Learning Communities

Tools and Links for Further Learning

 

Introduction

Learning communities exist in every class, however the nature of the network connections in each class will vary greatly.  Consider that a class of 30 students and one instructor has a possible 930 connections.  What is a connection?  A connection is a one-way relationship between any two entities in the class.  For example, if student A has an incoming relationship with the instructor (information flows from the instructor to the student), that would be one connection.  If  information also flows from the student to the instructor, that would a second connection, and so forth.  The total number of possible connections in any group is n(n-1). 

Additionally, each connection can have a strength, indicating the quantity and/or quality of information flowing on that connection.  So, in looking at a network we have to look both at the potential connections and potential strength of those connections.  Every classroom has a network.  At the very least, there should be a connection between the instructor and the students.  In many situations, we find that this is a one-way (instructor to student) flow and thus we end up with the same number of connections as we have students.  Let's ponder that scenario for a moment.  If we have 30 students in that class, we have 30 connections (out of a possible 930).  Even if the strength of those connections is high, we still have only utilized a small fraction of the possible connections.

In reality, some of those students may interact with each other in a very informal learning community.  Let's say, then, that 10 of the students form a study group and interact on a frequent basis to go over course subject matter.  If each student is sharing with each of the other students in the group, we now have 90 additional connections.  Added to the 30 from the instructor, we now have a total of 120 connections in the class (still out of 930 possible).  By those 10 students interacting with each other in two-way information flows, we have increased the number of connections in the community by 300%. 

In a network, the network as a whole contains more knowledge than any individual node in the network.  The network can be said to be a collective intelligence, where the level of knowledge exceeds the sum of the parts.  In a classroom situation, it is clear that the instructor has (or should have) the most knowledge in the group.  Students, however, also have some knowledge, and that may be somewhat different than what the instructor and other students possess.  Collectively, the exchange of that knowledge is beneficial to learning.  In addition, increased use of the available network connections adds the following to the mix:

Logically, then, it would seem that the more we can leverage the collective intelligence of the group, the better off the members of the group will be and the more learning and retention will take place.  The goal is twofold:

  1. Increase the number of connections used in the group

  2. Increase the strength of the connections that are being used

I have experimented over the past several years with ways to get students to interact in learning communities, which I define as self-organizing communities of peers (I include the instructor as a peer only insofar as the instructor is willing to participate as a peer).  The idea is to move toward a model that enhances the interaction between students in a group, utilizing connections that are most often wasted in traditional educational settings. 

Tools and Links for Further Reading

 

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Introduction