Learning Communities Research and Practice (LCRP - E-Journal, Washington Center at The Evergreen State College Research)
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Notes on this issue
Get PDFContributions in research, practices from the field, perspectives, and a book review, all enhance our community focus on teaching and learning
Mindset about Intelligence and Meaningful and Mindful Effort: It\u27s Not My Hardest Class Any More!
Get PDFCollege students’ implicit theories (or mindsets) about intelligence can affect not only their motivations toward learning, but also their cognitive habits and behaviors while learning thus impacting academic achievement. In this paper we describe learning experiences we used with our learning community to 1) introduce students to the concept of implicit theories (mindsets) about intelligence, 2) encourage them to move toward growth mindsets rather than fixed mindsets about their abilities to learn, 3) challenge them to identify learning as more than memorization and recall, and 4) hold them accountable for doing the work of the mind (meaningful and mindful effort) required for learning. Questionnaires given at the beginning and again at the end of the semester revealed increases in students’ self-reported knowledge of mindset about intelligence and the effect it has on their abilities to learn, about the impact meaningful and mindful effort has on learning, and about the meaning of effort. More important, students also reported positive changes in behaviors as they took more responsibility for their own growth and development by practicing the work of the mind. Leaders of learning communities can use this set of learning experiences to help their students achieve even more academic success
It is Time to Count Learning Communities
Get PDFAs the modern learning community movement turns 30, it is time to determine just how many, and what type, of these programs exist at America’s colleges and universities. This article first offers a rationale for counting learning communities followed by a description of how disparate counts and unclear definitions hamper efforts to embed these programs ever more deeply into the fabric of higher education. Two “camps” of definitions are described as are existing national attempts to tally learning communities in each camp. The article concludes with recommendations that rely heavily on the collaborative spirit that animates learning communities. On its face, the (not so) simple act of counting may seem a labor-intensive sideline to the immediate task of supporting this work on individual campuses. This article makes the argument that undertaking a count aligns with efforts to improve the quality of this practice and is just the disciplined collective exercise the national movement needs as it enters its fourth decade
Developing a Comprehensive Learning Community Program: Providing a Historical Perspective
Get PDFThis is the first of a three-part series which will share information about how a mid-size, comprehensive university developed a learning community program, including a residential curriculum. Through intentional collaboration and partnerships, the team, comprised of faculty and staff throughout the university, developed a “multi-year plan for learning communities to help create and support an intentional, integrative and transformational experience that is student-centered, faculty-led, and administratively supported” (UNI, 2014)
Predicting First-Year Student Success in Learning Communities: The Power of Pre-College Variables
Get PDFThe study used pre-college variables in the prediction of retention and probation status of first-year students in learning communities at a regional public university in South Texas. The correlational study employed multivariate analyses on data collected from the campus registrar about three consecutive cohorts (N = 4,215) of first-year students. Logistic regression models were developed to predict retention and probation status without respect to learning community membership, as well as for each learning community category.
The logistic regression model to predict retention regardless of learning community membership included five pre-college variables, while the model to predict probation status included eight pre-college variables, five of which overlapped with the retention model. The models for each learning community contained different sets of predictor variables; the most common pre-college predictors were high school percentile and the number of days since orientation. The results of the study provide practical implications for the learning communities program, as well as learning community scholars interested in targeting interventions to the students who need them most
Collaborative Approaches to Deepen Student Learning: Information Literacy, Curriculum Design, and Student Learning Workshops
Get PDFCreating a collaborative environment across student services and instruction is often more challenging than it may first seem. Although effective collaboration is context specific, keeping student learning at the center of the work is a powerful element in successful collaborations. Grossmont College’s first year experience program has attempted to create new patterns of behavior among faculty and students in order to foster the kinds of collaboration that can lead to deeper student learning, greater engagement and more success. In particular, an ongoing collaboration between the library, the professional development office, and a campus-wide supplemental student learning calendar serves as a good example of effective educational partnerships that have contributed to increased student success and retention
Artful Reading, Spontaneous Design: Integrating Philosophy, English, and Art in a Creativity Cluster
Get PDFThis article informs about a multidisciplinary learning community targeting first year students from diverse cultural backgrounds at an urban community college. The combination of English, art, and philosophy of art in a Creativity Cluster offers an excellent opportunity for great teaching and learning experiences. Yet, how can faculty address the multiple challenges faced by inexperienced student readers who have little time to reflect on difficult texts or make thoughtful connections across disciplines? The authors find that students’ reading comprehension can be deepened and reinforced by dovetailing such manifold sources as poetry, short stories, plays, film, music, artworks, and readings in aesthetic theory. Further, students’ critical thinking and analytical writing skills can be improved with related creative activities and integrative paper assignments. Moreover, through improvised activities, faculty can respond effectively to students’ needs, nurture their creativity, and enable them to make meaningful connections across disciplines and artforms.
Vera Albrecht is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at LaGuardia Community College , City University of New York (CUNY).
Barbara Comins is a Professor of English at LaGuardia Community College, CUNY
Building a Community of Practice
Get PDFThis editorial reports on the experiences of some of LCRP\u27s writers and editorial board members, which they shared at the 2014 National Learning Communities Conference
What Campuses Assess When They Assess Their Learning Community Programs: Selected Findings from a National Survey of Learning Community Programs
Get PDFIn spring 2013, the Washington Center administered a national survey to find what campuses assessed when they assessed their learning community programs, how they assessed those outcomes, and what they did with the results. Sixty-six campuses responded to the survey. Most campuses assess at least one measure of student success (pass rates, course completion, GPA) during students\u27 learning community enrollment. Some campuses track student success after their learning community enrollment, and more campuses would like to if they had the means to do so. Nearly all campuses assess student engagement, and the few campuses that do not would like to. About half the campuses responding to the survey assess integrative and interdisciplinary learning. Most campuses associate teaching in learning communities with professional development benefits, and nearly all associate the learning community program with achieving key institutional outcomes. Discussion of these results highlights potential areas for further work in order to strengthen practice across the field of learning community practice.
Emily Lardner is Co-Director for the Washington Center and an adjunct professor in Evening and Weekend Studies at The Evergreen State College
Core Sciences in First-Year Learning Communities
Get PDFLearning communities (LCs) offer high-impact practices of active learning and practical application, but such practices demand devoted class time and room for reflection. Core science courses that serve as prerequisites for more advanced courses have specific and fixed content that offers no space in which to incorporate the ideals of LCs. Wagner College’s three-course model for first-year LCs solves this conundrum by providing a Reflective Tutorial (RFT)—a course dedicated to critical thinking, frequent writing, reflection, and practical application through experiential learning—that bridges two content courses based on a well-developed theme. This structure allows any course appropriate for first-year students, including core science courses, to be incorporated in an LC. Two faculty members work as a team to create the three-course LC; each faculty member teaches one of the content courses to the same group of 24-28 students. The two instructors team teach the RFT or offer independent small sections of the RFT; the RFT replaces the traditional first-year writing course. Specific examples are provided of LCs incorporating a core science course.
Nicholas Richardson is a Professor of Psychology at Wagner College in Staten Island, NY.
Patricia A. Tooker is the Dean for Integrated Learning and an Associate Professor in the Evelyn L. Spiro School of Nursing at Wagner College.
Amy Eshleman is a Professor of Psychology at Wagner College