Like the professional learning communities they resemble, student learning communities provide students with a structured way to work together to solve problems, share insight, and help one another continually develop new skills and expertise. The authors explain how to create and sustain student learning communities by:
· Designing group experiences and tasks that encourage dialogue
· Fostering the relational conditions that advance academic, social, and emotional development
· Providing explicit instruction on goal setting and opportunities to practice progress monitoring
· Using thoughtful teaming practices to build cognitive, metacognitive, and emotional regulation skills
· Teaching students to seek, give, and receive feedback that amplifies their own and others’ learning
· Developing the specific leadership skills and strategies that promote individual and group success
Reviewed by Carol Campbell, PhD
Vice President for Education
Southwestern Union Conference
Authors: Alyssa Gallagher & Kami Thordarson
