PI GAMMA MU -- ATLANTIC REGION
PI GAMMA MU REGIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY
INFORMATION ABOUT THE LEARNING COMMUNITY AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR USING IT
1. INFORMATION ABOUT THE LEARNING COMMUNITY
Learning Communities are a modern, innovative format for causing learning to occur among varieties of students--most frequently, the students are an interdisciplinary group in terms of the courses they are taking, their majors, etc. Thus, a group of students who are diverse in their backgrounds and interests may learn together and discuss what they are learning together. Among other things, this is an attempt to "lift" learning out of the classroom with a closed door, and cause students in numerous classrooms, or students who are not in any classrooms, to learn together and to think through topics of current interest.
The Atlantic Region of Pi Gamma Mu began to host a regional Learning Community in December 2002. The Atlantic Region's purpose in hosting this Learning Community is to allow students enrolled in social-science classes at colleges and universities that have Pi Gamma Mu chapters, and/or in social-science classes whose professors are members of Pi Gamma Mu, to learn and study in cooperation with other social-science students at their colleges and universities and at other colleges and universities. Generally, we will be flexible in admitting a class taught by an interested instructor, even if the instructor is not a member of Pi Gamma Mu or is not located at a college or university that has a Pi Gamma Mu chapter.
The Learning Community is coordinated by Dr. Barry D. Friedman, who is chancellor of the Atlantic Region of Pi Gamma Mu and who is secretary-treasurer of the Georgia Kappa Chapter at North Georgia College & State University. He encourages professors who would like to write an essay for the Learning Community to send a proposal to him at bfriedman@NGCSU.edu . The topic of the essay should involve an issue of contemporary and reasonably broad interest that is related to social science. The length would ordinarily be the equivalent of no more than six double-spaced pages.
2. INSTRUCTIONS FOR INVOLVING YOUR CLASS IN THE LEARNING COMMUNITY
An NGCSU professor who wants to involve his or her class in the Learning Community should send an E-mail message to Dr. Friedman, specifying the course number, section, and CRN number (e.g., POLS 7320, Section A, CRN 147).
A professor at another institution should send an E-mail to Dr. Friedman, identifying the institution and a preferred nickname for the school (e.g., for North Georgia College & State University, we use "NGCSU"). The professor must also provide the following information for the professor and for each of the students in the class: (a) first name, (b) last name, and (c) six-alphanumeric-character password (preferably all in lower case; passwords are case-sensitive). Please list all of the members of the class in the same E-mail message. Please understand that it may take Dr. Friedman several days to activate IDs and passwords for the participants.
In most cases, the professor who is involving his or her students in the Learning Community will want to introduce the Learning Community in the course syllabus. Here is some sample text to use in the syllabus (excerpted from my syllabus for "Public Policy Analysis" in the spring semester of 2003):
By virtue of your registration in this course, you will automatically be a participant in the Pi Gamma Mu Regional Learning Community. Pi Gamma Mu is the international honor society for the social sciences. The regional Learning Community’s purpose is to link students and professors in social-science classes at numerous universities so that they can learn together and discuss significant issues in the social sciences. The Learning Community uses WebCT on-line-course software on the Internet.
You can access the Learning Community by going to NGCSU’s home page (http://www.NGCSU.edu) and clicking on the “WebCT” link at the top of the page. On the WebCT page, click on “Log on to my WebCT.” Your instructor will give you your ID and password.
You may need to add the “Pi Gamma Mu Learning Community” to your course list the first time that you access the site. (After that, it will automatically appear as one of the courses that are accessible to you.) Once you enter the Learning Community, there are instructions on how to access an essay and how to post a message on the bulletin board.
You should read any one essay that has a policy-related topic. For example, there is an essay by Dr. Christina F. Jeffrey entitled “Immigration!!!” that discusses the U. S. government’s policy on immigration; that would be suitable for use in our policy course. Between January 20 and February 3, you should read the essay that you select, and then post a comment on the bulletin board. (Print off a copy of your comment and submit it during class on February 3.) Between February 3 and 17, you should post a reply to someone else’s comment on the bulletin board‑‑preferably a comment written by someone in a different class, possibly even at a different university. (Print off a copy of your comment and submit it during class on February 17.)
Your participation in the Learning Community will account for 7 percent of your course grade. Your score for this activity will be determined by your ability to apply concepts of policy analysis to the policy issue when you write your comments, your contribution to the “community” approach (e.g., being respectful to other members of the community, posting a comment oriented toward enriching the experience of others), and timeliness in accordance with the deadline dates.
Please direct any questions about the Pi Gamma Mu Regional Learning Community to Dr. Barry D. Friedman at bfriedman@NGCSU.edu . We hope that you and your students will enjoy your participation in this innovative learning technology.
LINKS:
» Pi
Gamma Mu International Home Page
» Pi
Gamma Mu Atlantic Region Home Page
» Home
Page of the Georgia Kappa Chapter at NGCSU
» Information
about Pi Gamma Mu's Southeast Region Conference
» Information
about Publishing in the International Social Science Review
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Created 1/7/2003
Closed 1/6/2004