Knowledge itself is power, and the power comes through Leaming. For our students, the 'good stuff' is often in the major, subjects that traditionally await them in their later years of study. Our challenge is to design our general education curricula so that students have a better foundation on which to build higher-order thinking and Leaming. (Levine & Shapiro, 2000, p.13, italicized, underlined and boldedfor emphasis) Collaboration, academic and social support systems, and professional networks and relationships, all lead to an increased level of educational satisfaction and stronger foundation among students in institutions of higher learning. Where are these components found in the traditional realms of higher education? The answer is learning communities, a new paradigm that is testing and recreating the historically individualistic, competitive and every man for himself mentality of many colleges and universities throughout the United States. With an emphasis on collaboration and connectedness, learning communities are creating learning environments that value "the opportunity and responsibility to learn from and teach each other" (Angelo, 1997, p.3). This includes not only student to student, but student to faculty and faculty to faculty learning and teaching. A win-win situation for all involved, including the university or college as a whole, learning communities are expanding the boundaries of traditional undergraduate education. Located at hundreds of universities and colleges across the country learning communities are enabling students to make connections to people, cultures and environments
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