Building and Sustaining Learning Communities

Students benefit from education in ways that go beyond the classroom. Interaction-based learning communities have been increasingly popular over the past ten years as a part of the educational process. Building new educational strategies and delivery methods are required for the growth of learning communities (Palloff & Pratt, 1999).

The following three crucial factors influence the growth of learning communities: 1) individual competencies – time management skills, communication skills, and networking skills for developing social capital; 2) quality course design – establishment of social presence, integration of technology, authentic and project-based learning; and 3) learning environments – conducive to learning, to fostering a social climate, and to sustaining a learning community. It is argued that community learning will impact the quality of education, and contribute to the developing social capital that will benefit humankind.

Students must have the opportunity to participate in community learning since they will play a significant role in societal needs and social change. The emergence of World Wide Web technologies has caused the world to get smaller. To live in harmony with individuals from other cultures, one of the most important skills is the capacity for effective and efficient communication. Community learning is one strategy to integrate education with society and to make it more relevant to everyday life. However, in order for the process of revamping education to advance and lead to the delivery of effective instruction and the nurturing of beneficial habits that generate social capital, we still need to have a complete understanding of how communities operate.

References:

Palloff, R., & Pratt, K. (1999). Building learning communities in cyberspace: effective strategies for the online classroom. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass