Learning Communities

Learning communities allow students to get a broader appreciation for other points of view and varying perspectives. They also battle the isolation you feel when you are in an online course. Talking and collaborating with others helps with retention and makes you feel part of something.

Sometimes this is difficult to do from the teacher’s standpoint. There are a few things to consider when trying to create a learning community. People will get together and willingly work as a group when they have a common goal or project to work on. They also will come together when there are joint resources available.

Once a group is created one form of success is primarily if they create an environment that is non-threatening and support based. This will allow participants to broaden their thoughts and take chances in the learning process. This will also help the group to create an identity that is recognized by other groups with in the class and gives the members of the group a comfort. This identity is very difficult to achieve in an online environment.

The last point I would like to make about the importance of a learning community is that the collaboration between members not only helps those who are learning from other teammates, but also helps those teaching those teammates. I had a manager once that had a saying whenever someone was being trained on a new animal procedure… “See one, do one, teach one.” Both the learner and the teacher gain knowledge.

The teacher has a challenge when it comes to facilitating the creation of learning communities. The main point I got out of this was to have as many resources available as you can and keep the communication level high. Create activities that call for learner interaction and have the environment ready to culture the learning communities and allow them to grow and take on their own personalities. But also have enough control that you can guide the learning communities along and insure the proper learning is being achieved.