Examples of Learning Communities
These are the most common configurations, but do not
exhaust the possible forms of linking classes.
Linked or Paired Courses
- Students co-register in paired classes.
- Faculty work to coordinate syllabi and assignments but teach their classes
separately
- Often skill courses and content courses are linked together
- Students enroll in 3-4 courses linked together by a common theme
- A cohort of students enroll in all classes
- Faculty coordinate syllabi and assignments
- Often include an integrative seminar
Examples
- Afro Blue: Ethnic Studies and English Composition
- BioBonds: Chemistry and Biology
- EcoTrails: Global Ecology and English Composition
- Food for Thought: Culinary Arts and Math and Writing
- The Galactic Village: Astronomy and English classes (Bellevue
Community College)
- Culture, Poverty and Diet: Sociology and Nutrition Classes
(Skagit Valley Community College)
- Everything but the Kitchen Sink: Material Science/Welding and
Developmental English Composition Class (Clark College)
Course or learning clusters:
Examples of Course or Learning Clusters:
"Earth Trek: An Examination of the Relationship of
Nature and Humanity"
Environmental Biology, English Composition and Art (Spokane CC)
Coordinated Studies Learning Communities
- Three or more courses that often form a full load (12-15 credits)
- Fully team-taught as an integrated program; all faculty present in all
classes
- Cohorts of students enroll
- A team-taught 3 class model would enroll 60-75 students and be comparable
to 9 conventional classes; three for each instructor
- Faculty participate as learners as well as teachers
- Most difficult to establish but most rewarding for faculty and students
Examples:
- Go For Baroque: Humanities, History, Literature, Writing and Music Classes
- Of Mice and Matter: A Successful Journey through the Scientific
Maze: General Biology, Introduction to Chemistry and Learning Strategies
(Bellevue Community College)
- Women in History, Literature and Film: Women's Literature,
English Composition and Women's Studies (North Seattle Community College)
- Leonardo to Voltaire: A Renaissance of Ideas and Images:
Western Civilization, Art, English Composition and Library Studies Classes
(Spokane Falls Community College)
Examples of Coordinated Studies:
Team-Taught course pairs
Similar to coordinated studies but only involves 2
team-taught classes
Examples of Team-taught course pairs:
- Lighting the Green Fuse
- English Composition and Field Botany (Skagit Valley College)
- Journey to Ground Zero: Humans and the Desert
- Art and English Classes (Solano Community College)
- China, Business and International Trade
- Business Management and Eastern Asian Studies Classes (Western Washington
University)