Is there any reason to think learning communities are effective?
There is considerable research that suggests that learning communities increase retention, graduation rates, and student satisfaction. The best overview of this research is Kathe Taylor, William Moore, Jean MacGregor, and Jerri Lindblad, Learning Community Research and Assessment: What We Know Now (Olympia, WA: Evergreen National Learning Communities Project Monograph Series, 2005). The Click here for the Executive Summary (PDF). According the Executive Summary, a preponderance of studies indicate[s] that learning communities strengthen student retention and academic achievement. In this research, Taylor has noted that it can be difficult to extrapolate from learning communities research, because the term encompasses such a wide variety of programs. Another overview of this research is available here: Heller, R. Learning Communities: What Does the Research Show? AAC&U Peer Review 1.1 (Fall 1998): 11.
