Smith, B. L. and MacGregor, J. (2009). Learning communities and the quest for quality

Smith, B. L. and MacGregor, J. (2009).  Learning communities and the quest for quality.  Quality Assurance in Education, 17(2), pp. 118 - 139.  Retrieved on June 5, 2010 from  http://www.emeraldinsight.com.ezproxy.usq.edu.au/Insight/viewPDF.jsp?contentType=Article&Filename=html/Output/Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Pdf/1200170202.pdf

Introduction

Although there is more access to higher education than ever before, Smith and MacGregor question the academic success and educational effectiveness of pedagogy.  Concerns are that there is an increasing divide in socio-economic and minority attendance; students lack readiness or preparedness to enter higher education; and there is general dissatisfaction with the skills graduates attain.  However, studies conclude that higher education increases socio-economic and cultural development.

Although a variety of human resource literature cover quality improvement, higher education institutions have been slow in adapting to change.  Student engagement and active learning have been the focus for designing new curricula and pedagogies.  Curricular learning communities are representative of the paradigm change to reform curricula structure and provide platforms from which to understand the phenomena of quality improvement.

Learning communities - a structural intervention

Academic life for students has often been viewed as haphazard, as learning structures permit taking courses which in reality have no bearing to each other, and students are very often off-campus with a multitude of other responsibilities to attend to.  The curricular learning approach is a structural approach that reduces fragmentation.  Coherence of thema are addressed by introducing courses that are interlinked, offering individuals the opportunity to actively participate and build relationships with other students.  Integrated teaching methods have proven effective (e.g. faculty members work in tandem to develop learning programs that tie in together).

Learning communities are adaptable and flexible.  Programs are designed according to knowledge and feedback.  Teams are highly specialised and high functioning (e.g. teaching teams can comprise of faculty, librarians, academic advisors).  Learning communities very often have close ties to the environment and conduct all manner of research.  Usually, learning communities are heavily focused on first year students who require more intense minding as they become accustomed to community life and focus on intellectual development as habits developed at this time are formative and sustain the motivation to complete a degree program successfully.  Areas that curricular learning communities add to are in basic studies and development education; general education; clarity in comprehending the intended subject; and programs for specialisation (e.g. athletes).

Learning communities and the quest for quality

Multi-level learning is a key strategy for learning communities.  Programs are designed to teach not only students, but faculty members and the holistic community.  Traditional styled classes have been redesigned to incorporate social networking that is critical to a learning communities success.  Community work operates as a structural framework for multi-disciplinary pedagogy.  Cognitive scientists and academic researchers have found these methods to be effective in engaging students intellectually.  While this practice is widespread, the implementation process is compromised when group members (e.g. faculty) are unable to commit to responsible practice.  Clarity of organisational mission is essential when accepting members to the community (e.g. employment).  Sharing is essential when embedding quality initiatives.  Linking programs sequentially provides the capacity for connecting students and faculty as quality becomes synonymous with their practice.

The accountability for developing best working practice has transformative effects upon the community as a whole.  Faculty members share knowledge in order to integrate syllabi, and are flexible in switching teaching positions to make the most of opportune teaching moments.  Quality comes with experience and practice, bringing planning and strategy into the full teaching environment.  This move has brought teaching from its solo perspective into a realm of collective learning and transformation, inhibiting "random curriculum tinkering that has characterized so many of the past efforts at educational reform" (pg. 8).

Using learning communities as levers for change

Building learning communities occurs as the organisation transforms through collective stages of development.  Organisational structures must be planned so as to support ongoing growth and development.

The Evergreen State college

The founding mission of this college is to remain as current fifty years on as it is presently, where it enjoys celebrity as a national resource.  Their working model is continually adapted to transform other more traditional institutions.  The original design of the institutions curriculum strategy was inspired by Meiklejohn.  Firstly, he believed that reductionism in curriculum lacked clarity when divided into components; secondly, in stimulating both individual and faculty members' intellect, progression and evolution occur naturally.  The benefits range from being cost-effective, scalable, and adaptable.  Organisational process and structure is interwoven with educational philosophy (e.g. epistemic belief).  It is known that learning communities enable good working relations by means of its adaptability to change.  Guidelines are as follows:

1. interdisciplinary study;
2. collaborative learning;
3. the linking of theory and practice;
4. personal authority and engagement; and
5. learning across significant differences and diversity.

Faculty members of Evergreen have their portfolios assessed as a matter of faculty record to document their evaluation.  The nuances of behavioural output displayed by students is constructive to self-evaluate feedback and is supportive of team teaching.


Clearly, the culture at Evergreen is one of innovation and adaptability as experimentation is an acceptable ongoing proven process.  "Low boundaries and fluid structures such as the tradition of faculty members rotating into administrative roles as deans, the practice of recreating much of the curriculum each year, the hiring of broadly trained faculty, and the presence of curricular planning units that have no budgetary or hiring authority ensure that the institution will not revert to traditional forms" (pg. 11).

Mature communities have a culture that is sustained by consistent and developing structure.  It is therefore crucial to have a highly intuitive approach in creating faculty recruitment processes and to this end, summer faculty institutes have emerged.


Wagner College
Wagner, a liberal arts center, is located in an environment known for its natural beauty.  The impact this has on creativity has had significant influence on its culture.  The core of educational philosophy is one of experimentation that is deeply embedded in first year curricula.  It is a form of meditative activity that develops a freedom to explore self and environment, and translates as civic responsibility.  Topics are interrelated and segue into "practical experience, reflection and synthesis" (pg. 12).  New faculty members are expected to begin their career at Wagner teaching first year curricula, and to commit to a minimum of three years with the community.


Experience generates an holistic understanding and a culture that is imbued with discipline.  Continuing discourse develops terminology, or a language, that is specific to the community and describes the abstract (e.g. tacit knowledge).  Since the Wagner Plan was implemented, enrollment and staff retention has significantly increased.  An overall rise in finances sustains the evolving community that struggled in the late 90's.


Community colleges and the quest for quality
The institutions of further education are often viewed as a strategic feeder for higher education.  The apparent dysfunction to this success is the independence of curricula strategy that blocks integration.


Learning communities maintain community colleges by incorporating the behavioural changes observed in the environment.


La Guardia Community College
La Guardia became a center of experimentation when integrated learning was embedded in program structures.  Students engage in vocational learning as part of degree programs.  Course programs delivered learning sympathetic to the needs of the environment.  The educational philosophy underpinning LaGuardia is a culture that develops an ethos of learning.  Teaching students about goals and goal-setting is of prime importance.  As curricula revolves around teaching towards professional qualifications, students have many points of entry, thus enrollment rates increased substantially.


A short ten years after instituting learning community structures, a professional discussion panel made up of academics deconstructed the knowledge gained from multi-level practice.  A shared language grew as communication grew more sophisticated.  Conversations that come up during dedicated sessions are unlikely to occur during the course of a normal working day.


Skagit Valley College
Students were obliged to take learning community programs in order to make the grade.  Learning communities are known to have an impact on reciprocal teaching.  Sharing information with both faculty and student members brings new awareness, or a new perspective, from which to see things from thereby engendering the changes required to systematically sustain evolution.  Clarity in direction emerges through critical analysis.  This type of feedback is constructive in supporting the community's strategic goals.


Observations of internal structure have made the connections between learning goal-setting at Skagit and going on to higher education.  College instigated research is currently investigating the performance of students who complete both programs to increase the validity of their practice.


How learning communities work as levers for change

1. Learning communities are clearly positioned, aimed at large arenas and issues, and are central to the organisation's mission.  The structure of a learning community is a stabilising factor in academia.  This core is reflected and embedded to perpetuate generational learning cycles and phases of development.
2. Learner centered leadership is a key component of effective learning communities.  Transformation occurs at grass-roots level indicating a shift from traditional hierarchy to flattened power sources that diffuse controlling tendencies and elitism.
3. While not the only "quality strategy", learning community initiatives offer a high leverage point for the pursuit of quality.  Learning community members are deeply embedded in the culture (e.g. living the life) which is a different approach from communities that attract members through external participation (e.g. involuntary participation).
4. Learning communities meet faculty where they are.  As learning communities practice on-site, theoretical models and conceptions of new practice become discourse developed from social interaction.
5. Successful institutions have created new organisational structures, roles, and processes and appropriate resource investments to support their learning community programs.  Deliberate investment yields results.  By investing in faculty members (e.g. time to attend training and reflection programs) the community continually draws upon the environment to identify areas for further research.
6. Successful programs attract and reward competent people and create a context to build a sense of community and learn from each other.  Embedded culture sustains the community as phases of development move senior members towards retirement.  Recruitment processes are designed to instill team spirit.
7. Successful programs have a living mission and a lived educational philosophy of reaching toward more effective practices.  The potential for readiness to action is high in learning community members (e.g. positive restlessness) that drives a continual learning process.  Situated activity relies on the benefits of high-functioning members.

The future of learning communities

Sustainable development in learning communities is not only a practical method of sustaining an interest in learning, it is also a pragmatic and financially stable practice.  Community discourse is built up based on culture and language through narratives of social interaction.  Core philosophy integrates the foundation of educational practice allowing focus to remain on the objective.  While there is a plethora of learning communities, those listed are distinguishable because of strong links to community, individual and group.