A majority of the research on the impact of learning communities has focused on the positive outcomes for students in their first year of study (Andrade, 2007; Goldman, 2012; Laverick, 2018; Wathington, Pretlow, & Mitchell, 2010). Less is known about the impact of learning community involvement as students complete their enrollment and persist…

Wynn, Mosholder, & Larsen (2014, 2016) studied the effect of problem-based learning (PBL) on the development of postformal thinking (PFT) skills among first-year learning community (LC) students and attributed the significant PFT gains, in part, to the metacognitive reflection component of their PBL method, recommending it as a way to…

This article outlines the process of how the author purposefully designed an integrative assignment to meet the real-world needs of a nursing cohort, First-Year Seminar anchored learning community. The author provides evidence from her own teaching practices to explore the elements that contributed to the construction of this assignment. For…

At Humboldt State University (HSU), location is everything. Students are as drawn to our spectacular natural setting as they are to the unique majors in the natural resource sciences that the university has to offer. However, the isolation that nurtures the pristine natural beauty of the area presents a difficult reality for students who are…

First-year seminars and learning communities (LC) have been used to help increase retention, provide continuity, and support students as they transition to the university setting. Another high impact educational practice--common intellectual experiences (CIE)--includes student activities centered on a theme to help facilitate learning, increase…

While there has been research on the effects of utilizing Peer Mentors within Learning Communities with regards to retention data, little research has been done to show the effects that Peer Mentoring has on learning outcomes within a Learning Community. Using anecdotal evidence from peer mentors working within a Learning Community at an urban…

This is the second 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…

This "Practices from the Field" article describes the rationale and operationalization of an interdisciplinary team-taught first-year inquiry seminar and learning community program at a large predominantly White research institution. The authors both serve as faculty members in the College of Education and Human Development and teach in…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between first-year undergraduates' (n = 1,701) participation in learning communities and their development of leadership and multicultural competence. The sample included first-year students who were enrolled at six large, public research universities in 2012 and completed the Student…

This 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…

This article presents an instructional model for teaching a gateway history course that affects students by: 1) improving their ability to think at higher levels; 2) increasing engagement; and 3) enhancing their perception of the relevancy of the course material in comparison to traditional lecture and discussion. The model includes problem-based…

This article presents a method for addressing the self-selection bias of students who participate in learning communities (LCs). More specifically, this research utilizes equivalent comparison groups based on selected incoming characteristics of students, known as bootstraps, to account for self-selection bias. To address the differences in…

A place-based learning community called "Klamath Connection" was designed to improve the academic performance of freshman in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) majors at Humboldt State University, a midsize public institution in a location geographically and culturally unfamiliar to the majority of its students. The…

Previous research suggests that the far-reaching impacts of hurricanes include the academic performance of students. In an examination of such impacts, we found a trend toward self-perceived decline in some performance indicators relative to students at peer universities. However, few longitudinal impacts were found, perhaps because of the sense…

How do you teach the humanities to working class students living in the shadow of a BP oil refinery? Calumet College uses freshman learning communities that link humanities, social justice, and English composition classes to provide a foundation for college success to predominantly first-generation students who are often underprepared for…