(800) 966-7943
Learning Communities
Note: The following article describes learning communities at Cochise College. To learn more, contact the Professional Development and Learning Innovations office.
Students learn to collaborate, collaborate to learn
A public mural recently unveiled by local college students is the result of an innovative teaching and learning initiative that has taken off at Cochise College.
The painting at Prestige Assisted Living is a community service project that was planned and completed by students enrolled in “learning communities” courses. A learning community is a group of students enrolled in two or more classes with two or more teachers who work together to create connections among the subjects they’re studying.
“When you learn as a group, you get a 
lot of help and input from other students because you’re all in the same classes,” says Cathy Hayostek, an art major who enrolled in Design Fundamentals and Survey of College Mathematics, which were taught collaboratively last fall. Instructors participated in both classes and used art assignments to demonstrate math concepts.
Learning communities have been offered at Cochise College on a limited basis for years, but pairing courses became a regular practice in 2001, when the college received a federal grant to improve student retention and learning. Since then, the college has averaged three learning communities per semester, blending everything from history and English to art and math.
“The idea behind learning communities is that most students, especially first-time students, are more likely to learn, succeed, and stay in college if they feel that they are among friends they can trust doing things that are interesting and worthwhile,” says Dr. Janet Martinez-Bernal, a languages instructor overseeing the grant.
Martinez-Bernal points to national statistics indicating students with learning community experience feel better about studying and study more effectively, stay in college longer, succeed at a higher level in completing their programs of study, and develop more self-confidence than comparable students who lack a learning community experience.
Cochise College Instructors Dave Pettes and Ruth Britton began collaborating to teach sociology and reading/study skills in 1998. They use a sociology textbook as material for the study skills class and require students to complete extensive reading, critical analysis assignments, quizzes and exams. An analysis of their efforts over six semesters from fall 1998 to spring 2002 showed that as of fall 2002, nearly 75 percent of the students who took the collaborative classes were still pursuing their educational goals at Cochise College.
“Once students complete our class, they have successfully met a true academic challenge and are well-prepared to succeed in college-level courses as evidenced by their exemplary, almost unheard of, retention rates,” an analysis report states.
At the end of this semester, the students who created Prestige’s desert landscape mural will receive six college credits – three each for Appreciation of the Visual Arts and Essentials of Communication. Instructors discussed themes that were common to both classes, including the media, censorship, freedom of expression, manipulation, culture and diversity. In addition, the students spent about six class sessions working together on the mural.
Student Kilee Harden enjoyed painting the mural even though she’d never taken an art class. Harden said the class spent the first session in a debate about color, appearance, and how to complete the project. Painting began with each student working on a different section of the mural; however, the class quickly recognized that unless everyone had the same vision, the sections would never blend together. So they agreed to focus on individual strengths, with some students painting the background and others focusing on the details. Student AJ Biami described the finished product as “a collage of ideas” because it involved so many people.
“The mural gave everyone a chance to practice communication skills as we made decisions, negotiated, and persuaded each other on how best to proceed,” says Dr. Macaela Cashman, the art instructor involved with the project.
The response of learning communities participants is overwhelmingly positive. Students who enrolled in an Elementary Algebra-Building Self-Esteem learning community last fall petitioned to continue the same learning community format for Intermediate Algebra. And English Instructor Jay Treiber credits a collaboration between Composition and Survey of Western Civilization courses with making students more comfortable in class and more willing to do the required writing.
“It’s working very well. The students really are a community,” Treiber says. “We’re definitely going to keep on doing this for a while.”
Cochise College is planning five additional learning communities next year, including an eight-credit fundamental chemistry-general biology course that will help aspiring nurses, and an online course pairing general biology with ethics.
Although 2006 is the final year that the college can count on grant money to fund new learning communities, the institution intends to continue offering the classes. In her post as director for professional development and learning innovations, Cashman is helping to develop learning communities across the district.
She also plans to promote student involvement in service learning projects similar to the one at Prestige. The assisted living facility wanted to put up a mural for two years before it became a class project for Cochise College students.
“We’re proud to be able to do something for our community,” says theater student Jenifer Talbot. “It’s heartwarming to be able to leave something for the residents.”
CC Home | Site Map | Contact Us | Need Help? | Text View Default View
Cochise College - Cochise County, Arizona • All rights reserved 2005, 2006