One component of the Denver Transfer Initiative’s Title V grant activity is developing and offering Learning Communities” at CCD and UCD. 

What is a Learning Community?  (taken from Kirby, University of Wisconsin, 2000: http://www.uwsp.edu/education/lkirby/LC/1%20Definition.htm

 According to Rasmussen and Skinner (1999) a learning community, very broadly defined, is “curriculum design which coordinates two or more courses into a single program of instruction.” They continue to say the strength of learning communities is in the integrated approach to education. Integrated educational experiences more closely parallel the way people learn and are more relevant to real world events. Students have the opportunity to see topics from multiple, sometimes even conflicting, perspectives, allowing for more critical thinking. (Rasmussen and Skinner� 1999, http://mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/ilc/monograph/index.html) 

Fall 2007 – “Dev. Ed.” Learning Community:  During the fall 2007 term DTI offered a developmental education Learning Committee (LC) for 19 new or recent CCD students participating in the DTI program.  The LC integrated the curricula and instructional strategies of ENG 090, MAT 060 and AAA 090 (study skills).  Our instructors were Lisa Silverstein (ENG), Jeramey Pickett (MAT) and Ranee Cervania (AAA). Very early in the semester three students either dropped or withdrew due to personal and/or financial reasons.  Of the remaining 16 students who continued, a total of 14 (88%) successfully completed all three LC courses with a grade of C or higher, and continued to attend in spring 2008.  This constitutes a semester-to-semester retention rate of 88%, which is much higher than the national year-to-year retention rate for community college students of 51% (ACT, 2005).     (Possible link to LC photo?  See attached – maybe Katie could crop and brighten it?)

Spring 2008 - “Transitional” Learning Community:  For the spring 08 term DTI offered a “transitional” LC for these same 14 students, which integrates ENG 121 (English Composition 1) with MAT 090 (Introduction to Algebra).  Lisa Silverstein and Jeramey Pickett are again teaching the LC.