The Story of Josie: From Involvement to Influence

This 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

Notes for this Issue

Since 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

Increasing Campus Sense of Belonging through LLC Participation: To Gems Camp We Go

Gemstone 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

Notes for this Special Issue

Residential learning communities or living-learning communities afford integration of and collaboration between academic affairs and student affairs. The articles in this special issue address unique elements and experiences in residential learning community programs

Thriving in Residential Learning Communities

Our research presents a multi-institutional study on the concept of thriving in Residential Learning Communities (RLCs). The study utilizes the Thriving Quotient (Schreiner, 2010c) to research how RLCs at four U.S. institutions contribute to students’ academic engagement and performance, interpersonal relationships, and psychological well-being. Additionally, this study uses an institutional mapping inventory to examine how students’ thriving correlates with various components of RLCs (Inkelas et al., 2008), such as RLC size, theme, faculty involvement, budget, and linked courses. The data were analyzed using factor analysis tools and blocked linear regression to identify associations between RLC characteristics and the thriving outcomes. Results indicate that particular groups of students (women, first generation students), faculty involvement, and financial resources correlated with higher thriving in RLCs. The article concludes with implications and directions for future research

Preparing Learning Community Peer Mentors to Support Students\u27 Transitions

Peer 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

Living in the Explore House: A Major and Career Exploration-Focused Residential Learning Community for Undecided Students

Scholarship 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 Relationship Between Residential Learning Communities and Student Engagement

Residential 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

An Enhanced Approach to Living and Learning Together at IUP: Living-Learning Community Certificate Programs

This 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

Notes for this Issue

Foundational to the learning community movement is a view of teaching and learning as a collaborative experience. The articles in this issue ask us to consider new ways we might understand and enact collaboration in our learning community research and practice