Powerful Learning Communities A Guide to Developing Student, Faculty, and Professional Learning Communities to Improve Student Success and Organizational Effectiveness

Denise M. Hill is Assistant Professor at Des Moines University teaching health law and ethics. She is also an adjunct faculty member at Drake University Law School and an of counselattorney at the Whitfield and Eddy law firm in Des Moines. She is active in promoting cross-curricular and institutional learning opportunities and founded the first MHA student chapter in the nation of the American Health Lawyers Association. A trained mediator and frequent public speaker, previously she practiced law at two large law firms, was Manager of Public & Regulatory Affairs for the Iowa Medical Society and served as a labor relations attorney for the Iowa Department of Personnel.

Kevin P. Saunders is Director of Academic Assessment at Drake University. Previously he served as the coordinator of continuous academic program improvement, chaired the learning communities assessment subcommittee, and taught research and evaluation courses at Iowa State University. He is a former resource faculty member for the Evergreen State College Learning Community Summer Institute and is a current Teagle Assessment Scholar.

Andria Stokes is the director of the Center for Transformational Learning and Assistant Professor of Education at Avila University in Kansas City, MO. Her specialty is cognitive education; her focus has been on inquiry and constructivist learning that involves facilitating deep understanding and conceptual thinking systems. Throughout her career Dr. Stokes has designed and implemented numerous student and professional learning communities. In recent years she published the cognitive education program, Moving Toward Cognitive Excellence, Finding Out Real Knowledge a high school literacy program, and has been a University of Kansas Cohort member on Creating Digital Portfolio Assessments for…  More Students with Special Needs.  Less

Alisha Solan is a Communications Instructor at Grossmont College in the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District and Miramar College in the San Diego Community College District. In the past she has taught at Gateway College in the Maricopa Community College District in Phoenix, at Austin Community College in Texas, the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A & M University, Southwestern University and St. Edwardrsquo;s University in Texas. In addition to a focus on learning, she is a communications expert with a PhD in Communication Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Solan also freelances as an editor and dissertation coach.