Part I - Challenges

The Challenges and Benefits of Learning Communities

As with any innovation, LC presents both potential benefits and potential problems. The challenge for innovators is to take advantage of the benefits and to deal creatively with the problems. In this section, we address some of the common concerns (summarized in Table 1) expressed by faculty when they first consider LC.

Interacting With Complex Content

The central characteristic of LC is the new way in which students and faculty interact with the curriculum content of the two or more courses which have been integrated. But this new attempt to emphasize connections makes instruction much more complex.

Broader Scope

The course contents and activities go beyond the scope of stand-alone courses. This broadening of focus can be unnerving to instructors, who may fear a loss of integrity for their own disciplines and an obscuring of the conceptual organizations which has made their disciplines so useful in their own right as a way of interpreting the world. In addition, they anticipate a slighting of the traditional content of a course in the effort to explore higher levels of learning. It is difficult to make sure that the contents of all courses are treated equally. The complex organization of the LC makes it difficult for instructors to make sure that all course objectives are being covered.

**Figure 5**

Since learning seems to occur at a different pace in LC, faculty can become very uneasy part way through a semester about whether they are "on track." Instructors of learning communities often agree that learning does not follow the same path as that found in traditional, stand-alone courses. If that learning can be said to occur in a fairly linear path, the learning in LC can better be described as a series of hills and valleys (see Figure 5). While learning does occur (many believe to a greater degree), there may be long periods of apparent stagnation and even periodic drops in student performance followed by a dramatic rise in demonstrated learning. It is during the stagnant periods that instructors become uneasy.

From the students perspective, the more complicated framework for LC can lead to confusion. For this reason, the syllabus is often seen as a problem by students, who may also complain that assignments are unclear. Students can easily feel overloaded. Even though they would receive the same amount of work in separate courses, the presentation of this work in complex assignments can seem more demanding. In addition, because the LC program is taught in a unified form, students may unconsciously forget they are receiving credit for more than one course and so feel the work load is excessive, comparing it to the load for an individual course.

**Table 1: Potential Challenges and Benefits of the Integrated Learning Community**
	Potential Challenges	Potential Benefits
Administrative
Student Centered	May require a greater commitment that a student is ready for Decreases flexibility in student schedules	Especially beneficial for at risk students/Provides an intensive, supportive learning environment/Increases completions and retention Encourages more coherent sequencing of courses in a student's program/Encourages taking core courses early in college.
Instructor Centered	Difficult to compensate faculty under existing loading schemes.
Registration Centered	Can cause scheduling conflicts for teachers, students, and rooms. May be difficult to work with existing computerized systems for printed schedules and registration.
Interaction with Content
Larger Framework	Loss of integrity of individual disciplines/Difficult to assure all courses are treated equally/Difficult to assure all course objectives are being met/May slight some traditional content of a course. Syllabus complex, so assignment requirements may be unclear/Students may feel overloaded with assignments.	Allows concepts to be covered in greater depth and with a variety of approaches and perspectives/Reinforces concepts Encourages students to see connections between courses/Increases transferability of concepts/Allows students to see key ideas repeated in courses. Allows assignment coordination.
Longer Time Frame	May eliminate spaced practice Fatigue factor due to prolonged sessions	Permits greater flexibility, depth, and meaningfulness Allows a greater sense of community
Interpersonal
Instructor/Student	Close connection to students can be draining/Can perceive that one instructor is being played against the other/Can perceive self as competing for students' attention	Instructors get to know students better/Allows more effective promotion of learning/Allows for increased ability to evaluate achievement Students get to know teachers better/Allows better understanding of what is expected/ Believe faculty are caring/Believe faculty offer attention and feedback/Sees communication as open/Less apprehensive to speak to instructors Students like having more than one instructor/More variety in teaching styles/More opportunity to understand concepts through multiple explanation/ Stimulates freer speech in the classroom
Student/Student	Potential for cliques to form/Cliques can be intimidating and disruptive Group members do not always contribute equally to assignments	Social support network develops/Peer teachers and coaches/Exerts positive peer pressure Increases tolerance for difference/Increases respect for individuals
Instructor/Instructor	Working together is time consuming/ Instructors may experience loss of autonomy as decisions are shared/May feel uncomfortable having another so intimately observing teaching experiences	Instructors enjoy working with another instructor/See traditional courses as isolated/ Feel revitalized/Discover new possibilities/ See subject matter in new ways/Feel more confident/Feel willing to take more risks Synergy emerges from combined thinking that none could have imagined by themselves

The challenge is to develop planning tools that allow instructors to manage, monitor, and communicate the complexity of LC curriculum in an effective way. It is this very complexity that holds both the promise and the potential pitfalls of this new innovation. The difficulties can be overcome with careful planning. Our experience shows that it is possible to achieve an integration which allows concepts and skills from several courses to be combined in such a way that they are "iterated" not just repeated. They are covered in greater depth through a greater variety of approaches and perspectives.

"Students also perceive that their interactions with instructors are more effective"

Assignments can be coordinated into more meaningful wholes and the due dates of assignments can be sequenced in workable ways for students. Both instructors and students come to appreciate that a single assignment that serves as a learning activity for several courses is more efficient and effective than three separate assignments. The larger framework gives more meaning to course contents and increases the potential transferability of skills. Students learn to expect connections among the concepts they are learning and are prepared to see key ideas repeated in different contexts.

Longer Time Frame

Whenever a longer time frame is utilized in education, problems can occur if the learning activities are not carefully planned. Boredom and fatigue can occur, especially when class time extends to three or four hours. Attention spans can flag before the session ends, making the learning in the last hour segment less than effective. The benefits of "spaced practice" can be lost. Instead of returning to the same subject in several separate sessions, students may receive "massed practice" in one long session. The challenge for instructors is to become comfortable with the longer time frame and plan for a flow of activities that can maintain a high level of motivation and involvement.

The longer time frame has a number of advantages, allowing for greater flexibility, depth, and meaningfulness. For example, a whole morning can be spent exploring a single concept in a variety of ways, working on an intensive group project, or on a field trip. One instructor can meet individually with students while another leads the whole group in a discussion. The longer time frame also allows a greater sense of community to develop among the participants simply because they spend more uninterrupted time together.

Interpersonal Challenges

In addition to the integration of content, LC is also unique in terms of the depth of interpersonal relationships which develop in the learning communities. A number of participants, both students and faculty, have described the communities as "family-like," experiencing both the advantages and disadvantages that label implies.

Instructor-Student Interactions

When faculty first participate in an LC, they may find the intense and personal interaction with students draining. In addition, it may be a new experience for them to share their relationship to students with another instructor. They may fear that differences in teaching style and policies may be disruptive. The danger is to fall into a competition for the attention and dedication of students. In addition, students may play one instructor against another just as children do with their parents. If one instructor is strict about a due date, for example, students may appeal to another instructor.

A different problem anticipated by some LC participants was the possibility that students would be "spoiled" by the increased attention from instructors and would have difficulty transitioning to other courses. Counterbalancing this worry is the realization that students in LC communities can make dramatic gains in confidence and readiness for the traditional college curriculum. Using a family analogy, the challenge for LC communities is to develop "parenting/teaching" styles that allow the instructors to maximize student learning by working creatively together and minimize the possibility of working at cross purposes.

When thoughtfully carried out, LC allows instructors to know their students more thoroughly because they see them for a longer time in more varied contexts and because they can share their perceptions of students. This greater knowledge of students helps instructors to more effectively promote learning and to more thoroughly evaluate achievement. They also understand the cultural diversity of their students more deeply. Students also perceive that their interactions with instructors are more effective in LC. They get to know their teachers better and understand what they expect. They feel that faculty are caring and give them attention and feedback. Communication is seen as open; students are less apprehensive about speaking to instructors. They like having more than one teacher because they experience more variety in teaching styles and more opportunity to understand new concepts through multiple explanations. They enjoy seeing instructors discuss and even disagree in class; it stimulates freer speech in the classroom.

Student-Student Interactions

Whenever an approach to teaching fosters a great deal of student interaction, there are potential problems. When student groups become negative they can exert peer pressure to resist learning and even drop out. In addition, group members do not always contribute equally to assignments, leaving some members with resentment. Student cliques sometimes form, especially if the students stay together through more than one semester. Such cliques can be intimidating to teachers and disruptive to the classroom atmosphere. The challenge is to foster student interaction that contributes positively to the educational goals of the community.

In our experience, students in LC usually form strong social support networks, helping each other with problems both within and outside the classroom. They become peer teachers or "coaches" for each other, encouraging each other to prepare and participate and helping each other understand course content.

Instructor-Instructor Interaction

Collaboration is very time consuming and demanding. The faculty members experience a loss of autonomy since day to day curriculum decisions have to be shared with others. This may result in less spontaneity on the part of individual teachers. In addition, the loss of privacy is hard to get used to at first-- other teachers in your classroom: other teachers who know how you plan and how you grade and who see those bad days when things don't go as expected. For most, however, these apprehensions are replaced by a feeling of trust based on the sharing of daily ups and downs. Instructors become more confident about being observed by peers and the LC experience itself becomes a natural tool for faculty development.

Faculty consistently mention the pleasure they experienced working cooperatively with other faculty members on LC courses. They do not want to return to the isolation of more traditional classroom teaching. They feel revitalized, discover new possibilities in teaching, and see their subject matter in new ways. They feel braver, willing to take risks and more creative in their approach to instruction. A kind of synergy emerges from the combined thinking of the team teachers.

Administrative Challenges

Because LC represents a substantial change from traditional delivery of instruction, it can cause scheduling conflicts for teachers, students, and rooms. Students have a lack of flexibility in their scheduling when they commit to a block of time for an LC program. This causes problems with other courses they wish to take, work schedules and family responsibilities. For example, LC blocks which start at 8:00 in the morning cause problems for students with young children while blocks which start later may extend into the afternoon hours and interfere with work times. Participating in an LC may represent too great a commitment for some students, especially if the LC block includes nine or more credit hours. If a student finds the load is too heavy, they risk a greater potential loss since in most cases they can not drop just one course from the LC block.

Advisors play a key role in effectively communicating the nature of LC programs to students. Existing computerized systems do not clearly accommodate LC courses when preparing on line and printed schedules. Oversight of registration is important, and mechanisms need to be developed so that students will be enrolled in all components of an LC block or not at all.

The loading of faculty who teach in an LC block is also tricky. Existing schemes for compensating faculty are not easily adapted to LC participation. In addition, when instructors are involved in blocks, it limits their availability to teach in other course sections. This is especially a problem for adjunct faculty who may risk losing other employment opportunities. The scheduling of rooms may also be a problem. Computerized systems cannot always be relied on to hold the same classroom space available for all segments of an LC block. Moreover, special arrangements of furniture conducive to the community building of LC may not be maintained when rooms are used for many purposes.

Because Learning Communities represent a structural change in the delivery of instruction, it presents challenges to the district's administrative procedures. But LC has potential benefits that are well worth the effort it may take to adapt current procedures and policies. As an alternative approach to organizing the curriculum, it helps a college serve its diverse clientele. LC seems to be especially beneficial to at-risk students, who may need a more intensive, supportive learning environment. By blocking courses which fit logically together, LC encourages more coherent sequencing of courses in a student's program of study. LC blocks which focus on core courses encourage students to take these foundation courses early in their college careers. Our data shows that LC can promote greater completion and retention for students suggesting that students may be helped to proceed through their coursework in a more efficient and effective way.

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