The Impact of Learning Communities on First Year Students' Growth and Development in College

Res High Educ (2011) 52:178193 DOI 10.1007/s11162-010-9190-3

Louis M. Rocconi

Received: 23 August 2010 / Published online: 27 October 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010

Abstract This study investigated the direct and indirect relationships between participating in a learning community, student engagement, and self-reported learning outcomes. Using a sample of 241 freshmen at a single urban research university who took the College Student Experiences Questionnaire, the results indicate that after controlling for demographic characteristics and entering composite ACT score, the relationship between learning community participation and learning outcomes are mediated by students levels of engagement. Learning community participation was not directly related to educational gains but was indirectly related to educational gains through student engagement. Student engagement in turn was strongly related to educational gains.

Keywords Learning communities Student engagement Student development Quality

of effort College Student Experiences Questionnaire Educational gains Learning

outcomes

A growing number of institutions are beginning to implement learning communities as an attempt to improve undergraduate education (Shapiro and Levine 1999). By taking courses together and regularly discussing their experiences in a structured rst-year program, learning community students supposedly have better opportunities to make meaningful undergraduate experiences at college. From their humble beginnings in the 1980s, learning communities are often recognized as high impact educational practices that are positively related to students learning and success in college (Kuh 2008). While the benecial educational outcomes associated with learning community participation are well documented (Inkelas et al. 2004, 2007; Johnson et al. 1998; Shapiro and Levine 1999; Smith et al. 2004; Tinto 2000), a growing body of literature suggest that the positive relationships between learning community participation and educational outcomes are an indirect result

Paper presented at the 2010 Association for Institutional Research Conference, Chicago, IL, May 31, 2010.

L. M. Rocconi (&)

The University of Memphis, 217 Administration Building, Memphis, TN 38152, USA e-mail: [email protected]

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of higher levels of engagement for students who participated in learning communities (Inkelas et al. 2004, 2007; Pike 1999; Pike et al. 1997, 2008). Moreover, Pascarella and Terenzini (1999, 2005) recommend studies of student learning and development examine not only the direct effects of educational programs...