0.3 Evolution of a department as a community of learners

Introductory Comments

The 2002/2003 Seton Hall University (SHU) ELMP (Education Leadership, Management, and Policy) Departmentobjectives included faculty interest in developing a“learning community”or Community of Learners (COL) framework for ELMP that, among other things, would expand the idea of“scholarship”and advance a research and scholarship culture. Because one major goalof higher education should be scholarship and research to advance knowledge, the ELMP department developed a framework and conceptpaper. Secondly, such a plan should be useful to meet NCATE Standard 5. The working paper was reviewed by ELMP faculty (4/04)at the ELMP 8/04 Annual Retreat, revised and incorporated into the ELMP Strategic Plan with objectives, processes (etc.) and activatedin early 2005. This chapter explains the evolution of ideas for ELMP discussion on the learning community idea, including arationale.

To get started, the planners enlisted assistance from a SHU EdD student, Charles Lyons, Jr. who wasinterested in a parallel idea for dissertation research and who suggested that we draw on his on-going library review of the“Professional Learning Community”or PLC idea [Lyons, 2003, August 18:“Professional Learning Community (PLC): A Developmental Model”]. The ELMP working document also drew heavily from Boyer(1990) Scholarship Reconsidered to expand traditional ideas of“scholarship”and blend them with elements of PLC (a generic term found in the literature). A PLC generally embodies concepts of a“learning-centered community or of a Community of Learners”or COL. The designation“COL”was selected as a starting point for ELMP pilot and developmental efforts.

Into the Abyss: Attempting to Make Sense of the COL

The ideas of“research culture,”“culture of scholarly inquiry,”Professional Learning Community (PLC) and COL may each have slightly nuanced meanings, but as a starting point,consider that ELMP’s COL effort is the concept conveyed by the collectivity of the terms, with emphasis on research andscholarship. The COL has special importance in education, particularly in institutions of higher education (IHEs), relativeto the traditional and evolving mission of IHEs. The following is from Boyer’s (1990) discussion of higher education, its history, purpose, and scholarship.