Event showcases BGSU learning communities

Organizers of the “Residential Learning Communities in Action” conference estimate some 60 educators will tour BGSU facilities and discuss techniques for establishing successful learning communities. Sociologist Dr. David Schoem of the University of Michigan, a widely known expert on learning communities, will be the opening speaker. BGSU President Sidney A. Ribeau will deliver the keynote address.

The conference is one of 10 taking place this academic year across the Midwest at colleges and universities that have embraced the innovative approach to strengthening teaching and learning. The series is sponsored by the National Learning Communities Project of the Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education at Evergreen State College and a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts. Host institutions for other open houses include Indiana University-Purdue University; the University of Missouri-Columbia, and Northern Kentucky University.

Among a select group of universities cited by U.S. News and World Report’s 2004 edition of “America’s Best Colleges” for its learning communities, BGSU now has 11 of them, some of which are “residential learning” communities and the others, “themed” communities. “Themed” communities, such as Batchelder music community, group students with common interests in a living unit.

BGSU’s profile as a leader in the educational movement has been bolstered by its faculty’s frequent contributions to the dialogue on this national trend in higher education, noted Dr. Robert Midden, director of Partners in Context and Community. BGSU and University of Michigan faculty, for instance, teamed up to create a national information clearinghouse on residential learning communities and an annotated list of those that exist on American college and university campuses.

In addition, the Chapman Community was cited as a model in the 2000 book “Creating Learning Communities: A Practical Guide to Winning Support, Organizing for Change, and Implementing Programs,” co-authored by Nancy S. Shapiro and Jodi H. Levine and published by Jossey-Bass Publishers of San Francisco.

Educators attribute much of BGSU’s success to the fact that the impetus for the learning communities comes from the faculty. This “bottom-up” development has led to greater faculty involvement and commitment, according to Dr. Thomas Klein, whose Chapman Community was one of the first residential learning communities on campus.

This involvement of full-time, senior faculty appears to have paid off in greater student engagement. Data related to student satisfaction, learning and retention provide evidence of success, reports Dr. William Knight, director of planning and institutional research at the University. Student affairs and residence life staff, meanwhile, report fewer incidents of bad behavior in the learning communities residence halls and larger attendance at hall meetings when compared to traditional residence halls.

All of Bowling Green’s learning communities will be discussed during Friday’s conference, and five residential learning communities will be showcased. They include the new Arts Village begun in August, Chapman Community at Kohl, IMPACT (Integrating Moral Principles and Critical Thinking), Health Sciences Residential Community and Partners in Community and Context, which span a range of interests and areas of focus.

Chapman has recently moved into a renovated facility at Kohl Hall that is considered a model for creating a physical environment designed and customized to support and enhance learning. Conference participants will discuss “converting a 1930s vintage residence hall into a state-of-the-art residential learning community.”

The discussion on the Arts Village will center on starting a residential learning community on a tight budget and developing an arts community. The challenges and rewards of developing a residential learning community within a professional major will be the topic related to health sciences. Discussion of teaching critical thinking and values and faculty residency with students will focus on IMPACT. Preparing students to teach in high-poverty urban schools through experiential and contextual learning will be examined through the lens of PCC.

Other topics will include managing the creation and growth of residential learning communities; the spiritual dimension of the communities; the role of residence life and models for residential learning communities, plus talks about the individual communities, and a group discussion of the costs vs. benefits of learning communities at BSGU.

(Posted October 14, 2003 )