Take your required classes in a new and innovative way!

Learning Communities integrate two or more courses using a common theme. By connecting subjects through readings and assignments, understanding of the material is easier and learning is improved. Furthermore, you'll work with the same community of students in the linked classes, helping each other succeed and making friends along the way. To enroll, simply register for the specific courses and sections in the learning community. The courses will transfer and will appear on your transcript just as they would if you took them separately.

Benefits of Learning Communities:

• Reinforcement of content in both courses.
• Opportunity to make friends and form strong bonds with fellow students.
• Built-in support system.
• Increased interaction with the faculty.
• Courses offered at prime times.
• Courses often offered back-to-back in the same room.

Spring 2019 Learning Communities

What Doesn't Kill You:  Stories of Survival and Perseverance

We’ve all been told that “what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger.” But what does it mean to survive? And how can a person move from merely surviving to actually resisting or promoting social change through one’s survival? This learning community of ENG 112 and COM 111 will explore unique stories of survival that persist in modern culture. We will look at how cultural roles, economic circumstances, and political issues can create struggles one must “survive” in order to create change. Through your own writing and speeches, you will be able to add your own perspective and aim to promote change through informed and well-researched data. This is a great way to get your ENG and COM credits together and drastically increase the impact of your written and verbal communication skills. Let’s survive college together! 

Prerequisite: English 111.

Just Us:  Social Justice for a Just World

Is this the kind of society and world in which you want to live? In this cluster, you will investigate, discuss, and speak out about social justice issues you care about most. Find out what activists are doing to address injustices in areas such as civil rights, criminal justice, the environment, foreign policy, immigration, labor unions, privacy rights, social class, women’s rights and more. Learn how to advocate for the principles you believe in and create a more just society. Learn how to let your voice be heard!

Prerequisite: Eligibility for ENG 111 or ENG 115 or ENG 121.

Mind over Math

Do you have anxieties and fears about learning math? Do negative thoughts interfere with your self-confidence and test performance? Join this learning community to explore principles of psychology and apply them immediately for success in your math class. You will learn about the physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral aspects of math anxiety. With new insights about motivation, memory, and learning, you will discover new study approaches that work for you. New perspectives and strategies will empower you to enjoy learning math and take tests with new-found confidence. 

Prerequisite: Achieve an appropriate score on the Mathematics Placement Test or successful completion of an approved mathematics preparation course.

Our Body, Our Voice

Did you know your mindset about health influences your behavior? Your food choices will determine how you feel today, tomorrow and in the future. Explore your health and enhance your wellness while learning how to influence others to do the same. Students will learn about the dimensions of wellness and research current health topics to persuade an audience to make healthy lifestyle changes! Learn how to take care of your body and how to use your voice to impact global wellness. This course is a step towards delivering effective messages, setting specific goals to gain self-confidence and creating a healthier you.

Calculus and Physics: The Language of Our Changing Universe

We are surrounded everywhere by a continuously changing world, and calculus is the mathematics that describes this continuous change. Over centuries, the origins and development of calculus were motivated and driven by problems in physics. We will examine ways in which this particular language of mathematics helps us understand and describe the forces of physics at work in our dynamic universe. We will see how many important concepts in physics, including projectile motion, force, work, energy, momentum, inertia, can be described and deeply understood using the language and techniques of calculus. 

Prerequisites: Eligibility for ENG 111 or ENG 115 or ENG 121; completion of MAT 191. NOTE: Students must sign up for the lab component, PHY 211LB, of the General Physics class.