10 Learning Communities at LaGuardia
In the previous section, you learned about the many opportunities that LaGuardia offers to find community through various clubs and organizations. Another great way to make friends and build community is to join a “learning community.” Learning communities are groupings of two or more courses, often surrounding a common theme. There are two types of learning communities: clusters (consisting of three or more classes) and pairs (consisting of two classes).
Why join a learning community?
- To make friends
- To build connections with professors
- To make connections between courses
- To take advantage of a pre-built schedule
- To go on field trips (most learning communities do)
- To participate in a showcase
- Be more successful in your courses
- Be more likely to stay in school and graduate
What exactly are learning communities?
- Two or more courses connected by a theme
- Students register for all courses in the given learning community (LC)
- Faculty intentionally develop connections between their various courses
- Assignments may build upon one another, readings may be shared, field trips may allow students to apply learned material in real-world interdisciplinary contexts
- Help students identify how their courses relate to one another
- Build student cohorts and peer support
- LaGuardia offers pairs (two courses) and clusters (three or more courses)
How do I enroll in a learning community?
- Speak to your advisor
- Look on CUNYFirst
What do students say about learning communities?
In surveys, students shared:
- “learning communities encourage leadership skills through student-led initiatives, clubs, and events. You can make a real impact!”
- “I would recommend it because it’s a fun learning experience”
- “ I have made meaningful connections with other students”
- “my professors were extremely helpful . . .. They understood our problems and tried throughout the semester to make us the best students. . . . you can have better opportunities to make a good relationship with your professors and you can easily ask them for help. They are happy if they can help you.”
- “this community can offer you a lot to grow as a leader and just human being”
Student Testimony by Chime Dolkar and TJ Coronacion
We are TJ and Chime, both Psychology majors in our final semester at LaGuardia planning on graduating this Summer 2025. We were able to be a part of the Psychology Learning Community in Fall of 2023, and this is how we began our long lasting friendship. When we started our first semester at LaGuardia, we were nervous about making friends, since we both took two years off from school post pandemic. For this specific Learning Community, we met with the same classmates four times a week. This helped us become more comfortable not only with our peers, but also allowed us to engage more with professors. We also did multiple projects that were relevant in all classes, which made the interdisciplinary learning more interesting. The coolest project we got to work on was the Global Presentation project, where we combined ENG 101 composition, MAT 120 statistical analysis and SSY 101 theories. Projects like this not only made the coursework easier, but helped students understand the importance and role of interdisciplinary cross research. Now that we have such hectic schedules, we look back on the time we spent in the Learning Community and feel grateful that we got to spend so much time together. We also still keep in contact with our professors, and the relationships we have formed during this time have helped us greatly with the transfer process. With that being said, our piece of advice would be to step out of your comfort zone, and make the most out of your time in the Learning Community by engaging with your peers and professors.
