Examples of Three Different Types of Learning Communities

At GateWay Community College, we have developed three LCs, each with its own unique purpose. Each has its own framework which has evolved over time. The three now form a three semester sequence. The first is the STARS community, a developmental program focused on the participants' need for an orientation to the student role. The second is the LINK program, which combines a content course and two developmental skills courses. The third is the CLOUT community, a freshman-year learning community of three courses which share a common skill focus, the power of language.

We began our first STARS class in the spring of 1994. Currently the communities are scheduled with STARS every fall, LINK every spring, and CLOUT every fall. This allows a student to progress from one community to the next without a break in continuity. The nine credit communities meet two mornings a week from 8:30 to 12:30 in one classroom. The students receive separate grades in each of the three classes involved in the community. For each of our LC communities, both instructors were present throughout the morning sessions and were active in the classroom the majority of the time. Officially, one of us was responsible for two of the integrated courses and the other for one. Which one of us had the double load varied depending on our certifications.