Annual Report 2000-2001 | Learning Communities

Faculty Resources - Annual Report 2000-2001

785 students took part in Learning Community Courses during the 2000-2001 school year.
177 students in the Fall, 188 students in the Winter, and 420 students in the Spring.

12 disciplines participated in Learning Communities during 2000-2001 including: Anthropology, Art, Biology, Business Technologies, Economics, History, Human Development, Psychology, Sociology, Speech, Theatre Arts, and Writing. New learning communities planned for 2001-2002 will expand the disciplines to Culinary Arts and Ethnic Studies.
40 faculty participated in offering 17 Learning Communities during 2000-2001 (not including Women in Transition).

Learning Community Development

5 new learning communities were offered in 2000-2001: Portfolio to Success: Merging Communication and Technology (fall), Thinking Indian (fall, winter, spring), Go for Baroque! (winter), Windows to the Mind: The Art of Creating and Critiquing Photographs (spring), and Women in the Wings (spring).
3 new learning communities were proposed and approved by the Learning Communities Project Team during the year: BioBonds: Building Blocks for Your Body (fall, winter, spring), AfroBlue: WRighTING The African American Experience (winter), and Food for Thought (spring).

The Learning Communities Coordinator made presentations promoting Learning Communities at various faculty meetings including: Faculty Council, Advisor/Counselor Department Meetings (twice), Social Science Department Meeting, and Math Department Meeting.
Learning Communities sponsored a well-attended workshop at the Fall inservice where ideas for new Learning Communities were discussed and developed.
Promotional flyers developed for the entire year as well as for each term.Marketing to Students
Learning Communities Website maintained with current offerings (http://sliunix.lanecc.edu/~learncom/lcomms.htm).
In September, during student orientation and registration, Learning Communities faculty volunteered to run an information booth over a five-day period of time.
Learning Communities faculty continued their tradition of producing attractive flyers for their courses.
Learning Communities was awarded a Marketing Grant during the year to develop a brochure that extolled the virtues of Learning Communities to incoming students. This project is being coordinated with Daniel Moret and Helen Garrett who will also help in the distribution during her recruitment visits.
On April 26, 2001 the Torch included two articles on Learning Communities.

On January 12, 2001 Learning Communities received a great deal of positive publicity through a well-attended evening concerned co-sponsored by the Go For Baroque! Learning Community.
On April 23, 2001 the Petal, Pen, Peck, and Paw Learning Community sponsored a talk by Robin Kimmerer, Native Knowledge for Native Ecosystems: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Ecological Restoration" that included a public presentation.
On May 18, 2001 several Learning Communities faculty offered a panel, "Learning Communities: Making Connections" at a Composition Conference held at Lane.Program Coordination
New Learning Communities Coordinator selected in August.
Learning Community Project Team met twice a month throughout the term.
Learning Communities Application form, and Evaluation form revised.
New forms created for changes in Learning Communities.

Mainstream learning communities as a primary goal of the college.
Promote learning communities across the college and throughout the community.
Promote learning community opportunities for LCC students at all sites and times.

a) Include Learning Communities Program and project goal in strategic plan.
b) Include learning communities concerns during hiring.
c) Feature Learning Communities as a significant program in catalog and on Lane web site.
d) Make participation in at least one learning community an LCC graduation requirement.
Establish multiple forms of promotion.
Involve outreach, community learning center, night, weekend, and non-credit faculty.

Learning Communities made little progress in becoming mainstream in 2000-2001. While Learning Communities has become a fixture in the catalog and term schedules (1c), much work needs to be done. The progress in this area was probably retarded by the effort necessary for the new Learning Communities Coordinator to learn his role.
Learning Communities made some real strides in the area of promotion (see activities above). It is a term that is well recognized among faculty and staff and becoming more so among students.
Learning Communities has made little progress in reaching out to sites outside of the main campus and to non-traditional times. The development of Food for Thought to be offered next year adds a much-needed professional technical component to the Learning Community offerings.

Motivate existing Learning Communities to maintain the level of enthusiasm and energy evident in the early years of their creation.
Mainstream Learning Communities as a significant program with widespread benefits to the college.
Promote Learning Communities across the college and throughout the community.

Implementation of a "banking" hours system that will track and compensate Learning Communities faculty who create community through participating in one another's classes.
a) Mainstream Coordinator Position into college organization chart
b) Obtain office space for Learning Communities.
Utilize multiple forms of promotion.