Did you know that ACC offers courses studying the psychology and literature of the apocalypse?  Or that it offers courses applying rhetorical analysis and composition research to discussions about the universe?  Or perhaps a course analyzing contemporary America through the lens of film and history?

Whichever area of study tickles your fancy, ACC more than likely offers a course in it.  But our school also offers something else that’s not as well-known — it offers Learning Communities.

You may be asking, “what is a learning community?”  Well, the short answer is that a learning community is essentially two courses linked together by a common educational theme, taught by two instructors.  Obviously this varies slightly course by course, but the idea is the same across the board.

For the longer answer, along with a few more about learning communities, the Arapahoe Pinnacle turned to Erica Henningson, who is ACC’s head of learning communities:

Arapahoe Pinnacle: What are the general goals of a learning community?  What do they aim to accomplish?

Erica Henningson: First, there are two types of learning communities we offer at ACC: content-content (i.e. General Psychology II and Intro to Lit) and content-skills (i.e. Astronomy I and English Comp II).

For both types, the goal is to provide students with a unique learning experience that helps them learn, understand, and analyze concepts in a deeper, more interconnected way.  Traditionally, faculty teach our own content in a narrowly-focused manner.  This is done largely out of necessity given the amount of material we need to cover in a limited amount of time.  Sometimes, students will apply concepts they learn in one class to similar concepts they learn in another class; this truly expands their understanding of those ideas.  Learning community courses serve to help students do that in the classroom.  And ideally, students also learn HOW to look for patterns and make connections between concepts and ideas in various classes beyond the learning community course. . . this is a much more complex cognitive skill that will serve students well beyond their college experience!

AP:  Are there any potential learning communities that you would like to see in ACC’s future that aren’t already available?

Henningson:  I would like to see a wide range of learning community courses – both content-content and content-skills offered at ACC.  I recently attended the National Learning Communities Conference and was surprised to find out that many colleges struggle to get faculty to buy-in to the concept and participate in offering Learning Community courses.  At ACC, the Learning Community courses that have been offered have always been faculty-driven.  This seems to be a unique feature to ACC and I would like to capitalize on this amazing asset: faculty passion for Learning Communities.

AP:  What are some of the advantages, that you have seen, to having learning communities?

Henningson:  Perception of Learning Communities – from those who have participated – is notably positive.  Students who take a Learning Community course love it!  Faculty love teaching with colleagues; it seems to enhance their own teaching across the board.

And Learning Communities are considered to be a “High Impact Practice” for higher education.  According to a large national survey (National Survey of Student Engagement), Learning Community courses have positive impact on social life, quality of interaction with peers and faculty, and persistence.  (What that means for students is Learning Communities have a positive effect on student learning and success.)   

AP:  What are some struggles you’ve seen so far with learning communities here at ACC?

Henningson:  At ACC, the biggest problem is that people (students and staff) just don’t know much about Learning Communities.  Ultimately, that often translates into low enrollment in the courses.  Everyone – students, faculty, student support services – HATES to cancel classes due to low enrollment; it’s frustrating for everyone!

Okay, but what about the learning communities themselves?  What courses does ACC specifically offer?  

ACC actually offers four learning communities for the spring semester — more than it has ever had before.  These learning communities are:

 

History and Hollywood: Screening Contemporary America

HUM 103-102 and HIS 236-101

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:30am-2:15pm

 

Life, the Universe, and Everything

ENG 122-102 and AST 101-101

Mondays and Wednesdays, 8:30am-12:15pm

 

Literature and Psychology of the Apocalypse

LIT 115-102 and PSY 102-103

Mondays and Wednesdays, 11:30am-2:15pm

 

Painting and Photography

ART 242-401 and ART 251-401

Tuesdays, 12:00pm-5:45pm

 

For a deeper understanding of what these types of courses are like, the Arapahoe Pinnacle sought out a handful of the professors who are heading the learning communities set to appear this spring: Allison Hagood and Jamey Trotter heading Literature and Psychology of the Apocalypse and Monica Fuglei and Jennifer Jones teaching Life, the Universe, and Everything.

Unfortunately, neither Lance Rubin or Daniel Gore of History and Hollywood learning community could be reached for comment, nor could Nathan Abels, of Photography and Painting.

The Arapahoe Pinnacle’s questions and the professor’s responses are below:

 

Arapahoe Pinnacle: Why would you combine these two subjects?  What inspired the combination?

Jamey Trotter: As you may know, Professor Hagood is a zombie fanatic. Being the influential presence that she is, I began watching The Walking Dead. This is a few years ago. I loved the show–sure, the zombies, but the humanity–the story of survival in a world that is still the one we know in many ways except for the little fact that all the people you knew are now trying to eat you. How the group of survivors deal with that, man, that’s a good story. I’ve been into apocalyptic literature for a while. Hagood and I may have been enjoying the fares at Ironworks Brewery one day talking about apocalyptic literature and zombies and The Walking Dead, and like most good ideas, our learning community was born on a bar napkin. Literature and Psychology are actually quite related in that there’s a strain of literary criticism that utilizes a psychology lens called “psychoanalytic” or “psychological criticism.” Also, Hagood is extremely well-read and could teach my part of the class, but she has yet to offer that.  

Allison Hagood: Jamey and I decided to combine our courses because of our shared love of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic literature. For myself, I love the genre not for whatever causes the apocalypse, but for the decisions made by the survivors – what do they do to survive? How do they decide to proceed? Do they team up with others or go it alone? What of the pre-apocalypse do they decide to keep, or to lose? How do they emotionally and cognitively respond to the apocalypse and its aftermath? These questions are what keeps me coming back to the genre, and I wanted to share that level of analysis (picking out psychological concepts) with students so that they can deepen their understanding and appreciation of any apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic fiction they enjoy – movies, TV shows, webisodes, video games, books.

Monica Fuglei: Jennifer and I attended the South Denver STEM summit, where we saw speaker after speaker discuss the importance of writing for STEM careers. The experience inspired us to collaborate on a learning community that would combine writing education with a science course. Additionally, I’ll be honest. I really wanted to work with her – I’ve never taken astronomy and the idea of getting to expand my own education while working with a colleague I respect sounded fun.

Jennifer Jones: It is easy to see individual classes as unique little islands.  I love the idea that what you learn in one and can be applied to another.  The skills gained in ENG122 directly correlate with skills needed in AST101.  I truly believe that linking these classes as a learning community will help the students succeed in both classes.

 

AP:  What challenges do you anticipate with your Learning Community?  

Trotter: This is our third year running The Literature and Psychology of the Apocalypse. I’m not saying you can anticipate every problem, but we’ve worked out most of the kinks. One challenge we embrace is we read so much excellent stuff, there is never enough time to discuss every aspect we might like to discuss. Another challenge that we’ve dealt with is narrowing down the book list; there’s so much excellent apocalyptic literature!

Hagood: The biggest challenge for this learning community has been to market it to students, to get the word out about how learning communities work in general and how our particular one is structured. Also, the coursework seems really overwhelming to students at first glance. Because the learning community is two courses but with one syllabus, the work seems extreme for students at first. Getting them to see that it’s coursework for two courses, even though the learning community is paired, is the first challenge every semester.

Fuglei: Selling students on it and filling Learning Communities is always a challenge, so I suspect that will be our biggest hurdle. Additionally, it can always be exciting and scary to change your curriculum and work side by side with a colleague, though I am looking forward to the challenge.

Jones: I agree with Monica; the big challenge is getting students to sign up.  I am so excited for this class, and would hate to have to cancel it due to low enrollment.  It has been an adventure blending the classes, I found that I have been learning a bunch about writing just preparing for next semester.

 

AP: What excites you the most about your upcoming Learning Community?

Trotter: The learning environment that forms early on. We have high expectations, and the result is the students produce excellent work. We’re all there because we really want to be there–it’s a commitment beyond normal for both the profs and the students. I love talking about the amazing works we read, and Hagood does a masterful job of utilizing those works in her psychology component. It’s really a beautiful combination of classes, and Hagood and I are a formidable combo. If I do say so myself.  

Hagood: I’m most excited to watch students realize how much more they can get out of their preferred apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic fare when they can begin to identify the psychological concepts embedded in their video games, movies, TV shows, or books, and then deepen their appreciation of the literature/genre and how it handles the psychology of survival.

Fuglei: I’m excited about so much that it’s hard to choose. For me, I’d say the top three are the chance to work alongside a colleague I respect, to watch our students become a connected cohort, and to add a fun and playful angle to the difficult content we cover.  I’m excited about teaching in a Learning Community because of the way I hear students speak about them. I have students who have been in the Apocalypse Learning Community and were so excited and inspired by the experience, you can’t help but want to be a part of it.

Jones: I am a hardcore nerd, and the thought to linking classes though the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy tickles me to no end.  I think using the book as a guide has really improved some of the lessons. Overall, this learning community will be a lot of fun and students will be able to write their own Guide to our Universe