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Residential Learning Communities: Knowledge, Connectedness and Involvement
Monica Kimbrell, Dana McGuire, Samantha Mills
Background & Significance
Living On-Campus @ VT
• Traditional Residence Hall
• Living Learning Communities (i.e. Residential Learning Communities)• Academic major
communities
• Enhanced learning communities
• Residential colleges
• Themed housing
http://www.housing.vt.edu/llc
What is a LLC/RLC
• Target first year students
• Promote learning while sharing living space
• Grouped by• academic discipline• specific support service• extracurricular interests (wellness or community
service)
• Main objectives:• student development • student success Zhao & Kuh,
2004
Benefits of RLC
• Community
• Academic support
• Social support
Domizi, 2008
Student Involvement Theory
Positive Linear Relationship
Student Involvement
Student learning & personal development
Astin, 1999
What do students say about RLC ?
• More engaged
• Perceive RLC to be more socially & academically supportive
• Easier transition to the next academic year
• Positively enhance academic experience
Inkelas & Weisman, 2003; Wawrzynski & Jessup-Anger, 2010
Slusher Hall & The Wing
• Traditional halls
• LLC• Themed housing
• The Wing
• Application process
• Seminar course
• Focus on academic & essential life skills
• Target population: first year students
http://www.housing.vt.edu/llc/communities/wing
Why study LLC?
• Highly discussed topic
• Limited research
• Value to community
Tinto, 2003
Purpose
• Examine and compare the experiences of students living in a traditional hall and students living in a LLC
1. Why do students choose their preferred living arrangement?
2. Do RLC residents have more knowledge about and access to academic and social resources?
Traditional Hall
Hypothesis
We believe that the results of this study will demonstrate that students who participate in LLC during the first year of college will have access to more academic and social resources than first year students who do not participate in LLCs.
METHODS
Snowball!
Traditional Hall
What we did…
• Two focus groups
• Semi-structured format
• 30 minute recorded sessions
• Analysis• Listened for themes individually• Further developed themes as group
What we found…
What do you do?
Intramurals
Traditional Hall
What if you were struggling?
Traditional Hall• All were aware
of academic resources
• Learned through scavenger hunt in wing class
• Seek help fromhall mates
• One member on academic probation• Knows all resources -
now
Need academic help?
“It’s neat that we know where they are”
Need academic help?
“I’m sure there’s a lot we could do, but that’s all we would do. Everything we need is on our hall.”
Traditional Hall
How or did you know/decide about LLC?
Traditional Hall• Learned
through family or friends
• One learned once on campus
• Aware but uninterested
• Reasons: • All same major
• Students in LLC on different academic level
• Wanted co-ed hall
• “Way too serious, or kind of a joke”
• Reasons: • To make friends
• Location
• Desire to be with first-year students
How or did you know/decide about LLC?
“We know about them;
We don’t care.”
Traditional Hall
Relationships on and off hall?
• On floor relationships were very strong
• Off floor relationships were not as significant
Traditional Hall
How or did you know/decide about LLC?
“The people on my hall are my family...”
Traditional Hall
Connected to VT Community?
Traditional Hall• Felt connected
to community
• Equated involvement with being part of community
• “No”• All but one student
• Hall was primary community
• Felt most connected when away from campus and during football season
• One mentioned feeling most connected through athletic events
Discussion
Knowledge, Connectedness, and Involvement
• Knowledgeable about campus resources for academic support
• Connected to the floor and greater Virginia Tech community
• Involved in various student organizations and clubs
Traditional Hall
• One student knowledgeable about campus resources for academic support
• Connected to the floor, only to Virginia Tech community during big athletic seasons and off campus
• Involved in fewer student organizations, very involved in the floor (i.e. sports).
Limitations
• The group size
• Time constraints
• Groupthink
Future Research
• More focus groups with more traditional hall floors involved
• Incorporate different LLC
• Use varying types of residence halls
ReferencesAstin, A. W. (1999). Student involvement: A developmental theory for higher
education. Journal of College Student Development, 40, 518-529.
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (2010). The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://classifications.carnegiefoundation.org/
Domizi, D. P. (2008). Student perceptions about their informal learning experiences in a first-year residential learning community. Journal of The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition, 20, 97-110. Retrieved from http://www.ahsi.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/student-perceptions-about-thier-informal-learning-experiences-in-a-first-year-residential-learning-community.pdf
Inkelas, K. K. & Weisman, J. L. (2003). Different by design: An examiniation of student outcomes among participants in thress types of living-learning programs. Journal of College Student Development, 44, 335-368. doi: 10.1353/csd.2003.0027
Tinto, V. (2003).Learning better together: The impact of learning communities on student success. Higher Education Monograph Series, 1-8.
References (cont.)
Virginia Tech. (2011a). Housing and residence life. Retrieved from http://www.housing.vt.edu
Virginia Tech. (2011b). Housing and residence life: Living and learning communities. Retrieved from http://www.housing.vt.edu/llc/index.php
Virginia Tech. (2011c). Housing and residence life: The wing. Retrieved from http://www.housing.vt.edu/llc/communities/wing.php
Wawrzynski, M. R. & Jessup-Anger, J. E. (2010). From expectations to experiences: Using a structural typology to understand first-year student outcomes in academically based living-learning communities. Journal of College Student Development, 51, 201-217. doi: 10.1353/csd.0.0119
Zhao, C. M. & Kuh, G. D. (2004). Adding value: Learning communities and student engagement. Research in Higher Education, 45,115-138. doi: 10.1023/B:RIHE.0000015692.88534.de