Freshman learning communities (FLC) are programs where 15 to 30 first-year students register for several general-education courses that focus on a common theme (Jaffee, 2004). Although there are several different types of learning communities, they all are designed for the same purposes. One of the main purposes in implementing freshman learning communities is to assist the students in their transition to a new environment. This acclimation involves becoming better acquainted with the other students, faculty members, campus culture, and academic expectations. However, with freshman learning communities also come negative aspects. Both facets must be evaluated to determine if freshman learning communities are effective.
The greatest advantage in participating in freshman learning communities is the chance to interact and socialize with a group of students known as a cohort. Lichtenstein (2005) noted that these programs are based on the premise that the better the student’s social involvement in the life of the college, the greater chance for academic success. Not only does this cohort of students assist in reducing the anxiety of the transition, but also gives students the social support needed to successfully progress through college (Engberg, 2007). Because of the small size, students are given a greater chance of participating, discussion, and overall getting to know one another. Students in learning communities not only tend to form their own support groups that extend beyond the classroom, but also spend more time together outside of class (Tinto 2000). Discussions outside of class, social activities, and study groups are all encouraged to participate in as a cohort.
Since students are usually grouped by commonalities, th...
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...s can be addressed and decreased so that the first-year students are getting exactly what is intended from the courses and activities.
Works Cited
Engberg. M. E. (2007). The influence of first-year “success” courses on student learning and democratic outcomes. Journal of College Student Development, 48, 241-258.
Jaffee, D. (2007). Peer cohorts and the unintended consequences of freshman learning communities. College Teaching, 55, 65-71.
Jaffee, D. (2004, July 9). Learning communities can be cohesive and divisive. The Chronicle of Higher Education, B16.
Lichtenstein, M. (2005). The importance of classroom environments in the assessment of learning community outcomes. Journal of College Student Development, 46, 341-356.
Tinto, V. (2000). What have we learned about the impact of learning communities on students?
Assessment Update, 12, 1-2, 12.
Upon arriving to college, many students face the challenge of finding a community to belong to. I believe the student affairs professionals on campus are the resource to building communities within the student body. Reflecting back on my first semester of college, I found my community within two organizations; Dance Marathon and UI Alumni Association Students Today, Alumni Tomorrow (S.T.A.T.). Within the organizations I met two advisers who opened my eyes to the world of student affairs.
Social capital corresponds to the production function of social connections. “By engaging in closed work systems, individual actors can tap into information channels and engender a sense of trust and reciprocity with others in the social network” (Coleman 75). Developing relationships and connections to others within a social system enables individuals to generate social capital for themselves. The study by J.S Coleman utilizes the idea of social capital to help understand how community college students may be disadvantaged by increased exposure to part-time faculty members (93).The disadvantaged backgrounds from which many community college students originate, as well as a tendency for these students to be less academically prepared than their peers in four-year institutions, may place community college students at a deficit when considering their levels of both cultural and social capital. To counteract this potential deficit, community college students may need additional nurturing and guidance from mentors and faculty members. Although social capital involves trust and a mutual exchange of information and knowledge the focus is on how social capital facilitates networks of information and knowledge. This concept considers how students can generate social capital through their connections with institutional agents. Community
Palmer noted community was not traditionally valued in objective based education. Palmer believed community is useful as students seek meaning with the resulting transcendent communal greater than sum of its parts. Community may be based on the student, teacher, patient/family, school/institution, community, nation, or world.
Dowd, A. C. (2003). From access to outcome equity: Revitalizing the democratic mission of the community college. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 586(March), 92-119.
As a byproduct of the change in college culture, it will create a “friendlier” environment for first generation. Students need to feel safe rather than out of place. Additionally, prestigious institutions need to take initiative to create new programs that will make college a painless transition for first generation students by implementing new policies such as mentors or clubs. As many colleges and universities have not taken the initiative to help first-generation students, North Carolina State University is one of the few exceptions. As a fellow first generation college student at North Carolina State University, I have reaped many benefits from the different organizations they have around campus. In the Poole College of Management, I was assigned a professional mentor in my future line of work that made the transition into college a better experience for me. After listening to his forums, I was able to use the skills I had learnt from my parents and apply it to college and my study habits benefiting me in countless possibilities. Additionally, the sociology department at North Carolina State University has created a program that guides first-generations students throughout all four years of college making the transition as
Self-discovery, preparation for life, effective education—this does not happen in college, insists Liz Addison in her work, Two Years Are Better Than Four. The best years of character growth essential in the transition to post-secondary education commonly take the form of college in the eye of the public; however, Addison believes this misconception is a result of community college not receiving fair consideration. Building a foundation for life begins most successfully at American community college, and as Addison puts it, “the philosophy of the community college, and I have been to two of them, is one that unconditionally allows its students to begin. Just begin” (212). In other words, a successful
Colombo explains that “Beginning college can be disconcerting experience” (Colombo, p.1). That there will be more peer pressure from your peers and an increase expectations that you have never faced during your high school days. “In the dorms you may find yourself among people whose backgrounds make them seem foreign and unapproachable” (Colombo, p.1). Colombo also states “If you commute, you may be struggling against a feeling of isolation that you’ve never faced before” (Colombo, p. 1).
Palmer, Parker J. “The Quest for Community in Higher Education.” Criteria 2011-2012: A Journal of First-year Writing. Eds. Mary K. Jackman and Lee Gibson. Dallas: SMU Dept. of English, 2011. 46-55. Print.
Colleges try their best to form a sense of community, but the reality is that everyone has their individual path and schedules, and one must really put in effort to have similar paths and schedules as their peers. For example, Nathan writes that everyone has different classes, meal plans, as well as extracurricular activities, which makes it hard to form a sense of community. In addition to a lack of community, Nathan also notices the lack of diversity. Again, colleges try their best to have very diverse communities, but the reality is that the majority of students are Caucasian. The lack of community and diversity shocked Nathan, because colleges make it seem like the
We can all agree, educators and future educators alike, that teaching students is so much more than just presenting information to them. There is more to learning than only speaking. We’ve all had those teachers who were brilliant in their subject area, but not brilliant in making the students know the information. These are not true teachers; they are only smart. They teach in one way only, and doesn’t believe in individualized instruction, even though we all know that “low-income students and students of color tend to feel less “connected” to their schools than affluent and Anglo students, and that older students feel less connected than younger ones” (Schaps). As a future educator, sometimes I fear that I will become like one of these teachers, and I want to make sure that each of my students enjoy coming in class to learn, and is able to apply what they’ve learned to their unique lives. So for this inquiry project, I’ve decided to focus on classroom community. I believe that every great teacher establishes this concept in his/her classroom; without this concept, learning cannot happen. In this paper, I will define classroom community, discuss different ways to implement it in every classroom, and show the results of making an effort to keep it in your classroom.
Tagg, John. “Why Learn? What We May Really Be Teaching Students.” About Campus. 2004. Print.
In this paper, I will examine the importance of interaction in constructivist online learning environment and how the community affects online learning.
In college a student should question what it means to be part of a clique. Although they were popular in high school, many students do not belong to cliques in college. In fact, being involved in a clique simply portrays a student as being scared to make new contacts and expand his or her world. In sum, how a person socializes in college can lead to one’s development or downfall. Losing track of goals is the last thing a student wishes to do. How we socialize tells our classmates and future employers who we are. Socialization in college makes us open ourselves to the world, and in so doing, we must assume responsibility for all our choices.
In June of a students senior year they are filled with a sense of accomplishment while getting there diploma and graduating after working for the past four years to get to this situation, but they don’t realize the challenges ahead of them in college life. In an article written by Dr. Brian Harke he explains that students “…are overly optimistic and confident in their ability to manage the challenges they will encounter at college. This is referred to as the freshman myth. The freshman myth results in disenchantment when new college students ' academic, social, and personal expectations are not met after arriving at college. As a result, many students will leave college or flunk out within the first year.” From personal experience I know that young adults always think they are right and they know what there doing. But little do they know they have a lot to learn about life after high school. Students may think they are ready for this transition and they get told what they need to do over and over again but its weather or not they take the
The learning environment connects the classroom to the community through a democratic approach. This community based learning brings the world into the classroom so students can implement social change and challenge social inequalities. The curriculum focuses on student experience and taking social action on real problems such as hunger, violence, and discrimination. It is important to instruct students to explore in group settings so they can work together to analyze and develop theories that can help each other and make a real different in the world. As a future educator, it is important to not only to teach my students the issues in our world, but how we can work together to find