Learning Communities in the English Classroom (original) (raw)

In recent years, grants have been awarded to various science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs focusing on inquiry-based learning in a learning community format. After working for one such program for nearly three years (Igniting Streams of Learning in Science, hereafter ISLS), I returned to the classroom, determined to put what I had learned into practice in English. The learning community format confers benefits to students in courses such as composition and technical writing. In composition, learning communities offer students opportunities for connection and networking, practice in negotiating workload, and the ability to contribute to a more self-directed classroom experience, while emphasizing critical thinking through the process of raising, and collaborating to solve, problems. In technical writing, learning communities work together by developing businesses; this semesterlong experience gives students the chance to try different careers, build working relationships, practice real-world writing, and be creative. Most of the challenges involve students not carrying their own weight; while requiring learning community members to review one another's performance usually discourages slacking, dealing with such students is good practice for real-world work situations, where these challenges often exist. Feedback from students indicates that the majority see writing in a learning community as an opportunity to gain practice in workplace writing, teamwork, communication, and negotiation, helping prepare them for their eventual careers.