.   .WHC Home Page................ For Instructors: Faculty Guide.....................Resources for Students.....

  ...............................................2005-06 Learning Communities

Welcome to the West Hills College Bridge Program. This web-site provides Learning Community resources for college students, faculty and other interested people. This site also serves as a gateway to the Internet for Learning Community students at West Hills College.

West Hills College was recently awarded two grants to continue our ongoing work with Learning Communities. The US Department of Agriculture gave us funds to integrate Learning Community concepts into the WHC Precision Agriculture Program. For more about our USDA Grant please follow this link: Learning Communities: A New Season!

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has also recognized the college for our work in this area by granting us funds to continue the development of our Learning Communities. In connection with our work with the Carnegie Foundation, we will also develop a process to critically examine our classroom teaching and learning outcomes in order to identify, foster and publicize our best practices. For more information about the Carnegie Grant, please follow this link: Learning Communities: Onward!

WHAT ARE LEARNING COMMUNITIES?  West Hills College Learning Communities are clusters of classes and services that are linked so that subject matter and assignments are shared. Students and faculty work closely together so students receive more in-class support.  Learning Communities also include counseling specifically geared to the needs of the students and to the nature of the Learning Community classes. Additionally, Learning Communities include tutoring by a specialist who co-ordinates efforts with the course instructors.

WHY ENROLL IN LEARNING COMMUNITY CLASSES (SOME GOOD REASONS)?
  Learning Communities help students:
· Learn more and earn better grades
· Coordinate homework between classes
· Make friends through small group interaction
· Enjoy closer interaction with faculty
· Earn credit in two courses with common assignments
........................................... · Get extra help that is really geared to your needs
............................................· Develop critical thinking skills
............................................· Succeed in college!
 

WHY ENROLL IN LEARNING COMMUNITY CLASSES (BY THE NUMBERS)?
LEARNING COMMUNITIES LEAD TO COLLEGE SUCCESS!!

We have conducted  evaluations of the Bridge Learning Community classes, looking particularly at retention statistics and writing test scores. The results matched the kinds of superior gains documented for Learning Community students at other community colleges.

West Hills College Bridge Learning Community students completed their classes at a significantly higher rate than students enrolled in similar non-Learning Community classes. Retention rates for 74 Fall Bridge Learning Community students was 83.8% compared to the Non-Bridge sample of 92 students whose retention rate was 77.1%. This included students from six Learning Community classes. Retention rates were higher for Bridge students in all six of the classes.

Writing test results were even more dramatic. The average gain in writing scores for Bridge Learning Community students was 17.4%. The average gain for a similar cohort of non-Learning Community students was 6.8%. The Bridge students gains averaged 10.8% larger than the non-Bridge students.  Measured by relative size of gains, Bridge students gains were two and one half times as large as non-Bridge students!

We looked at a second sample of writing students in the following year, and we saw similar results. The average gain in writing scores for Bridge Learning Community Students was 29%. The average gain for similar non-Learning Community students was 16%. the Bridge students gains averaged 13% larger than the non-Bridge students.  Measured by relative size of gains, Bridge students gains were  almost twice (1.81) as large as non-Bridge students!

We think these results should be of interest to students who are committed to college success and to instructors who are committed to improving student outcomes. Learning Community students not only benefit by the positive relations with fellow students and instructors but  also experience tangible academic benefits by their participation in Learning Communities!
 
 

Questions and suggestions are welcome. If you would like to contribute educational materials that you have developed that are in word processed or HTML form please contact me. All of the materials on this web-site may be freely copied for non-profit use.

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