Living Learning Communities Overview

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Living Learning Communities Overview

• Jerry Olson
• Director of Residence Life
• Andrew Beckett
• Assistant Dean of Students
• July 18, 2006

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Outline

• What are Living Learning Communities (LLCs)?
• Origins and Philosophical Foundations
• History at Miami
• Benefits
• Challenges
• Reflection Questions

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What are Living Learning Communities?
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Structures

• Curricular
• Coordinated Studies (Evergreen St.)
• FIGs (U of Oregon) Linked Courses (Iowa St.)
• Federated/Block Courses (Seattle Comm. Coll)
• FYE (USC)

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Structures

• Residential
• Theme housing (e.g. Substance Free Floors)
• Academic (Interdisciplinary or major focused)
• Student Created (Miami University)
• Residential Curricular
• Residential colleges (Rice, Harvard, MSU)
• FIGs (Iowa State)
• Connections (Ball St.)

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Philosophical underpinnings

• Holistic/integrated approach
• Peer to peer interaction
• Faculty-student interaction
• Highly differentiated environments (a.k.a.
  commonality of purpose)
• Involvement

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Core Practices

• Community
• Diversity
• Integration
• Active Learning
• Reflection and Assessment
• Smith, B., et. al. (2004). Learning Communities
  Reforming undergraduate education.

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Origins

• Meiklejohn
• Experimental College
• UW Madison 1927-32
• Harvard Houses (1929) and Yale Colleges (1931)
  Edward Harkness
• Tussman
• Experiment at Berkeley
• Berkeley 1965-69
• Evergreen State (early 70s)
• University of Oregon FIGs (1982)
• Adopted by many institutions in the early nineties

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Student Learning Imperative(ACPA, 1993)

• The concepts of learning, personal
  development and student development are
  inextricably intertwined and inseparable. Higher
  education traditionally has organized its
  activities into academic affairs (cognitive
  development) and student affairs (affective or
  personal development).

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• However this dichotomy has little relevance to
  post-college life, where the quality of ones job
  performance, family life and community activities
  are all highly dependent on cognitive and
  affective skills.

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History at Miami

• 1929 Live-in faculty begin to conduct academic
  advising in the residence halls
• 1974 The Western College Program was
  established
• 1983 The beginning of Focused Learning
  Communities (FLC), precursor to Theme Learning
  Communities, in conjunction with the Honors
  Department
• 1983-1992 International Living Learning Center
  and Health Enhancement Lifestyle Management
  Programs were established
• 1993 German Language Floor, Residential Service
  Learning, Academic Excellence Floor (precursor to
  the Scholastic Enhancement Program), Fine Arts
  Interest Floor (precursor to the Celebrate the
  Arts Program), Cooperative Living/Learning Center
  (no longer in existence), and the Business Floor
  (no longer in existence), were all established
• 1995 Women in Math, Science, Engineering was
  established
• 1996 Scholar Leader Program and Leadership,
  Excellence, Community were established

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History at Miami

• 1997 Mosaic Individuality and Diversity was
  established in conjunction with the College of
  Arts and Science
• 1998 Celebrate the Arts was established in
  conjunction with the School of Fine Arts
• 1999 Courses in Common was established (first
  known as Federated Learning Community)
• 2001 Record 53 of first-year students and 12
  of upperclass students chose to participate in
  Theme Learning Communities
• 2001 Addition of the French Language Floors
• 2003 Addition of the Environmental Awareness
  Program and the Technology and Society Program
• 2004 Addition of the Chinese Language Floors
• 2006 Addition of the Spanish Language Floors

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Miami UniversityContext of LLCs

• Public, residential institution with a strong
  academic reputation
• Approximately 16,000 students on Oxford campus
• Undergraduate liberal arts focus on principles
  of thinking critically, understanding contexts,
  engaging with other learners, and reflecting and
  acting (Miami Plan Principles)
• Six divisionsArts Science, Business, Education
  Allied Professions, Engineering Applied
  Science, Fine Arts, Interdisciplinary Studies
• Mission of LLCs at Miami
• create and extend student learning opportunities
  outside of the classroom
• integrate curricular with co-curricular
  experiences
• foster faculty and resident interaction
• enhance both intellectual and personal growth of
  the residents

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Miamis LLCs 2006-2007

• Celebrate the Arts
• Chinese Language Floors
• Communities of Inquiry (Honors and Scholars)
• Environmental Awareness Program
• French Language Floors
• German Language Floors
• Health Enhancement Lifestyle Management (HELM)
• International Living Learning Community

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Miamis LLCs 2006-2007

• Leadership, Excellence Community
• Mosaic
• Scholastic Enhancement Program
• Spanish Language Floors
• Student Created Programming
• Technology and Society
• Western College Program
• Women in Science Disciplines, Engineering, and
  Mathematics (WiSDEM)

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Why LLCs?

• Who benefits and how?

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LLC Benefits for Faculty/Staff

• Offers a means for professional rejuvenation
• Provides an opportunity for faculty development
  (content and pedagogy)
• Creates mentoring opportunities
• Helps faculty/staff better understand students
  via interactions
• Source Goodsell Love, A. (1999). What are
  learning communities? In J. Levine, (Ed.),
  Learning communities New structures, new
  partnerships for learning (pp. 1-8). Columbia,
  SC National Resource Center for The First-Year
  Experience and Students in Transition, University
  of South Carolina.

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LLC Benefits for Students

• Deepens learning through active approach
  collaborative learning, reflection (explicitly
  making links among disciplines), service and
  experiential learning, interdisciplinary inquiry
• Raises expectations for learning
• Assists students in making connections to the
  campus and surrounding community
• Aids in student transition to college and
  retention
• Increases interaction between students and
  faculty
• Source Goodsell Love, A. (1999). What are
  learning communities? In J. Levine, (Ed.),
  Learning communities New structures, new
  partnerships for learning (pp. 1-8). Columbia,
  SC National Resource Center for The First-Year
  Experience and Students in Transition, University
  of South Carolina.

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LLC Benefits for Institution

• Helps institution make a paradigm shift (move
  from teacher-centered to learning-centered
  strengthens teaching)
• Sparks greater intellectual interaction between
  students and instructor and between/among
  instructors
• Provides alternative to traditional approaches
  to general education
• Is generally cost effective
• Aids student retention, motivation, and progress
  toward degree
• Source Goodsell Love, A. (1999). What are
  learning communities? In J. Levine, (Ed.),
  Learning communities New structures, new
  partnerships for learning (pp. 1-8). Columbia,
  SC National Resource Center for The First-Year
  Experience and Students in Transition, University
  of South Carolina.

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Challenges

• Partnerships (giving up some control of
  decision-making)
• Motivating staff (programming wont always be
  fun community is viewed as a process and not
  an outcome)
• Facility limitations
• Priorities of faculty and student affairs
• Sense of accomplishment
• How do you know you were successful?

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How do our halls become Living Learning
Communities?

• How would a visitor know that your hall is an
  LLC?
• What opportunities will students have to learn
  and grow in their LLC?
• How are these opportunities different from
  students living in a traditional residence hall?

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What makes a LLC

• How would a visitor know that your hall is an
  LLC?
• Visual Indicators
• Door decs, bulletin boards, etc.
• Students
• Who are they?
• What are they doing?
• Staff
• What are they/you doing?
• What opportunities will students have to learn
  and grow in your LLC? How are these
  opportunities different from students living in a
  traditional residence hall?