IN-PERSON New Schools of Thought

Abstract

Group work and group assessment in higher education have recently received increased attention from education and pedagogy scholars, many of whom have been advocating for more meaningful interactions amongst students within those groups. Informed by the Social Interdependence Theory, this paper focuses on the concept of classroom Learning Community (LC) as an effective form of cooperative learning that fosters and enhances interactions amongst students and, in so doing, increases student engagement and advances the learning process. Based on the author’s experience with his undergraduate journalism class and a thematic analysis of student evaluations and student reflections over a period of four years (2021–2024) at Erasmus University Rotterdam (The Netherlands), the paper discusses how the LC was embedded in the course design and elaborates upon its implementation on a weekly basis before making sense of the impacts it had on students’ learning. In essence, it posits that dedicating more attention and time to tasks and interactions within the LC and encouraging critical peer discussions inside and outside of the classroom leads to more engagement with the subject matter. The results show, among other things, students’ self-reported gains, including keeping up with deadlines, gaining more confidence, picking up what had escaped their attention during class discussions and developing social skills.