Learning Communities

Shows how Learning Communities can be a versatile and effective approach to enhancing student learning and student success, promoting curricular coherence and faculty revitalization, and how this important innovation has become a key element in institutional transformation. Praise for Learning Communities "Every college teacher should read this comprehensive and insightful analysis of one of the most important pedagogical movements in contemporary higher education." –Alexander W. Astin, Allan M. Carter Professor of Higher Education, University of California, Los Angeles "An essential resource for anyone interested in learning communities by the leaders in the field. Framed by years of experience, the authors provide invaluable insights into how one begins, sustains, and improves learning communities on both two- and four-year campuses. A must-read." –Vincent Tinto, distinguished university professor and chair, Higher Education Program, Syracuse University "Conceptual and practical, comprehensive and illustrative. This magnificent volume proves the learning communities movement has come of age." –Peter Ewell, vice president, National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) "This book contains a wealth of information, not only about learning communities, but about the efforts of higher education to improve learning through actively engaging students in the process." –K. Patricia Cross, professor of higher education, emerita, University of California, Berkeley Learning Communities is a groundbreaking book that shows how learning communities (LCs) can be a flexible and effective approach to enhancing student learning, promoting curricular coherence, and revitalizing faculty. Written by Barbara Leigh Smith, Jean MacGregor, Roberta S. Matthews, and Faith Gabelnick¾acclaimed national leaders in the learning communities movement¾this important book provides the historical, conceptual, and philosophical context for LCs and clearly demonstrates that they can be a key element in institutional transformation.