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Learning Community Benefits to Students

Studies at colleges and universities nationwide have demonstrated that learning communities benefit students in a variety of ways:

• Higher retention rates and GPAs: Research has shown that students in learning communities have higher GPAs and are more likely to complete courses successfully than those taking comparable unlinked courses.
• Greater curriculum coherence: In a learning community, the instructors work together as a team to link the courses together, creating common topics, themes, and assignments. The result is that students learn the material in greater depth, resulting in higher levels of understanding and higher rates of success.
• An understanding of the connections between disciplines: Learning community students have the opportunity to explore topics and problems from the persepective of more than one subject area, improving their critical thinking skills and increasing their understanding of the similarities and differences between the disciplines.
• Closer relationships with classmates and faculty: Research has shown that students in learning communities are more likely to talk to classmates outside of class and to form study groups. Learning community students are also more likely to seek help from an instructor outside of class.
• A more comfortable, more interactive classroom climate: Because learning community students feel more comfortable with their classmates and professors, they are more likely to speak out and actively participate in class, resulting in a classroom that is more lively, more interactive, more student-directed, and more FUN!

To learn more about learning communities at Miramar College, click here to view a video about the program.