Discover more about Learning Communities (LCs): how they are created, marketed and assessed at San Jose City College.

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How are LCs created at SJCC?

1. Two instructors discuss whether:
   They teach courses that can be logically paired. Questions to consider might include:
   • How do their disciplines overlap or contrast?
   • Does one course emphasize content while the other teaches skills important for learning that content?
   • Will concurrent enrollment in both courses improve students' ability to synthesize ideas, understand differing paradigms, or recognize the significance of historical context?
   • Is there a student population who would be interested in the paired courses?
   • Are students more likely to succeed if they study both subjects simultaneously within an integrated curriculum?
2. Instructors discuss their idea & seek approval of:
   • Their Division Deans (to determine how the LC might fit within Division offerings)
   • The Coordinator of LCs (to determine how their paired courses might fit within the larger program of LCs already in place
3. Instructors complete their preparation of approved LCs:
   • Work together to create integrated syllabi for their courses. Syllabi should identify a minimum of three student learning objectives that can be assessed at semester's end.
   • Determine the best times to offer the courses, taking into consideration student scheduling preferences as well as the need for instructors to be able to attend each other's classes for frequent interaction with students present.
   • Give a copy of the syllabi to the LC Coordinator by the end of the semester prior to the community's being offered for the first time.
   • Check that their paired courses are listed accurately in the schedule, requiring students' concurrent enrollment in both sections.
   • Advertise the LC.
   • Be prepared to provide retention and success data, as well as students' assessments, to the LC Coordinator at the conclusion of the semester in which the LC is offered.

1. Retention
   • First census head count
   • End-of-semester head count
2. Success as shown by end-of-semester grades
3. Comparison of the above data with that from sections of the same courses taught by the same instructors but that were not part of a LC (if available)
4. Assessment of students' learning objectives
   At semesters' end, students will assess to what extent they have achieved the learning objectives listed on the course syllabus.

Pending approval, SJCC teachers may receive stipends to teach LCs.

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