Creating Sustainable Learning Communities: Continuous Innovation in a Learning Community as a Key to Success

11-11:50 a.m.

Location: Warhol A

Type: Facilitated dialogue

Audience: Linked Courses, Coordinated Studies

Presenters: John Garcia and Julie Ellefson-Kuehn, Harper College

Five years ago Harper College Professors Julie Ellefson and John Garcia accompanied students in the Honors Program on a Study Abroad trip to a Sustainability Education Center in Costa Rica. While on the trip, they began to see potential for a Learning Community connecting Ethics to Chemistry, with a focus on sustainability. The course, "Living Sustainable Lives," has provided students an opportunity to see not only how Philosophy and Science connect, but also to connect course content to their everyday lives. But, it has also provided the instructors something unexpected - the chance to feel "sustained" in our teaching by continually finding ourselves forced, by each other, and by our students, outside of our comfort zone. This session will focus on how to approach the teaching of a Learning Community with an eye toward continual evolution as a way to remain energized about a course. The target audience is anyone interested in the teaching of Learning Communities, with a focus on students and faculty.