Volume 5

8 pages 426 K bytes

Learning Communities in Information Systems Education: Developing the Reflective Practitioner Bruce M. Saulnier Quinnipiac University Hamden, CT 06518 USA Nita Brooks Quinnipiac University Hamden, CT 06518 USA Wendy Ceccucci Quinnipiac University Hamden, CT 06518 USA Bruce A. White Quinnipiac University Hamden, CT 06518 USA

Abstract: This paper makes the case for the adoption of learning communities as an educational pedagogy for information systems programs. The need for paying attention to pedagogy is addressed/explored and the need for significant learning experiences for tomorrow’s information systems professionals is posited. The nature of learning communities is discussed and the benefits of employing learning communities as an educational pedagogy are examined through a brief discussion of the research on educational effectiveness. The experiences employing a learning community pedagogy at Quinnipiac University are related, and possible future directions for the employment of the learning community pedagogy at Quinnipiac University are presented. It is shown that the use of learning communities at Quinnipiac University has successfully created communities of engagement which are moving our students in the direction of acquiring the significant learning experiences desired for tomorrow’s information systems professionals.

Keywords: learning communities; instructional pedagogy; significant learning; reflective practice

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Recommended Citation: Saulnier, Brooks, Ceccucci, and White (2007). Learning Communities in Information Systems Education: Developing the Reflective Practitioner. Information Systems Education Journal, 5 (4). http://isedj.org/5/4/. ISSN: 1545-679X. (A preliminary version appears in The Proceedings of ISECON 2006: §2322. ISSN: 1542-7382.)