ERIC Number: EJ1350063
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Oct
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0098-6283
EISSN: EISSN-1532-8023
The Relationship between First-Year Learning Communities and Academic Performance in Introductory Psychology and Sociology
Ma-Kellams, Christine; Kwon, Roy
Teaching of Psychology, v49 n4 p338-343 Oct 2022
Objective: How do learning communities influence academic performance in Introductory Psychology? Method: The present research examines the relationship between participation in first-year students learning communities and academic performance across a variety of course requirements (midterms, finals, papers, and class participation) in introductory psychology and, for comparison, sociology courses. Results: Students who took Introductory Psychology as part of a first-year-student learning community outperformed their peers (who took the same course without a learning community) on the first exam of the semester and were less likely to miss assignments but otherwise showed no significant differences on the other course assignments; introductory sociology students part of these communities showed even greater differences in performance that lasted through the end of the semester. Conclusion: First-year students learning communities offers significant albeit limited benefits for student performance in introductory courses in the social sciences. Teaching Implications: Short of institutional efforts to enact programming for first-year learning communities, introductory psychology instructors can attempt to simulate the experience of such communities by promoting a sense of belonging via extra-curricular service or discipline-related activities.
Descriptors: Correlation, Academic Achievement, Introductory Courses, Sociology, Assignments, Educational Benefits, Psychology, Undergraduate Students, Communities of Practice, Student Participation, Comparative Analysis, Sense of Community, Teaching Methods
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A