scholarly journals Transgressive Learning Communities: Transformative Spaces for Underprivileged, Underserved, and Historically Underrepresented Graduate Students at Their Institutions

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-120
Author(s):  
Leslie E. Drane ◽  
Jordan Y. Lynton ◽  
Yarí E. Cruz-Rios ◽  
Elizabeth Watts Malouchos ◽  
Katherine D. Kearns
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Educational Development ◽  
Community Model ◽  
Academic Settings ◽  
New Vision ◽  
Graduate Instructors ◽  
Impostor Syndrome

In this paper we propose a new vision of educational development that reimagines how graduate instructors are socialized and professionalized in academic settings. We describe a Transgressive Learning Community (TLC) that empowers graduate instructors with tools to reveal, mitigate, and disrupt oppressive structures in higher education. Our learning community is founded on critical race and feminist conceptualizations of pedagogical inquiry in its design, implementation, and assessment to serve underprivileged, underserved, and historically underrepresented graduate students. We argue that the intersections of marginalized and graduate student identities create distinct experiences of discrimination, marginalization, tokenism, isolation, and impostor syndrome due to a lack of sustained teaching mentorship within the academy. The Transgressive Learning Community model that we propose in this paper functions to create spaces of transgressive and transformational pedagogical engagement for graduate students who exist at the intersections of these identities.

scholarly journals Social and Professional Impact of Learning Communities Within the Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate Program at Michigan State University

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven D. Thomas ◽  
Abdifatah Ali ◽  
Karl Alcover ◽  
Dukernse Augustin ◽  
Neco Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Native American ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Graduate Student ◽  
Michigan State University ◽  
State University ◽  
High Satisfaction Rate ◽  
The Impact

At Michigan State University (MSU), the AGEP learning community features the participation of over 70% of the African-American, Latinx, and Native-American under-represented minorities (URM), also referred to as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) doctoral students in fields sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Monthly learning community (LC) meetings allow AGEP participants to create dialogues across disciplines through informal oral presentations about current research. The learning communities also offer opportunities to share key information regarding graduate school success and experience; thus providing a social network that extends beyond the academic setting. At MSU, AGEP also provides an interdisciplinary and multigenerational environment that includes graduate students, faculty members, post-docs and prospective graduate students. Using monthly surveys over a 4-year period, we evaluated the impact of this AGEP initiative focusing on the utility of the program, perceptions of departmental climate, career plans and institutional support. Findings indicate that AGEP participants consider their experiences in the program as vital elements in the development of their professional identity, psychological safety, and career readiness. Experiences that were identified included networking across departments, focus on career placement, involvement in minority recruitment and professional development opportunities. Additionally, AGEP community participants resonated with the “sense of community” that is at the core of the MSU AGEP program legacy. In this article, we proposed a variation of Tomlinson’s Graduate Student Capital model to describe the AGEP participants’ perceptions and experiences in MSU AGEP. Within this 4-year period, we report over 70% graduation rate (completing with advanced degrees). More than half of Ph.D. students and almost 30% of master’s degree students decided to pursue academia as their careers. In addition, we found a high satisfaction rate of AGEP among the participants. Our analysis on graduate student capital helped us identify motivating capital development by years spent at MSU and as an AGEP member. These findings may provide some insight into which capitals may be deemed important for students relative to their experiences at MSU and in AGEP and how their priorities change as they transition toward graduation.

Binational learning communities: A work in progress

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 86-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan Gross
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
State Institution ◽  
Food Culture ◽  
Studying Abroad ◽  
Pros And Cons ◽  
Teaching Learning

Studying abroad can be a life-altering experience, but not necessarily. I credit the two study-abroad experiences I had as an undergraduate as setting my course as an anthropologist. At this stage in my career, having directed, taught and evaluated five study-abroad programmes in three different countries, I felt ready to create my own based on the pros and cons I had observed. In December 2013, I completed a pilot run of a binational learning community focused on food, culture and social justice in Ecuador and Oregon and would like to share the experience in order to encourage other higher education teachers to invent similar programmes. It is not an easy model to pull off, especially in a large state institution, but it achieved the kind of coherence that I have found lacking in other study-abroad programmes and was a very satisfying teaching/learning experience. I will outline some issues concerning study-abroad programmes and then describethe programme I was involved in implementing in 2013.

scholarly journals The inquiry network: A model for promoting the teaching-research nexus in higher education

2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 68-84
Author(s):  
Marcy Slapcoff ◽  
Dik Harris
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Educational Development ◽  
The Core ◽  
Academic Level ◽  
Faculty Learning Community ◽  
Teaching Research ◽  
Working Together

We describe how our teaching and learning centre developed a model, founded on Boyer’s notion of scholarship, to explore the nature of the teaching–research nexus. At the core of this model is the Inquiry Network, a faculty learning community whose members moved from exploring the links between their own teaching and research to creating institution-wide resources to promote student learning. Working together, the members of the community developed a framework for learning outcomes that instructors can use in coursework to cultivate students’ understanding of research and scholarship, regardless of discipline, academic level, or class size. The article recounts the process that led to the creation of the framework, and it considers the effectiveness of the process and the framework as a model for educational development and institutional change at a research-intensive university.  

Online learning communities and their effects on relational capital

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 491-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Cegarra-Sánchez ◽  
Ettore Bolisani ◽  
Juan-Gabriel Cegarra-Navarro ◽  
Eva Martínez Caro
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Relational Capital ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Online Learning Communities ◽  
Positive Effects

Purpose An online learning community is defined as the context where knowledge sharing takes place virtually. Prior research has revealed that it is fundamentally important for higher education institutions to leverage on internal and external sources of knowledge, which can improve the value of relational capital. However, in a higher education setting, the positive effects of relationship improvement because of knowledge sharing can be jeopardized by the circulation of unverified information (i.e. counter-knowledge). The purpose of this study has been to analyse if online learning communities can counteract the effects of counterknowledge. Design/methodology/approach This study examined the relevance of online learning communities to counteract counter-knowledge, along with how this, in turn, can affect the creation of relational capital from the perspective of 210 undergraduate students using partial least squares. Findings Results support that online learning communities may help universities to not only create relational capital but also contribute to clarify misunderstandings and prevent counter-knowledge learned from badly informed sources. Originality/value There has been very limited research aimed at developing an adequate framework to analyze the role played by unverified information in universities. Therefore, this study fills this gap and proposes a framework focusing on the concept of online learning communities.

scholarly journals Strategieë om die implementering van die Suid-Afrikaanse professionele leergemeenskapmodel te bevorder

2014 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina J. Van Staden ◽  
Elsa Mentz
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning Communities ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Professional Learning Community ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Community Model ◽  
Planning Framework ◽  
Implementation Problems

The Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Training and Development in South Africa 2011–2025 requires that subject-related professional learning communities should be established widely between 2011 and 2017. However, only some of the District Teacher Development Centres that are intended to provide meeting places need to be up and running by 2025. The gap between policy and implementation can impede or even prevent the establishment of professional learning communities. Three implementation problems were identified that could catapult the professional learning community model into the infamous education reform cycle, and strategies are proposed for a smooth implementation. It is proposed that a coordinated strategy be followed to prevent the South African professional learning community model falling prey to the reform cycle.

Learning Communities as an Innovative Beginning to the Psychology Major

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth E. Barron ◽  
Kim K. Buch ◽  
Jeffrey T. Andre ◽  
Sue Spaulding
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Assessment Data ◽  
Community Initiatives ◽  
Psychology Major ◽  
The Impact

This chapter explores learning communities, and begins by providing a brief review of learning community initiatives in higher education. It presents two models of psychology learning communities (PLCs) along with assessment data evaluating the impact of learning communities. The chapter concludes by highlighting a list of additional resources on learning communities.

Evaluation of a Baccalaureate Social Work Learning Community

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Yoon Mi Kim ◽  
Sharon C. Lyter
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Educational Achievement ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
College Experiences ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Semester ◽  
Community Model ◽  
The Impact

First- year learning communities are a trend in higher education, with groups of first-year baccalaureate students taking two or more first- semester courses together and spending time in various activities with faculty and fellow students. This cohort model emphasizes the value of a sense of community and fosters a supportive social and academic environment. Although the positive impact of first- year learning communities has been well documented, less is known about the impact of learning communities on academic outcomes and the implications for BSW education. This quantitative study including open- ended questions extends an understanding of how college experiences and educational achievement differ by participation in a social work learning community. Results indicated that participation in a social work learning community was significantly related to higher GPAs. The preliminary findings of this study add to the overall knowledge of a learning community model applicable to baccalaureate social work freshmen.

scholarly journals Challenges and possibilities for creating genuinely intercultural higher education learning communities

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 26-51
Author(s):  
Katri Jokikokko
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Intercultural Learning ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
Institutional Barriers ◽  
Higher Education Policies

This article synthesises and analyses the existing research and literature that has discussed the challenges and possibilities of providing intercultural learning environments for diverse students in the context of higher education.  A genuinely intercultural learning community provides equitable learning possibilities for all, is characterised by social justice, and allows all participants to feel a strong sense of belonging. Based on this review, the main challenges in creating equitable learning communities in higher education relate to institutional barriers, such as institutional racism and discrimination, monolingual higher education policies, and neoliberal educational agendas that contradict the principles of social justice. Interpersonal challenges (such as lack of intercultural competence) also exist, as do challenges related to acknowledging intercultural perspectives in curricula and pedagogy. The conditions that the existing literature suggests will create genuinely intercultural learning communities include rethinking the strategies, policies, and curricula of higher education institutions; supporting students’ and staff’s intercultural competences; and developing pedagogical approaches for acknowledging social justice and diverse learners. Based on the literature reviewed for this article, it is obvious that there are no easy tricks that can ‘fix’ the situation and create genuinely intercultural learning communities, but intercultural approaches and aspects ...... 

Identify This…

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie Rebecca Bloom ◽  
Amanda Reynolds ◽  
Rosemary Amore ◽  
Angela Beaman ◽  
Gatenipa Kate Chantem ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Life History ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Women's Studies ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Women's Voices ◽  
Readers Theater ◽  
Creative Pedagogy ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Selection Of

Readers theater productions are meaningful expressions of creative pedagogy in higher education. This article presents the script of a readers theater called Identify This… A Readers Theater of Women's Voices, which was researched, written, and produced by undergraduate and graduate students in a women's studies class called Intersections of Race, Class, and Gender. Section one of the article reproduces the script of Identify This that was based on life history interviews with a diverse selection of women to illustrate intersectional identities. Section two briefly describes the essential elements of the process we used to create and perform Identify This.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document