What

1
Whats All This Talk About Learning Communities

• Cindy Anderson, Associate Director
• Sue Belatti, Coordinator of Learning Communities

2
Global Vision . . .

• Students who get the most out of college, who
  grow the most academically, and who are the
  happiest , organize their time to include
  interpersonal activities with faculty members, or
  with fellow students, built around substantive
  academic work.
• Richard J. Light Harvard Assessment Seminars
  (Second Report)
• Explorations with students and faculty about
  teaching, learning, and student life.
• Student learning is strongly influenced by a
  variety of interconnected out-of-classroom
  factors, most notably student-to-student and
  student-to-faculty interactions.
• Alexander W. Astin 1993
• What Matters in College? Four Critical Years
  Revisited

3
A Distinctive Mission with a Student-Centered
Difference. . .

• Northern Arizona University Mission
• To provide an outstanding undergraduate
  residential education strengthened by research,
  graduate and professional programs and
  sophisticated methods of distance delivery.
• Dr. John Haeger -- April 11, 2007
• Conversations with the President Learning and
  Enterprise
• 2006-07 Presidential Speakers Series

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HOGWARTS The (Ultimate?) Learning Community
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HOGWARTS The (Ultimate?) Learning Community

• Essential elements in the Hogwarts Learning
  Community that create a challenging and
  supportive learning environment
• Diversity
• First Year Experience
• (Living) Learning Communities
• Good Practice in Teaching and Learning
• Civic Responsibility

6
Global Vision of Learning Communities

• The Learning Communities movement is a national
  initiative grounded in research and ongoing
  dialogue about undergraduate education.
• Learning Communities are part of a success
  strategy aimed at enhancing the undergraduate
  educational experience.
• Learning Communities have been shown to
  contribute to students academic success,
  engagement, and retention.
• Learning Communities take on many forms and have
  a variety of structures.

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Specialization and Overlap in the Educational
Community
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Types of Learning Communities (B.L. Smith 1991)

• Linked Courses
• Clustered Courses expanded form of the Linked
  Course Model with 3 or 4 courses that speak to a
  common theme.
• Freshman Interest Groups expansion of the
  Cluster Course Model with a Peer Mentor and
  credit-bearing orientation class.
• Coordinated Studies fully-integrated 16 credit
  programs that last a term or a year.

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Shared Resources

• Residence Life Offerings
• Facilities
• Staff (both student and professional)
• Programming support
• Student access

• Academic Affairs Offerings
• Focused educational programming
• Added value to the residential experience
• Improved housing recruitment retention
• Additional university presence

10
National Status

• Actual definition is somewhat elusive
• Many programs call themselves living-learning,
  but are they?
• While extremely popular, there is no consensus in
  higher education as to what constitutes a L/L
  program
• Examples can run the gamut from theme floors to
  4-year, degree granting residential programs
• Our basic definition
• Program involves students who live together in a
  discrete portion of a residence hall (or the
  entire building)
• Program has staff and resources dedicated for
  that program only, and not for the entire
  residence hall (if program is not the entire
  building)
• Participants in the program partake in special
  academic and co-curricular programming designed
  especially for them.

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Learning Communities at Northern Arizona
University 06-07

• Academic Focused
• - Business
• - Education House
• - Forestry Tree House
• - Hotel Restaurant Management
• - Honors Program
• Theme Based
• - Outdoor Recreation (2 locations)
• - Eco House

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Learning Communities at Northern Arizona
University 07-08

• Academic Focused
• - Academic Exploration (4)
• - Biomedical Professions/Pre-Med
• - Business (2)
• - CENS (CM, Physics Astronomy, STAR Pals)
• - Education House (2)
• - Forestry Tree House
• - Hotel Restaurant Management (2)
• - Honors Program
• Theme Based
• - Outdoor Recreation (2 locations)
• - Eco House
• - STAR

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Components of Current Learning Communities

• Cohorts of 20- 30 students
• Faculty Staff Partners
• Paired Courses (major-based LCs)
• Resident Assistants Community Mentors
  tied to Major
• Programming Efforts
• - academic-focused
• - social interactions
• - faculty/staff interactions
• - advising
• - In-Hall Study Groups

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Assessment How might you know if Learning
Communities are doing what you wanted?
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Assessment

• Multiple Domains of Assessment
• Retention Data (cohort tracking)
• Satisfaction (Quality of Life)
• Individual Level (RA Survey, LC Survey)
• Engagement (NSSE, NSLLP)

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Retention Goals at Northern Arizona University

• 5 Year Goal 2006-2011
• All NAU Cohort 76
• 10 Year Goal 2006-2016
• All NAU Cohort 80

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Learning Communities at Northern Arizona
University

• Retention (Fall 2004 to Fall 2005)

Learning Community Cohort 81 retained
All NAU Cohort 70 retained
18
Learning Communities at Northern Arizona
University

• Retention (Fall 2005 to Fall 2006)

Learning Community Cohort 73 retained
All NAU Cohort 72 retained
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2007 Quality of Life Survey
20
2007 Quality of Life Survey
21
2007 Quality of Life Survey
22
2007 Learning Community Survey
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2007 Learning Community Survey
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2007 Learning Community Survey
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What Did We Learn? (2004 NSLLP)full study
livelearnstudy.net

• Brief Background Common elements of effective
  learning communities
• They create a community of people who are
  pursuing common learning objectives
• They attempt to create interlocking small group
  interaction among participants
• They provide networks of support using faculty,
  staff and peers
• They provide a vehicle for academic and social
  integration into the institution
• Living-learning programs attempt to achieve its
  objectives through seamless learning
  opportunitiesin classrooms, in small peer
  groups, in students living environments. . .

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What Did We Learn? (2004 NSLLP)full study
livelearnstudy.net

• L/L vs. Non-L/L Students College Environments
  Activities

Higher Mean Scores L/L Non-L/L Higher Mean Scores L/L Non-L/L Higher Mean Scores L/L Non-L/L
Peer academic social discussions X
Faculty mentoring relationship X
Res. Hall climate academically and socially supportive X
Plan on following in future Practicum/Internship Study Abroad Research w/Professor Senior Capstone/Thesis X X X X
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What Did We Learn? (2004 NSLLP)full study
livelearnstudy.net

• L/L vs. Non-L/L Students Student Outcomes

Higher Mean Scores L/L Non-L/L Higher Mean Scores L/L Non-L/L Higher Mean Scores L/L Non-L/L
Smooth transition to college X
Critical thinking abilities X
Commitment to civic engagement X
Low levels of binge drinking X
Growth in cognitive complexity, liberal learning, personal philosophy N/S
Higher academic self-confidence N/S
Appreciation for racial/ethnic diversity N/S
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Theme-based Typology 14 Primary Categories

• Civic/Social Leadership (21)
• Cultural (32)
• Disciplinary (67)
• Fine Creative Arts (22)
• General Academic (7)
• Honors (22)
• Multi-Disciplinary (4)

• Outdoor Recreation (2)
• Research (2)
• Residential College (7)
• Transition (30) FY
• Upper Division (4)
• Wellness/Healthy Living (9)
• Womens (18)

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Key Issues for LCs at NAU

1. Determine a model for the expansion of the
   Learning Communities program to include shared
   support from the Divisions of Student Affairs and
   Academic Affairs.
2. Identify institutional fiscal resources for
   compensation systems for faculty and staff, and
   funding models that consider a value added
   strand for participating students.
3. Establish/Define stronger curriculum and academic
   support within the Learning Communities.
4. Determine Learning Outcomes for all of the
   Learning Communities including an assessment plan
   for measuring these outcomes.
5. Develop a framework/broad-based plan reflecting
   the vision for Learning Communities on a macro
   level.

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LC Background Readings

• Cross, K. Patricia. 1998. Why Learning
  Communities? Why Now? About Campus.
• Kuh, George et. al. 1996. The Student Learning
  Imperative Implications for Student Affairs.
  American College Personnel Association.
• Laufgraben, Jodi Levine and Nancy S. Shapiro.
  2004. Sustaining and Improving Learning
  Communities. San Francisco Jossey-Bass
• Smith, Barbara Leigh. 2001. The challenge of
  Learning Commuunities as a Growing National
  Movement. Association of American Colleges and
  Universities.
• Zeller, William J. 2006. Classrooms Without
  Borders. The Future of the College Housing
  Profession. ACUHO-I Press.

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LC Background Web Resources

• 2007 National Study of Living-Learning Programs.
  Website at www.livelearnstudy.net.
• Bowling Green State University Learning
  Communities At-A-Glance.
• www.bgsu.edu/offices/mc/communities/