LEARNING COMMUNITIES

Research Topic: Learning Community in Higher Education

Pa Yong Xiong
EDLD 662-82 Research in Educational Leadership
Minnesota State University- Mankato
Professor Kaufman and Mr. Meiners

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Learning Community in Higher Education

Introduction
As a professional working in higher education, I am interested in learning more about
learning communities and ways to support students in achieving their bachelor degrees. As an
advisor for TRiO Student Support Services (SSS), we piloted our first TRiO learning community
model this year at Metropolitan State University. The learning community model is not new to
the campus. However, it was never fully supported before. We believe that by positioning a
learning community with the TRiO SSS program, we will be successful as we have the necessary
tools and resources (i.e. staff and funds) that were not available before.
In the fall of 2014, we not only accepted 25 students into the TRiO program, but also
designed and selected three classes that they took as a group. For this current semester of spring
2015, they are taking two classes together and in following fall of 2015, they will be taking one
class. We believe this model will not only be successful in helping students maintain a high GPA
but also motivate them to continue and graduate with a Bachelor degree. Through this research, I
am hoping to provide additional statistical evidence to add to the learning communities body of
knowledge. I also hope to find research that discuss best practices in learning communities that
promotes high level of student engagement and GPA.
By creating learning communities in colleges, incoming students will become more
familiar with their peers and can support each other in and out of the classroom. When asked,
many students answered that they frequently did not ask questions if they didnt understand the
materials or assignment. Instead, they would try to figure it out. This often leads to students
falling behind on class materials or completing assignments incorrectly. When learning

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communities are created, students will be able to ask each other questions, share knowledge and
comprehend classroom materials altogether.
Therefore, for this research project, it is hypothesized that college students who are in the
learning communities will achieve a higher GPA and retention rate than the general student
population.
Literature Review
As learning communities are structured differently across college campuses, they still
encompass two key components that define it. The two key terms are: shared or collaborative
learning and connected learning. (Rocconi, 2011). A learning community is developed by
creating a cohort of students who will be taking two or more classes together in their first
semester in college and then they will continue to take classes together in future semesters. This
is believed to build connections, community, and enhance learning among the students, staff and
faculty (Love, 2012).
Since its inception in the early 1920s, learning communities has been defined, shaped and
reshaped to meet todays growing needs. With unpredictable enrollment and retention trends,
many college are discussing how to attract students and keep them enrolled. Learning
community can be a strategy to negate these downward trends. It is especially important that
colleges employ best practices to continue thriving. It is most needed at the two year community
colleges as both retention and graduation rates stagger below 50%. At the state universities, 4
year graduation rate is hovering around the 20% mark with Metropolitan State University
graduating students at the lowest rate of 12% (Minnesota Office of Higher Education, 2012).

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Some colleges are starting to see how significant the lack of student involvement and
engagement is impacting their retention and graduation rates. Using learning communities as a
method of engagement can be effective in retaining students. Johnson, Wasseman, Yildirim, and
Yonais research indicated that when students have positive feelings about the campus
environment, students are more than likely to return to college (2014). This includes academic
and social interactions at that college. By developing learning communities, they allow students
to increase relationship building opportunities among them. Not only that, but they also help
professional staff to engage in meaningful interactions, encourage students to attend events and
be involved in student organizations.
The founder of Posse Foundation, Deborah Bial, did not question it when students told
her that they dropped out of college because they dont feel a sense of belonging. As humans, we
are social creatures that need to socialize and engage with others. To ensure that some students
can have this opportunity, she founded the Posses Foundation. The Posse Foundation gives high
school seniors from the nine major cities a full-ride to college and an opportunity to bond with
other students before they actually step foot onto the college grounds. Through the foundation,
90% of the students graduate in 4 years and 80% of students reported being involve in student
organizations (Adams, 2014).
The lack of retention is not the only factor hindering the graduation rates among colleges.
Research shows that a lack of motivation, self-efficacy and goal orientation are also attributes to
students obtaining a lower GPA. (Hsieh, Sullivan, & Guerra, 2007) However, if students were
given the tools like goal setting skills and motivation skills, students would be able to achieve a
higher GPA. Research shows that by helping student explore what motivates them, we can help

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facilitate their success in college. It suggest that career direction and having support systems on
campus and off campus will help with college success. (Kern, Fagley, Miller, 1998)
Learning communities have proven to increase communication flow between students,
staff and faculty. Through increased communication, student are comfortable asking questions
that have direct impact on their academic achievement. (Waldron, Yungbluth, 2007). Increasing
communication also allows for students to engage and participate in events, even outside of the
classroom.
From the many research articles, learning communities create positive environments that
are inclusive to collaborative and connected learning. This means that students, staff, and faculty
are all involved and engage in students learning. This type of learning will help the school retain
students and allow students to achieve at their best. Overall, this will benefit both the school and
the students in these learning communities.
Method
Participants
All Metropolitan State University freshman students (meaning that they have earned zero
college credit) will be surveyed for consent to participate in a learning community. From the
group that gives consent, fifty freshman college students will be randomly selected to participate
in the learning community research project starting in the fall semester. To randomly select the
participants, 50 learning community instruction sheets will be printed and inserted into 50
orientation folders and then mixed in with the rest of the orientation folders. If a student have the
flyer, they will be directed to attend a session before registering for their classes. At the session,
the students will be randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups by drawing from a

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deck of cards. The students who draw red cards are the controlled group and students who draw
the black cards are in the experimental group. The students in both group will be registering for a
Writing class, First Year Seminar class, and an Introduction to Social Sciences course. However,
for the experimental group, they are coded so that are the only students who can register for the
designated course sections and they will be registering for the same section. For example, they
will all take Writing 101-01, First Year Seminar 101-01, and Introduction to Social Sciences 10101 and for the control group, they can choose whichever section they want to take, except section
01 of the three courses.
Materials
A survey is constructed and will be used to track all the freshmen and the learning
communitys level of engagement in school. The survey is created through the RightNow
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System and will be sent electronically to the
selection of freshman students via their school email. The survey will be a 5-point Likert scale
and contains six questions (please refer to Appendix 1). To assess Grade Point Average (GPA),
we will also use the RightNow CRM to pull the GPAs of the students.
Procedure
To gain insightful information on students engagement through the year, both the
experimental and controls group of students will be surveyed two times. The survey will be
given out at the beginning of the Fall semester and the end of Spring semester. Staff and faculty
have constructed six questions to assess both control and experimental groups level of
engagement.
The first time that the survey is given out is to assess their level of engagement as the
semester is starting. We will send the survey via email at the end of the first month of school

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(August). The reason why we are not sending it right away as the semester starts is because we
want to allow the students to settle in before sending the survey as it can be a lot to take in the
first month of their college experience.
The second time the survey will be given out is in April as semester comes to an end. We
want to see if there are any changes of engagement from the beginning to the ending of the
academic year and if so, how much changes from the controlled and experimental group. As an
incentive for the freshman who completes their survey, their final grades will be posted two
weeks earlier than when grades are released. We will use the Likert scale statistics to find the
correlation to whether or not being in a learning community is significant to increased student
engagement.
Another component of this research is to find whether or not being in a learning
community will increase GPA. We will use the cumulative average GPA of the students in the
experimental group and compare it to the control group. We will use this to find if there is
statistical significance in GPA between the experimental and control group.

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References
Adams, C. J. (2014). Harnessing Peer Power To Navigate College. Education Week, 10-13.
Hsieh, P. (., Sullivan, J. R., & Guerra, N. S. (2007). A Closer Look at College Students: SelfEfficacy and Goal Orientation. Journal Of Advanced Academics, 18(3), 454-476.
Johnson, D., Wasserman, T., Yildirim, N., & Yonai, B. (2014) Examining the Effects of Stress
and Campus Climate on the Persistence of Students of Color and White Students: An
Application of Bean and Eatons Psychological Model of Retention. Research In Higher
Education, 55(1), 75-100. doi:10.1007/s11162-013-9304-9
Kern, C. W., Fagley, N. S., & Miller, P. M. (1998). Correlates of College Retention and GPA:
Learning and Study Strategies, Testwiseness, Attitudes, and ACT. Journal of College
Counseling, 1(1), 26.
Love, A. G. (2012). The growth and current state of learning communities in higher education.
New Directions For Teaching & Learning, 2012(132), 5-18. doi:10.1002/tl.20032
Rocconi, L. (2011). The Impact of Learning Communities on First Year Students Growth and
Development in College. Research In Higher Education, 52(2), 178-193.
doi:10.1007/s11162-010-9190-3
Minnesota Office of Higher Education. (2012). Graduation Rates. Retrieved from
http://www.ohe.state.mn.us/fc/754/pg.cfm
Smith, B. L., MacGregor, J., Matthews, R. S., and Gabelnick, F. Learning Communities:
Reforming Undergraduate Education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2004.
Waldron, W. R., & Yungbluth, S. C. (2007). Assessing Student Outcomes in CommunicationIntensive Learning Communities: A Two-Year Longitudinal Study of Academic

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Performance and Retention. Southern Communication Journal, 72(3), 285-302.

doi:10.1080/1041794074233

Appendix 1
Survey

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10

Instruction: Please mark one answer per question in regards to your educational journey at
Metropolitan State University.
1) Staff, faculty and students at Metropolitan State University are encouraging of me to
participate in school-wide events (such as join organizations, attend events, help plan
events, etc.)
Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

2) There is at least one person (staff, faculty, and/or student) at Metropolitan State
University that I feel comfortable to speak to when I have concerns and need help.
Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

3) I have opportunities to join organizations, attend events, and hold student leadership
roles at Metropolitan State University.
Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

4) I am provided with resources on and off campus so that I know where to seek help
when I need it.
Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

5) I have opportunities to talk to staff and faculty about my personal, educational and
professional goals and career.
Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

6) I would recommend Metropolitan State University to other students to attend.

Strongly Agree

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree