Students in learning communities are no longer responsible just for their own learning, they are responsible for the learning of a community. This means regularly attending classes, completing assignments in a timely manner, and arriving at class prepared to contribute. As a result, learning community teachers report that student attendance and class participation is greater in learning community courses than in non-learning community courses. Most importantly, learning communities challenge the way teachers teach and students learn . In traditional models of instruction, teachers teach courses to different, separate groups of students.
Students travel from one course to another, experiencing their subjects as isolated fragments.
Learning communities intentionally cluster courses so both teachers and students experience more connected and enhanced teaching and learning environments. The First-Year Program Learning Communities at Temple University Temple University first offered learning communities in 1993. When the program first began, only about 200 students participated. Now, over 1000 students enroll in the more than 40 communities offered on the Main or Ambler campuses. Many students will enroll in a community featuring a first-year math course such as college mathematics, precalculus, or calculus.