Learning Communities Research and Practice (LCRP - E-Journal, Washington Center at The Evergreen State College Research)
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An Enhanced Approach to Living and Learning Together at IUP: Living-Learning Community Certificate Programs
Get PDFThis article details the development of Living-Learning Community Certificate Programs (LLC-CPs) at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP). Based on the Best Practices Model for living-learning programs proposed by Inkelas et al. (2018), LLC-CPs will engage cohorts of students in a four-semester sequence of intentionally integrated courses and assignments, organized around development of “essential skills and practices” enhanced by participation in required residential co-curricular experiences. We expect that LLC-CPs will result in both a sense of student belonging and purpose leading to greater retention and persistence as well as a mid-college credential noted on their transcript, providing students an early sense of academic accomplishment and an advantage when seeking future internships, graduate study, or employment opportunities. This article outlines two example LLC-CPs, explores the anticipated benefits of LLC-CPs to students, faculty/staff, and institutions, and offers suggestions for program implementation
Living in the Explore House: A Major and Career Exploration-Focused Residential Learning Community for Undecided Students
Get PDFScholarship on students who enter college without a declared major indicates that this population of students faces unique challenges (Anderson, 1985; Beal & Noel, 1980; Lewallen, 1993), but also may be more likely to persist to graduation and earn higher grades than those who enter college with a declared major (Lewallen, 1995). Based on undecided students’ needs for academic, career, and personal resources (Zarvell & Rigby, 1994), this article describes the implementation of a residential learning community (RLC) focused specifically on providing undecided students with in-hall programming and services related to academic major and career exploration, and provides implications for future implementation
The Story of Josie: From Involvement to Influence
Get PDFThis is a personal account of the author’s journey through involvement with learning communities (LCs). She began college with little exposure to mentoring and research. Six years later, she graduated with a master’s degree, a trove of experience from LCs, and the confidence to take on a research role in her profession. The author’s personal roles in LCs over the years have taken many forms, but mainly relate to the mental health of college students. LCs have served as a vehicle for launching the author’s career by helping her gain valuable experience in peer mentoring, research projects, and student poster presentations as well as providing opportunities to network, engage in professional development, and hone leadership skills. Student involvement is valuable throughout the LC experience to foster growth and development of not only the student, but the LC as well. The author witnessed firsthand the benefits of a partnership between students and LC team, demonstrating how much LCs benefit from integrating student input
The Relationship Between Residential Learning Communities and Student Engagement
Get PDFResidential learning communities (RLCs) are residence hall environments designed to deliver academic and social benefits. For decades, many have argued RLCs are an effective means for increasing student success. Yet substantial changes in the defining characteristics of campus housing and student diversity have led to new questions about the impact of living on campus and the benefits of RLCs in particular. Consequently, we investigated the continued efficacy of RLCs as an effective educational practice. Using data from a diverse, multi-institution sample of first-year and sophomore students, this study provides insight into the relationships between RLC participation, student engagement, and perceived gains in learning
Notes for this Issue
Get PDFSince the publication of our last issue, in the midst of a global pandemic, we have been forced to reenvision how we engage students in our learning communities. With time and space separating us in ways we have never before experienced, the articles in this issue all point to the need for us, in our practices, to remain steadfast in our view that individual students are empowered through their social activity. Although these articles describe work that took place before the new normal of our virtual world, we hope you are inspired to bring the understanding in these pieces of agency-through-community to your work, both now and in the future
Preparing Learning Community Peer Mentors to Support Students\u27 Transitions
Get PDFPeer mentors in learning communities for first-year students aid new students in their transition to college. However, little is known about how these peer mentors address concerning student behaviors, particularly those that may suggest a psychiatric/psychological disability. This research addressed the issue by asking peer mentors how they were trained and how they attended to concerning behaviors in their learning community groups. Findings from this qualitative study, based on individual interviews with 11 peer mentors in one learning community, centered around the impact of peer mentor training on the mentors, their role in observing and addressing behaviors, and their observations about the ways learning community students responded to peers demonstrating concerning behaviors. Recommendations for the use and training of peer mentors are identified
Unique Strategies to Foster Integrative Learning in Residential Learning Communities
Get PDFLardner and Malnarich (2009) identify learning communities as an educational reform strategy designed for intentional student cohorts that engage students in at least one integrative learning opportunity. Colleges and universities are aware that robust educational programs exist on their campuses, yet institutions must identify strategies to help students connect and make meaning of these fragmented experiences (DeZure et al., 2005). In this article we discuss the intentional structure of Residential Learning Communities (RLCs), also referred to as Living-Learning Communities, on six different campuses, specifically focusing on how curriculum and co-curriculum are integrated to enhance the integrative learning practices of students. For learning to be truly effective, it must be threaded through the intellectual life of the RLC in ways that meaningfully connect the curriculum and co-curriculum and on-campus and off-campus life experiences (Huber et al., 2005)
Investigating the Influence of Residential Learning Communities on Student Experiences
Get PDFResidential learning communities (RLCs) are a subset of living-learning programs (LLPs) where students live together based on a theme and are simultaneously enrolled together in at least one course related to that theme. Yet little research has focused on differentiating RLCs from those LLPs without a connected course. Using existing data from the Assessment of Collegiate Residential Environments and Outcomes (ACREO), we explored this distinction by comparing the experiences of students participating in RLCs with those of students in LLPs that did not have course components. Results from this study revealed that, when compared to students in LLPs, students in RLCs reported higher mean values across most experiences, with the two largest effect sizes observed for the factors related to student interactions with residential faculty and peers. Implications are then offered for future research and practice
Increasing Campus Sense of Belonging through LLC Participation: To Gems Camp We Go
Get PDFGemstone seeks to develop students’ research and collaboration skills, foster leadership opportunities, and provide a sense of belonging on a large campus utilizing the Best Practices Model (BPM) and a variety of high impact practices (HIPs), like a Gemstone-specific orientation program called Gems Camp. While studies have demonstrated that LLCs increase students’ sense of belonging, the goal of this study is to explicitly test via propensity score matching if (a) enrollment in the Gemstone Honors Program increases sense of belonging compared to university students not in Gemstone and (b) attendance at Gems Camp increases sense of belonging in Gemstone students. Gemstone students (N=221) had an increased sense of belonging compared to matched university students (N=221). Moreover, Gemstone students who attended Gems Camp (N=92) had an increased sense of belonging compared to matched Gemstone students who did not attend Gems Camp (N=92). In conclusion, the Gemstone Honors Program is an example of an LLC with scaffolded high impact practices, such as intentional first year programming, undergraduate research, and collaborative projects, that promotes an increase in students’ sense of belonging, providing a model for other LLCs to consider in their programming efforts
Priming the Pump: Residential Learning Community Effects on Engagement with Diversity and Participation in High-Impact Practices
Get PDFUsing the National Survey of Student Engagement and multivariate regression techniques, we examine the impact of a first-year residential learning community (RLC) at a predominately White small liberal arts institution. This program disproportionately attracts students of color, providing structural diversity. We include measures of students’ prior interest and engagement levels from the Before College Survey of Student Engagement to control for potential sample selection bias from students’ pre-existing engagement levels and expectations, allowing a better measure of the program’s effects. Despite having similar expectations about participation in future HIPs, students in this RLC completed on average 1.15 more HIPs by the end of their senior year than non-participants. In particular, they were more likely to have done research with faculty and to have held leadership positions. Additionally, White program participants were more likely than non-participants to report frequent interactions with students from different racial/ethnic backgrounds, an effect which persists to the end of their senior year. Additional analysis indicates that the programming in the RLC, and not simply the structural diversity of residence component, is the likely driver of this increased engagement with diverse others