Bridging troubled waters - Learning communities for the 21st century

In contrast with traditional pedagogical approaches to higher education tha t are isolating and didactic in nature, a progressive educational approach responds to students' changing needs and redefines the university's role in contemporary society. Two innovative George Mason University initiatives a re described to illustrate and analyze the strengths and challenges of alte rnative approaches that have been designed to better meet the changing need s of the students and communities they serve. In both cases, the traditiona l classroom is redefined as a learning community and is built around a phil osophy of teaching and learning that emphasizes interdisciplinary and democ ratic collaboration, reflective practice, relations between theory and prac tical applications, and a commitment to continuous improvement. The authors discuss the highly participatory, interdisciplinary environment, intense f aculty-student interaction, strong sense of community, intense collaborativ e work, interconnections between theory and experience, expectations of stu dents, and demands of technology, as well as the challenges beyond the clas sroom.