Professional Connections through the Technology Learning Community

Abstract

<p>Have you heard? The new buzzword is “learning communities.” A learning community is a relatively old phenomenon that has resurfaced; it is making educators at institutions of higher education stand up and take notice. According to Angelo (1997), learning communities have produced significant gains in student involvement, learning, satisfaction, social connectedness, persistence, and retention, thus creating a more holistic and favorable educational experience. Grounded in collaborative and cooperative learning theories, learning communities have created environments in which student learning is the center of attention. Overtime, the acquisition of knowledge had come to be considered a highly social process in which construction occurs interdependently between students and teachers (Cross, 1998).</p>