A Message on Building Learning Communities

I am writing to share an important lesson that I have learned over the past ten years as a director of a teaching and learning center.  A major focus of my work in the center is making human connections, and I have learned that without a sense of community we can't reach those students who need us the most and those who can probably continue to carry our message.  Over the past four years, I have had the privilege to take what I have learned from my work in the Center for Excellence in Science Education and put it to use to in my First Year Seminar class for chemistry majors.  I have seen some extremely talented students slip through our hands. I believe that this happened in part because they did not find the academic sense of belonging that would have led them to continuing their degree program in chemistry.  I believe that learning communities play an important role in helping to build a sense of belonging.  A recent article by Sabrina Solanki, Peter McPartlan, Di Xu, and Brian Sato at UC Irvine, "Success with EASE: Who benefits from a STEM learning community?”, suggests I may be on the right track.

If you consider why we collaborate with our peers in almost everything we do, I am sure we would all agree that one reason is that we can’t know everything or do everything on our own.  I also think we would all agree that it is these collaborations that help to create a sense of community for us. We all live better lives because we have the support of others and a sense of belonging.   Every year we increase our Penn State chemistry community with the addition of new undergrads, grads, postdocs, faculty, and staff. 

A learning community is defined as a group of people with common academic goals, and they can be cohort-based.  Learning communities can provide a way to help to build a sense of belonging.   This fall, four new learning communities were launched with the intent of building a stronger sense of belonging for undergraduate students as well as for graduate students in our academic community.  Two chemistry learning assistants launched communities focused on preparing for graduate school and health careers, and two communities were launched by chemistry graduate students.  Our Chemistry Graduate Student Association launched “Conversations with Women in Chemistry,” and one recent graduate is leading another community focused on cosmetic science.  These communities are intended to help students to connect on another level. I  encourage you to join me in building community within our Department and I would be happy to share ideas with you anytime. 

Best wishes for your winter break,

Jackie