the residence life department at Rutgers University—New Brunswick in New Jersey. "Oftentimes, faculty come into the residence halls to do some of the programming with students."

Since their focus often revolves around helping with the adjustment to college life, living-learning communities are targeted more toward first-year students. For instance, many provide peer mentors – upperclassmen who routinely check on participants and create events.

"They are really keeping the pulse of the community and making sure everyone is OK in their transition" to college, Leget says.

Examples of Living-Learning Communities

Types of living-learning communities vary at colleges and universities across the country. For instance, Rutgers offers several that are culturally based, such as Asian American identities and images, French language and culture, Latin images and the Paul Robeson community, where students learn about the African diaspora.

"You don't have to identify with any particular group. It's about gaining a deeper knowledge about the particular culture," Leget says.

The school also has theme-based housing, such as for students interested in broadcast meteorology or engineering.

Meanwhile, schools like East Carolina University in North Carolina have more academic living-learning communities available, like art and design, biology, business, chemistry and physics, criminal justice, education, engineering, nursing , kinesiology, music , theater and dance. These programs all have course requirements.

There are also some living-learning community options specifically open to upperclassmen or transfer students . ECU, for example, has a living-learning community called Quest, which is designed to help transfer students make a smooth transition.

Why Join a Living-Learning Community?

Students, particularly males, in living-learning communities are more likely than others living on campus to return to school the following year, according to a 2021 report by the Association of College and University Housing Officers – International.

Living-learning community participants are also more likely to become engaged in other aspects of campus life, like joining a club or taking on a leadership role, Gebel says. These students "may report a smoother transition to college life because they are already coming into a somewhat created community," she adds. "It helps to ease some of that social anxiety."

For students wondering if such an experience is the right fit for them, experts suggest reaching out to their chosen college's residence life office to ask questions and learn more about program options and expectations.

"You are only going get out of it what you put into it," says Peter C. Groenendyk, associate vice chancellor for campus living at ECU. "So you do want to be invested in being a member of that community."

However, it's not for everyone. "If they are not particularly interested in an LLC theme, they certainly wouldn't want to sign themselves up for that because they are not going to be able to take as much out of the experience," Gebel says.

How to Apply to a Living-Learning Community

Though it varies by institution, students typically apply to a living-learning community at the same time they apply for housing. For first-year students, that's often during the spring semester of their senior year of high school.

Some communities are more competitive than others, so slots can be limited. Sizes vary from single digits to hundreds of students.

Applicants may be required to write an essay and uphold a certain GPA . Meanwhile, returning students typically need to demonstrate that they were active participants in their living-learning community during the prior year.

"At many institutions, college is what you make of it. And you want to take advantage of all the opportunities available to you," Cole says. "For students already living in the residence halls anyway, why not take advantage of an opportunity that's going to contribute positively to your college experience?"

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The Professional Learning Community Essay

Data is an essential part of the assessment process. Its validity largely determines the feasibility of results and, by extension, the success of an intervention. The information obtained during the course allows me to successfully identify strengths and weaknesses of the assessment procedure and design appropriate data collection tools. In combination with the extended understanding of principles of a professional learning environment, this knowledge enables me to participate in the process of PLC development and provides additional insights into the school environment.

Professional learning communities is a relatively new concept introduced in an attempt to facilitate improvement in an educational setting. Despite its apparent simplicity, the concept requires reliable data in order to function properly. The following paper summarizes the knowledge received during the course and outlines possible areas of its implementation in my setting.

Creating a viable professional learning community requires significant resource and time allocation. However, it is equally important to establish persistent monitoring and assessment of the performance demonstrated by the project in order to determine its success and introduce necessary adjustments (Thessin & Starr, 2011). Understandably, an inappropriate assessment may result in an unreasonable waste of time and effort and, in some instances, disrupt an otherwise positive learning environment. Thus, the process should be based on accurate data in order to avoid the described issues. The first takeaway from the course is the understanding of the importance of data as a source of information and of the potential gaps in the collection process. Specifically, I learned about the value of various data points and am now able to determine the area in which their analysis would yield the most feasible result. I also familiarized myself with the common sources of data, such as reports and statistical databases.

This knowledge will help me in developing and conducting new assessment programs as well as reviewing and updating the existing ones. I also significantly improved my knowledge of primary data collection tools such as surveys and interviews and learned how to design and refine survey questions necessary for data collection and how to determine whether the collected data is reliable and valid. This knowledge may be helpful not only in the assessment process but also as a part of any project that requires primary data for analysis. Finally, the course provided extensive information about professional learning community and its characteristics. Aside from the seemingly evident themes, such as the importance of trust for a successful PLC, I received important insights regarding the role of structural support for PLC development, the importance of attitudinal attributes in the overall perception of the teacher’s level of professionalism, and the impact o evaluation process on the school-wide professional development (Cranston, 2009). I expect these insights to contribute to my effectiveness as a leader and, more importantly, identify and account for possible false attributions of successful PLC development.

The obtained knowledge is applicable to my activities as a leader in my school. First, the described skillset will allow me to conduct a timely and accurate assessment of several performance parameters, which, in turn, can be used to detect and eliminate shortcomings of the organization. I could also assist the development of similar projects whenever they require primary data analysis. Most importantly, I am able to analyze workplace climate, which, in turn, would provide me with in-depth insights regarding the levels of satisfaction of stakeholders and perceived impact of the initiative. In this way, I will be able to minimize conflict and increase the efficiency of professional learning community development.

As can be seen from the information above, data collection and analysis is a crucial component of PLC development. The information obtained during the course provides the necessary means tools and understanding the process and its successful implementation. Thus, it is reasonable to expect that their application in a real-world scenario will contribute to the improvement of school performance.

Cranston, J. (2009). Holding the reins of the professional learning community: Eight themes from research on principals’ perceptions of professional learning communities. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 90 , 1-22.

Thessin, R. A., & Starr, J. P. (2011). Supporting the growth of effective professional learning communities districtwide. Phi Delta Kappan, 92 (6), 48-54.

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Professional Learning Communities

Educators today are very familiar with the term, Professional Learning Communities or PLCs. In fact, many schools and school districts are utilizing the construct as a way to bring about school improvement. Although we are all familiar with the term ‘professional learning communities,’ we do not all share a common understanding of what a PLC is. Depending on whom you ask, explanations of what a PLC is can range from the simple, such as ‘a group of teachers working together to plan lessons’ to a more specific description: A small group of educators who commit to their own learning in order to improve student learning. They meet regularly, form a trusting environment in which members openly discuss (their own and their students’) learning and teaching. Their work is self-directed and reflects the professional opinions of all members of the community about the unique challenges they face, individually and collectively. Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) shift the focus of school reform from restructuring to re-culturing (DuFour, 2006). A PLC is an ongoing process used to establish a school wide culture that requires teachers to learn and develop as leaders focused on increasing student learning. Through participation in PLCs, teachers enhance their leadership capacity while they work as members of ongoing, high-performing, collaborative teams that focus on improving student learning (Rentfro, 2007). The hallmark of a PLC is long-term learning and collaboration. In some cases, leaders may find it necessary to explicitly direct and teach the skills teachers need to collaborate effectively. Organizations that encourage lifelong learning and collaboration have a common understanding of collegial behavior, share a common vocabulary and know how to engage in non-threatening conversations with peers. Within a PLC framework, teachers have an environment for assessing student work and intervening with individual students that need additional help. In this way academic interventions are timely and directive, so that students ‘catch up’ rather than fall behind. At the same time, teachers collaboratively decide, based on student performance, the need to change, adjust, and/or improve learning plans and classroom practices. DuFour asserts that in effective PLCs, teachers take ‘collective responsibility’ to make sure they are working together to analyze and improve their classroom practice. Moving beyond collegiality, PLC members analyze the best practices that generate the best results in terms of student learning. DuFour goes on to say, ‘Teachers work in teams, engaging in an ongoing cycle of questions that promote deep team learning. This process, in turn, leads to higher levels of student achievement.’ How does a school develop a professional learning community? Richard DuFour (2004) answers this question most best: ‘To create a professional learning community, focus on learning rather than teaching, work collaboratively, and hold yourself accountable for results.’ ). Collaboration is a means to an end, not the end itself. Collaboration does not lead to improved results unless people are focused on the right issues. In many schools teachers are willing to collaborate on a variety of issues, but still insist on shutting the door to their own classroom practice. In a PLC, collaboration is the process by which teachers work together to impact their classroom practice. For DuFour, and many other leading experts/practitioners, the purpose of a PLC is to provide educators an opportunity to work together to find ways to improve learning. Instead of focusing on the teacher and whether the unit or lesson has been properly developed and presented, the emphasis is on whether or not the students are learning what is being taught. A teacher may be wholeheartedly committed to teaching specific content, developing outstanding lessons and follow up assessments; however, if students are not learning, it does not matter how technically perfect the lessons may have been. As DuFour points out, ‘The relevant question in a PLC is not ‘Was it taught’? but rather, ‘Was it learned”? (2004) Despite the attention to them in recent years, the model of professional learning communities is not new. Discussions relative to PLCs circulated in education circles in the 60’s as researchers attempted to identify strategies to help teachers work collaboratively to improve student learning. During the eighties, Rosenholtz (1989) brought workplace factors into the discussion surrounding the quality or instruction, asserting that teachers who were committed to their own lifelong learning and felt supported in their classroom practice were more effective than those who did not feel the same affirmation. Being connected and supported to a network of colleagues, cooperation among coworkers, and increased responsibility and leadership augmented teacher effectiveness in meeting their students’ needs. Further, Rosenholtz found that teachers with a high sense of efficacy were more likely to adopt innovative classroom practices and were also more likely to remain in the field of education.

These assertions began to be formalized in the early 90’s with the publication of Peter Senge’s book, The Fifth Discipline. Although Senge’s book was geared toward the business community, it garnered attention among educators when he suggested that learning organizations are places where people continually expand their capacity as they learn how to learn together. These ideas evolved into the construct of professional learning communities that we know today. (Senge, 2006) In 1993, McLaughlin and Talbert assimilated these findings, suggesting that when teachers had opportunities for collaborative inquiry and the learning related to it, they were able to develop and share a body of wisdom gleaned from their experience. Adding to the discussion, Darling-Hammond (1996) cited shared decision making as a factor in curriculum reform and the transformation of teaching roles in some schools. In schools which provide teachers with structured time to work together in planning instruction, observing each other’s classrooms, and sharing feedback, teacher satisfaction and efficacy was ranked the highest. It is no coincidence that these are the very attributes that characterize professional learning communities. Based upon the considerable amount of research that exists regarding PLCs, it is clear that PLCs work. The research also indicates that there is no single model of what the ideal PLC should ‘look like.’ Because the work of each PLC is aligned with each school’s mission and vision, and the needs of its own student body, teachers in the PLCs design strategies and classroom practice to fit their own school communities. The literature on professional learning communities repeatedly gives attention to the attributes of such organizational arrangements: supportive and shared leadership, shared values and vision, supportive conditions, and shared personal practice. Additionally, the literature clearly recognizes the role and influence of the school leadership (principal, and sometimes assistant principal) as to whether change will occur within the school. Creating a culture of lifelong learning amongst teachers in a school requires the support of the leaders and the cultivating of the entire staff’s development as a learning community. We can look at schools wherein the staff is a professional learning community as a starting point for describing what learning communities look like and the role the principal play. In these school, the school leader "accepts a collegial relationship with teachers, to share leadership, power, and decision making.’ Carmichael goes on to recall the position of authority and power typically held by principals, in which the staff views them as all-wise and all-competent (1982). ‘Principals have internalized this omnicompetence. Others in the school reinforce it, making it difficult for principals to admit that they themselves can benefit from professional development opportunities, or to recognize the dynamic potential of staff contributions to decision making.’ This centralized control makes it difficult for the staff to feel safe in expressing divergent views on issues surrounding school change. Carmichael suggests that the perception of the principals’ omnicompetence be replaced with teachers’ ownership of and participation in their own learning. Kleine-Kracht (1993) agrees and expands on this to suggest that it is vital that school administrators be learners also, "questioning, investigating, and seeking solutions’ (p. 393) for school improvement. The established pattern that "teachers teach, students learn, and administrators manage is completely altered . . . [There is] no longer a hierarchy of who knows more than someone else, but rather the need for everyone to contribute" (p. 393). This new relationship between administrators and teachers leads to shared and collegial leadership in the school, where all grow professionally and learn to view themselves (to use an athletic metaphor) as "all playing on the same team and working toward the same goal

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Student Opinion

Are Super Strict Schools Good for Students?

Supporters say they help children succeed. Critics say they are oppressive. What do you think?

By Natalie Proulx

The following paragraphs describe a secondary school in England:

As the teacher started to count down, the students uncrossed their arms and bowed their heads, completing the exercise in a flash. “Three. Two. One,” the teacher said. Pens across the room went down and all eyes shot back to the teacher. Under a policy called “Slant” (Sit up, Lean forward, Ask and answer questions, Nod your head and Track the speaker), the students, aged 11 and 12, were barred from looking away. When a digital bell beeped (traditional clocks are “not precise enough,” the principal said) the students walked quickly and silently to the cafeteria in a single line. There they yelled a poem — “ Ozymandias ,” by Percy Bysshe Shelley — in unison, then ate for 13 minutes as they discussed that day’s mandatory lunch topic: how to survive a superintelligent killer snail.

What is your impression of this school? Does it sound anything like the one you go to? Does it sound like somewhere you would like to attend?

In “ ‘You Can Hear a Pin Drop’: The Rise of Super Strict Schools in England ,” Emma Bubola writes about the spread of schools like these across England:

In the decade since the Michaela Community School opened in northwest London, the publicly funded but independently run secondary school has emerged as a leader of a movement convinced that children from disadvantaged backgrounds need strict discipline, rote learning and controlled environments to succeed. “How do those who come from poor backgrounds make a success of their lives? Well, they have to work harder,” said the principal, Katharine Birbalsingh, who has a cardboard cutout of Russell Crowe in “Gladiator” in her office with the quote, “Hold the Line.” In her social media profiles , she proclaims herself “Britain’s Strictest Headmistress.” “What you need to do is pull the fence tight,” she added. “Children crave discipline.” While some critics call Ms. Birbalsingh’s model oppressive, her school has the highest rate of academic progress in England, according to a government measure of the improvement pupils make between age 11 and 16, and its approach is becoming increasingly popular. In a growing number of schools, days are marked by strict routines and detentions for minor infractions, like forgetting a pencil case or having an untidy uniform. Corridors are silent as students are forbidden to speak with their peers.

The article also discusses criticisms:

But some educators have expressed concern about the broader zero-tolerance approach, saying that controlling students’ behavior so minutely might produce excellent academic results, but does not foster autonomy or critical thinking. Draconian punishments for minor infractions can also come at a psychological cost, they say. “It’s like they’ve taken 1984 and read it as a how-to manual as opposed to a satire,” said Phil Beadle, an award-winning British secondary school teacher and author. To him, free time and discussion are as important to child development as good academic results. He worries that a “cultlike environment that required total compliance” can deprive children of their childhood.

Students, read the entire article and then tell us:

How strict is your school? Do you ever wish there were more order and discipline for students? Do you wish there were less?

Supporters of the zero-tolerance approach say that it helps children succeed. Critics say it is oppressive. What do you think? Are super strict schools good for students? Why or why not?

At the core of this movement is the idea that “children from disadvantaged backgrounds need strict discipline, rote learning and controlled environments to succeed.” What is your reaction to that?

What would your ideal learning environment look like? How would students behave? How would teachers and administrators interact with you? What rules and policies would be in place? Why?

One principal of a school that does not follow the zero-tolerance model said that getting high academic scores is not the only goal of education. Do you agree? What does being successful as a student mean to you? Is it earning good grades? Getting into the college or line of work that you dream of? Learning to be independent and to think critically? Something else?

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.

Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.

Natalie Proulx joined The Learning Network as a staff editor in 2017 after working as an English language arts teacher and curriculum writer. More about Natalie Proulx

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Living learning community essays.

If you would like to apply to be a Living Learning Community UGA, complete essays for up to three communities in which you are interested. This requirement applies only to the following LLC programs. For more information about the programs, contact the Living Learning staff .

Please Note

Fill out the following essay questions for each program to which you apply. You should write your essays and read over the program descriptions before completing the application. We also suggest that you contact the faculty or staff advisor of the program, or the Living Learning staff , if you are unfamiliar with the community or want to learn more.

Many of these questions are the same as those asked on the program's housing application. If you intend to apply to live in one of these programs in the event that you are not selected to be a UGA, you should save your essay responses so that you do not have to rewrite them for the housing application.

Asian and Asian American LLC

• Why are you interested in the Asian and Asian American LLC and what would make you a strong UGA candidate?
• What previous experience with exploring Asian and Asian American topics (academic, personal, and/or community) do you bring with you to this program?
• What role does the Asian and Asian American LLC play within the Pan-Asian Community?

Chinese Language House

• Please list any pertinent information about your competence in Chinese (indicate if you are a native speaker, how much time you have spent in China, how many years you have studied Chinese, etc.).
• What will you do for the academic, cultural, and social learning environment in the Chinese Language House?
• List the reasons you wish to live in the CLH. (Please answer in both English and Chinese.)
• Do you have any dietary restrictions? If so, please explain.

Entrepreneurship LLC

Please provide us with a pitch deck addressing the following questions. The pitch deck can come in any form: Word document or PDF; five-slide Powerpoint presentation; link to a video or website in a Word document. Submit your pitch deck to the  UGA Recruitment and Selection Committee .

 1) Why you?

• What three WORDS would your friends use to describe you?
• Describe a personal or professional moment in the last 2 weeks that made you proud.
• Why are you interested in being the UGA for the Entrepreneurship Living Learning Community?
• Which Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship (formerly DEN) programming have you participated in?

2) What do you bring to the Entrepreneurship Living Learning Community?

• What leadership experience do you bring to the Entrepreneurship Living Learning Community?
• Describe how you would handle a disagreement between two roommates.
• Outline one floor meeting you would like to offer that will foster community in the Entrepreneurship Living Learning Community.
• List the terms that you plan to be a UGA in the Entrepreneurship Living Learning Community (20F, 21W, 21S).

3) How do you define Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurial Thinking?

• What have you done that is entrepreneurial? 
• How do your academic interests influence your entrepreneurial outlook?
• The UGA and Entrepreneurship LLC Residents attend the Entrepreneurship Living Learning Community Dinner each Monday from 7PM-8PM in the Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship. Are you able to attend this weekly dinner?

4) Provide a 150 Word Professional Bio  (Google a professional bio sample. Your bio should be concise.)

Foley House

• We do faculty dinners five times per term. Choose three people (living or dead) who you would like to have dinner with and explain why.
• Since Foley House is a living cooperative (i.e., we all help care for the house, contribute to a house fund, buy ingredients, cook and attend dinners, etc.), we are all about working, learning, and living together. Knowing this, what makes you a good fit for Foley House and why do you want to live there? Please include what you are hoping to gain from, and what you are able to contribute to, the Foley community.
• Describe your leadership style: how you handle conflict? What are your strengths and weaknesses as a leader? How do you think all of these qualities will influence the way you navigate being the UGA of Foley House?

Gender Equity Program Floor

• Why are you interested in the Gender Equity Program Floor and what would make you a strong UGA candidate?
• What previous experience with exploring gender (academic, personal, and/or community) do you bring with you to this program?
• Please describe any dialogue, facilitation or leadership training experience (DPP, IGD, LDP, etc.) that you have completed either on campus or off.

Global Village

• The Global Village is made up of many parts, and first-year and upper-class students live on mixed floors together. Please describe your interest in being a Global Village UGA, keeping in mind its various parts. How do you envision building community in the Global Village, and what do you hope to gain from this experience?
• The Global Village is inclusive of all life experiences and backgrounds. Please describe what you bring to the Global Village. Consider your interests, experiences, skills, language knowledge, and/or perspectives.
• Describe three ways that you will contribute to the collective academic, cultural, and social learning experience in the Global Village. For example, what types of activities and opportunities would you be interested in organizing to enhance the Global Village experience?

Great Issues Scholars

• What interests you most about serving as a UGA in the Great Issues Scholars LLC and in what ways do you hope to contribute to the community?
• Please share about your involvement with the Great Issues Scholars program or other Dickey Center student programs? What are some ideas you have that will facilitate a deeply enriching learning experience for residents on the GIS floor?
• Please describe your leadership style and the approach you would take in working with scholars (and fellow mentors) if given the opportunity?

Humanities Floor

• In your own words and in your own terms, define "the humanities," explaining what you think they are and what that means to you.
• Think about an event, a work of art, a film, a book, or a piece of music that struck you and stuck with you. What was it about that human moment or experience that resonated with you and drew you to write about it now?  If you were to guide a community devoted to the humanities, what kinds of things would you pursue to share such memorable encounters with others?
• Why do the humanities matter, especially in the context of becoming engaged, informed, and compassionate members of our local, broader, and global communities?

Interfaith Program Floor

• Why are you interested in the Interfaith Living Learning Community (IFLLC) floor?
• What previous experience with exploring inter-faith dialogue, community or relationship building (academic, personal, and/or community) do you bring with you to this program?
• What unique contributions can you offer to facilitate a deeply enriching learning experience for IFLLC residents?
• Briefly explain why you are interested in living in La Casa.
• Describe your experience with the Spanish and/or Portuguese language(s), and with Hispanic and/or Luso-Brazilian cultures. (Please answer in both English and Spanish.)
• How do you think you would contribute to the academic, cultural, and social learning environment in La Casa, based on your experience and interests?

LALAC House

• In what ways have you been, or are you currently involved with, the LALAC House, OPAL Latinx Student Advising (Latinx Heritage Month, Latinx Partnerships for Success, etc), the LALACS Program, or the Latinx community at Dartmouth? What have you gained from this involvement? What have you contributed as a result of your involvement?
• Inclusion is at the core of LALAC House, particularly communication and interaction among the various sectors of the Latinx community. Please describe your interest in being the LALAC House UGA, keeping in mind the various parts of the Latin American, Latinx, and Caribbean community. How do you envision building community in the house and how will you ensure that diverse perspectives are represented?
• Describe three ideas you have for engaging residents in the exploration of Latinx identity and culture. What are the dimensions of Latinx identity and life that you think are most relevant to Dartmouth students? How can students grow and explore different facets of their identity while they are residents of LALAC House?

Native American House

• In what ways have you been, or are you currently involved with, the Native American House (NAH), Native American Studies (NAS), the Native American Program (NAP), or the Native American community at Dartmouth?
• What unique qualities and contributions would you bring to the NAH, and how would they benefit or compliment the residential program and/or the Native American and greater Dartmouth communities?
• Why do you want to participate in Native American House Residential Education Programming?

Shabazz Center for Intellectual Inquiry

• Part A) Please list all of the AAS and intercultural courses you have taken thus far.  How has your participation in these courses impacted your Dartmouth experience, both academically and personally. Part B) Please share any involvement you have had working with the Office of Pluralism and Leadership (OPAL).  Please list any OPAL trainings you have done and or Heritage and History Months with which you have been involved.
• The Shabazz Center for Intellectual Inquiry is not only a residence space, but also serves as a cultural hub for Black-identified individuals and their allies and advocates.  How would you promote community engagement across the entire Dartmouth Black Community, particularly given the multifaceted and intersectional nature of Blackness.
• Please share what you hope to gain personally from residing in Shabazz and in being its UGA. How will this be a reciprocal relationship for both you and the community at large?

Sustainable Living Center

• What is one experience, sustainability-related or not, that has given you an awareness of your impact on the world?
• What is one thing you could contribute to or learn from being a part of the SLC community?
• Sustainability is both a social and academic experience for students at Dartmouth. The SLC is designed to introduce new students to sustainability practice and support students who choose to embrace sustainability as a part of a healthy, happy life at Dartmouth. As the UGA of the SLC, how would you drive these principles in the house and why are you passionate about doing so?

Thought Project

• Why are you interested in living in the Thought Project?
• Describe the ways that you will contribute to the Thought Project. What types of activities and opportunities would you be interested in organizing to enhance the Thought Project experience?
• The Thought Project host discussions on a variety of topics. What are you most interested in talking about, and why?

Thriving Through Transitions Floor

• Please describe what "thriving" means to you. What helps you thrive at Dartmouth and how can you see yourself promoting thriving among a group of first year student?
• T3 is a diverse community of first year students. Please share your own experiences related to marginalized identities and intersections. What you have specifically done to connect with communities across difference at Dartmouth?
• T3 will function as a virtual LLC during Winter term, and all student participants will be enrolled remotely rather than living on campus. What might you do to create or enhance a sense of community among the students who make up this LLC?  

Triangle House

• Given the program statement above, what opportunities do you think the Triangle house presents for its residents and what role will you play in facilitating them?
• Please list all academic courses, course work, or independence research on LGBTQIA topics you have completed in the past.
• Please describe any additional experiences that would inform your ability to be an effective UGA in the Triangle House including, but not limited to, previous participation in the Gender Equity Program Floor, participation in related campus organizations, leadership facilitation training, time as an OPAL intern, or participation in LDP or DPP.
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Computer Science > Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition

Title: learning from models and data for visual grounding.

Abstract: We introduce SynGround, a novel framework that combines data-driven learning and knowledge transfer from various large-scale pretrained models to enhance the visual grounding capabilities of a pretrained vision-and-language model. The knowledge transfer from the models initiates the generation of image descriptions through an image description generator. These descriptions serve dual purposes: they act as prompts for synthesizing images through a text-to-image generator, and as queries for synthesizing text, from which phrases are extracted using a large language model. Finally, we leverage an open-vocabulary object detector to generate synthetic bounding boxes for the synthetic images and texts. We finetune a pretrained vision-and-language model on this dataset by optimizing a mask-attention consistency objective that aligns region annotations with gradient-based model explanations. The resulting model improves the grounding capabilities of an off-the-shelf vision-and-language model. Particularly, SynGround improves the pointing game accuracy of ALBEF on the Flickr30k dataset from 79.38% to 87.26%, and on RefCOCO+ Test A from 69.35% to 79.06% and on RefCOCO+ Test B from 53.77% to 63.67%.

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arXivLabs: experimental projects with community collaborators

arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website.

Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them.

Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs .

Sen. Spark Matsunaga’s political legacy unveiled in digital collection

• March 19, 2024

A digital archive highlighting the distinguished career of U.S. Sen. Spark M. Matsunaga, a pivotal figure in Hawaiʻi ‘s political landscape, was released by the Hawaiʻi Congressional Media collection in February. A collaboration between the University of Hawaiʻi –West Oʻahu and the UH Mānoa Library , the collection includes 10.5 hours of footage highlighting Matsunaga’s significant contributions to civil rights, Japanese American reparations, space exploration, renewable energy and peace efforts.

Matsunaga was a member of the famed 100th Infantry Battalion and represented Hawaiʻi in the U.S. Congress from 1963 until his death in 1990.

The collection offers 24 short clips available online , with complete recordings available upon request. Notable clips include Matsunaga’s 1959 campaign ad for lieutenant governor and recordings discussing elections and industrial development in Hawaiʻi . Also featured is the 1988 Senate debate on redress for Japanese Americans interned during World War II .

Post-statehood congressional archives

The footage is the inaugural release by the Hawaiʻi Congressional Media collection, an online archive featuring digitized moving images from Hawaiʻi ‘s post-statehood congressional members. Established in 2021 , this collaboration between ʻUluʻulu : the Henry Kuʻualoha Giugni Moving Image Archive of Hawaiʻi at UH West Oʻahu and the Hawaiʻi Congressional Papers Collection at the UH Mānoa Library ensures the preservation and sharing of Hawaiʻi ‘s political history.

“The images and voices from this collection that have been newly revealed through digitization provide an invaluable glimpse into our state’s rich political past,” said Janel Quirante, UH West HOʻahu ʻUluʻulu head archivist “I’m so grateful for the partnership with UH Mānoa Library and thrilled that researchers and students can now view this amazing historical footage online.”

“Working with ʻUluʻulu leverages the strengths and expertise of both of our organizations to share these important moments in history with the public” said Dawn Sueoka, UH Manoa Congressional Papers archivist.

Upcoming digitization plans

Later this year, ʻUluʻulu aims to digitize an additional 250 reels from various Hawaiʻi congressional members, including Sen. Hiram Fong, Sen. Daniel Akaka, Rep. Tom Gill, Rep. Pat Saiki, Rep. Neil Abercrombie and Rep. Ed Case. ʻUluʻulu u also preserves the moving image archives of Sen. Daniel K. Inouye .

Read more about Matsunagaʻs digital archive.

Related Posts:

• Late Rep. Mark Takai’s papers available to the public
• Legacy collection of Chief Justice Richardson launched
• Virtual access to works of the “Cosmic…
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