ais capstone native american learning community

Running head: LEARNING COMMUNITY 1

Proposal for Inter-Tribal Student Learning Community

at the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire

Joelle Edwards

4/19/16

Dr. Barker

American Indian Studies Capstone

University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire

LEARNING COMMUNITY 2

Inter-Tribal Student Learning Community at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire

Introduction

As campuses are striving to become more diverse, one question universities are facing is,

“How do we successfully help and retain these students?” This question can be answered in

many different ways, but one answer is the popular topic of learning communities. Learning

communities are changing the way students and professors are engaging in education, while also

increasing retention rates and student satisfaction. Learning communities are specially designed

cohorts of first year students who take classes together which are centered around a common

theme. These students work one-on-one with faculty to develop relationships and support

systems within the university. Forming these bonds with faculty, staff, and other students is

helping student’s overall satisfaction academically and socially. As the University of Wisconsin-

Eau Claire starts to think about its future and increasing the diversity of its campus by 20 percent

by 2020, it also needs to be thinking about implementing programing to help those additional

students succeed. I am prosing that the creation a Native American learning community would

be a strategy not only to increase diversity, but also to increase retention rates, grade point

averages, and overall student success.

Challenges faced by multicultural students

Multicultural students are slowly increasing their numbers on college campuses and

while this increase in numbers looks good on paper, it is important to acknowledge the unique

challenges these students face in regard to success in higher education (Soria, 2012). It is often

argued that universities are not ready to take on this challenge and have not prepared themselves

to help their students overcome obstacles (Jehangir, Williams, & Jeske, 2012). For example, first

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generation college students are four times as likely to drop out of a university after the first year,

compared to students who are not first generation college students (Soria, 2012). According to

Shapiro (2008), 67 percent of white students who enter a university graduate within six years;

but compared to their African American counterpart, only 46 percent obtain a degree within the

same timeframe. This trend continues throughout undergraduate years because only 11 percent

of these first generation college students obtain a degree within the same time frame (Soria,

2012). These challenges can stem from students’ feeling isolated, feeling as if they do not belong

or having multiple identities, financial hardship (Soria, 2012), no guidance from parents

(Jehangir, Williams, & Jeske, 2012), unequal academic preparation, and family burdens

(Guiffrida & Douthit, 2010). As the statistics show, just because a student is accepted to the

university does not mean that s/he has overcome all the obstacles. The research on learning

communities gives insight on how to combat the issues of low graduation rates and increase

success of multicultural students through these programs.

Learning communities’ success for multicultural students

There is a great deal of research from academia that is supporting this idea of learning

communities having the power to close achievement gaps between first generation and/or

multicultural students and their peers (Shapiro, 2008). This achievement gap not only includes

increasing graduation rates, but overall higher retention, grade point averages, student

involvement, and greater student satisfaction academically and socially (Tennessee Tribune,

2012). Learning communities reduce the likelihood that students will experience depression,

anxiety both socially and academically, overall distress with adjustments and clash of viewpoints

during their transition into the university (Flynn, Duncan, Jorgensen, 2012). Forming these

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groups can be seen as parallel to forming any kind of community, where people can feel as if

they belong, thus enhancing learning and meaningful interactions (Gilroy, 2004). This

community is formed around more than just the idea of taking classes together; it is centered

around a theme which is transferred across the courses and allows for a shared experience to take

place amongst the students (Brighton & Phelps, 2012). This component of shared experiences

involves collaboration with professors, an advisor, and students’ involvement on campus.

Learning communities’ inclusive environments are changing the way we view education

for diverse groups of students. Research is showing that faculty and staff, such as professors,

who understand the barriers that their students are facing are more likely to empower their

students to achieve at the highest level (Flynn, Duncan, & Jorgensen, 2012). Professors and staff

are going beyond simply being invested their students’ academically, but creating environments

that encourage different perspectives and growth as individuals (Jehangir, Williams, & Jeske,

2012). This environment then allows for connections to happen for multicultural and/or first

generation students with their professors, because oftentimes students are uncomfortable forming

these bonds. One student in Gilroy’s (2004) study shared his reaction to his learning community

by saying, “It [the learning community] really helped me make the transition to college, and I got

to build relationships with my professors.” (2) These classrooms also give students the

opportunity to reflect on themselves and their experiences in order to increase their personal

development and combat the internal conflicts they may be having (Jehangir, Williams, & Jeske,

2012). Another student reported in this same study that within the class reflections he was able to

express his anger about racism and how unprepared he was for higher education. Through these

reflections he was able to reflect on what he deeply cared about and thus formed a career path

(Jehangir, Williams, & Jeske, 2012). This reflection then allows for sharing of experiences and

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perspectives and gives students and the professor the opportunity to learn from others and most

importantly gives the students of feeling of being valued and heard within their education

(Jehangir, Williams, & Jeske, 2012).

Another important component of the learning community structure is the student-faculty

relationships with an advisor, who is sometimes referred to as a career coach (Brighton &

Phelps, 2012), who is oftentimes of the same race or ethnicity of the learning community

students. This person works with students outside of the classroom by offering personal advising,

career development, study groups, and opportunities for campus involvement (Jehangir,

Williams, & Jeske, 2012). Aside from those developmental areas, an advisor who is

knowledgeable on cultural issues such as issues within the students’ communities and can create

a space that is supportive and inclusive around the students’ needs. The advisor also serves as

another person to seek out for help, because as students have noted within studies, it is hard to go

and ask someone of a different race or ethnicity for help because one fears they will not be

understood (Flynn, Duncan, & Jorgensen, 2012). Guiffrida and Douthit (2012) noted in their

study that African American students stated that their African American professors were

successful in helping them because they provided advising on all levels, they were advocates for

their students both at school and at home, and they continuously showed support in their

abilities. Universities have also discovered that student-faculty relationships that are committed

to collaboration and supportive environments are increasing graduation and retention rates

(Shapiro, 2008). These positive relationships and commitment to involve students on campus,

through learning communities, within and outside the classroom, are also increasing grade point

averages to the point that students are achieving honors such as the Dean’s list (Yancy, Sutton-

Haywood, Hermitte, Dawkins, Rainey, & Parker, 2008).

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Aside from being successful within the class room, students also need to be integrated

socially on campus, for example, through student organizations. Multiple studies have noted that

if students do not get involved on campus, especially multicultural students, it is often a

determining factor if they leave the university (Yancy, Sutton-Haywood, Hermitte, Dawkins,

Rainey, & Parker, 2008). Oftentimes the best way for multicultural students to feel more

included on campus is by joining a student organization that reflects the racial/ethnic identity

they associate themselves with. These different organizations can help blend together the gaps

these students are feeling between home and school life (Guiffrida and Douthit, 2012). Student

organizations can help not only socially, but can also provide cultural support, awareness, and

events that students can then partake in which helps them transition outside the classroom

(Flynn, Duncan, & Jorgensen, 2012). Students noted, in a study done by Flynn, Duncan, and

Jorgensen (2012), that getting involved in these organizations was the best decisions they made

and it was another way to feel involved and keep themselves motivated. One reason students

may feel this way is because these organizations are a place for them to truly be themselves

without being judged, so it allows students to form close relationship with other peers with

similar experiences (Guiffrida and Douthit, 2012). Learning communities are designed to give

their members positive experiences with staff and peers so that students have the confidence to

expand this beyond learning community members (Brighton & Phelps, 2012). Today the

mainstream culture is designed to detach people from their communities in order to become

individualistic, but for many students this system is failing, so instead, universities need to create

a new community that allows their students to foster growth (Drywater-Whitekiller, 2010).

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Learning community for Native American students

In particular, there is one racial/ethnic group that can benefit from a learning community

which is Native Americans. To this day Native Americans are the most underrepresented group

in higher education. It has been reported that only 17 percent of Native American students go on

to some type of higher education, compared to white peers who have a 67 percent chance of

going on to higher education (Flynn, Duncan, & Jorgensen, 2012). Along with having the lowest

attendance rates, Native American students also have the lowest retention rates of any other

ethic/minority group within this country (Drywater-Whitekiller, 2012). The rates of low retention

can be attributed to a variety of reasons including lack of mentors within higher education and in

their community, difficulty transitioning onto a college campus, conflicting worldviews, and

inadequate preparation (Bowman, 2003). Learning communities can help address these issues.

This programing allows students to incorporate their own life experiences into their school work

and the learning environment, gives them the opportunities to develop meaningful relationships

with faculty, staff, and students on campus, gives students a place to feel a sense of belonging

within the university, and can help students deal with issues of identity through reflection and

other class work (Bowman, 2003). Research has indicated that Native American students have a

better chance of succeeding if they have support on campus that is social and academic, have

tribal and community support and communication, have social events on campus and understand

their culture (Flynn, Duncan, & Jorgensen, 2012). As described in the previous literature,

learning communities offer all of these aspects through the combined courses, advisor support,

and campus involvement strategies.

However, these strategies that are typically used to help other multicultural students

succeed need to have some alterations to fit the needs of Native American students. One crucial

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change is that it is necessary to have someone who is also Native American as form of support,

preferably the advisor and/or the professor. A factor that has been pointed out in the literature is

the importance of the understanding of issues and values within Native American populations

and how those clash with mainstream society (Flynn, Duncan, & Jorgenson, 2012). This includes

understanding of family dynamics, struggle with dual identity, and cultural differences (Flynn,

Duncan, & Jorgensen, 2012).

Furthermore, research done by Guiffrida and Douthit (2012) provides useful insights on

African American success within predominantly white universities. The authors mention how it

is important to break away from family ties if they are not contributing to the academic success

of the student. This method may be helpful for African American students, but this doesn’t

always hold true for Native American students. It is important for Native American students to

have family/tribal support. This is a key value for many Natives Americans and oftentimes

family or community is the reasoning why this particular student is pursuing higher education.

To allow a student to pull away from family support or ties while they are attending a university,

could be causation for them to withdraw. This idea of breaking students away from the family

presented by Guiffrida and Douthit (2012) is again trying to move students towards an

individualist model of education, but for Native American students’ family support is key for

success. Instead of breaking this bond the advisors should be including the family with decisions,

thus allowing them to be a part of the student’s education (Flynn, Duncan, & Jorgensen, 2012).

Research has supported this claim by stating Native American students’ motivation stems from

the aspects of valuing family, giving back to their community, and/or being a role model

(Drywater-Whitekiller, 2010). Students in this study reported that careers they were pursuing

were ones which they could then serve their community, such as a tribal lawyer, social worker,

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environmental scientist, and museum director. Thus the university should not be trying to mold

these students into the mainstream culture, but rather give them the tools they need to navigate

the system (Drywater-Whitekiller, 2010).

Learning community at the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire

As the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire starts to think about its future and increasing

the diversity on campus to 20 percent by 2020, the university also needs to be thinking about

implementing programing to help those additional students succeed. Creating a Native American

learning community on campus would be a strategy to not only increase the diversity on this

campus, but to also increase retention rates, grade point averages, and overall student success. In

years past other schools have shown increase in success when starting learning communities

such as the University of Maine at Presque Isle as well as, the creation of a Native American

cultural center on their campus (Lynds, 2009). Also, the University of New Mexico reported that

students in their learning community have a second year return rate of 76 percent, as well as an

increase in Native American attendance of 107.29 percent (Gilroy, 2004). As far as campus

programing ideas, Clairmont (2014) has collected data on what tribal colleges are doing to

promote cultural preservation within the educational setting such as clan feeds and buffalo

hunting courses. The University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire could create similar events that are

altered in order to fit the needs of their students and tribal practices. Our country has failed

Native American students throughout history, and the creation of a learning community could

help decrease this achievement gap (Bowman, 2003).

Learning Communities have already been established at the University of Wisconsin-

Eau Claire so the creation of a new learning community would not be a foreign idea. The

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University already has at least seven different living learning communities as outlined in their

living learning community manual. Living learning communities are defined in the manual as

“ready-made groups of like-minded students who choose to live together, learn together, study

together, and explore topics of interest together, which results in an enhanced social and

academic experiences” (UW- Eau Claire Housing & Residence Life, 2012). An example of a

learning community on campus that catered to first generation, low income, and multicultural

students is the Blugold Beginnings Learning Community. The design of their program follows

many of the criteria that research has deemed important for success. The shortcoming of this

program is that it was not designed for a specific group, such as one ethnic/cultural group, which

is why a new learning community would be more successful. One student within the 2012 cohort

mentioned this in her interview by saying, “I think that Blugold Beginnings is not completely

directed towards students of color. Their mission of working with students of color, first

generation, and low income often times made me feel marginalized or as if the programmers

didn’t take into consideration my interest as being a person of color” (A. Tellez, personal

communication, April 21, 2016).

The creation of a Native American learning community on the University of Wisconsin-

Eau Claire’s campus would follow the same standards already provided within the manual with

strategic changes to meet the needs of their Native American students. The cohort would start off

small with a maximum of fifteen students during the first few years; this way the program can

properly serve its students. In interviews with other advisors running other successful learning

communities, a repeated theme for success was knowing how much could be done and sticking

to that. The students will take at least one course together within Native American studies in the

fall, taught by Odawa White, the senior retention coordinator for the Office of Multicultural

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Affairs at the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire. Odawa will also be the advisor for students

within the learning community.

In addition to classes, students will also be members of Inter-Tribal Student Council. This

organization will allow students to connect with other Native American students on campus who

are not learning community members. These students can serve as mentors and give guidance to

the newly admitted students. Inter-Tribal Student Council also gives opportunities to give back to

community and to be involved with bringing events to campus, such as during Native American

Heritage month. Additionally, a student involved with the Blugold Beginnings Learning

Community stated that “I really enjoyed how the older students were our mentors and where

there for us. I felt as if I could ask them anything about what it is like to be a person of color on

this campus. I think that I attribute my success to the students that I met, they made me feel not

so lonely” (A. Tellez, personal communication, April 21, 2016). As stated before in the

literature, having resources available that support an inclusive learning environment not only in

the class room but also outside of it, is critical for success. The connections that will be made

throughout campus makes the transition easier for these students.

Between classes and organization memberships, learning community students will have

outlets to explore their identity further, as well as, give them a place of belonging with students

who share commonalities. Mr. Derwin Begay the coordinator for Academic Success and

Achievement within the department of Cultural Learning Communities at the University of

Arizona, reiterated that idea in our interview by saying that these activities and involvement have

been shown to be key factors in student success and graduation because the activities and

involvement allows them to establish an identity within their new environment culturally and

socially (D. Begay, personal communication, March 22,2016). The faculty and staff who are

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working closely with the learning community students really need to have an understanding of

where the students are coming from, whether that be from different reservations, rural areas, or

cities. This factor is one determinant of services and guidance that students may need. Another

student from the Blugold Beginnings Learning Community stated, “I would consider all if not

most of the opportunities presented to me in my time at UWEC was due to the learning

community. The resources provided to me in the learning community allowed to access to

immersion experiences, an on campus job, and guidance in all areas of my life” (J. Huynh,

personal communication, April 19, 2016). It will be important for the learning community to

establish ties with different student services on campus such as Financial Aid, Office of

Multicultural Affairs, and the Dean of Students, etc. This interconnectivity will allow students to

have access points all around campus to help better assist in their transition.

Additionally, establishing ties to the Native American communities that students are

coming from is important. A feeling that many Native American students have is “how can I

better my community?” Possible ways to get community members involved is to bring in

speakers from different tribes to talk about different tribal practices or people who have different

career experiences to give students networking opportunities and future career ideas. Oftentimes

a push behind students’ educational goals is to help their tribe. Giving students opportunities to

fulfill this goal in college can be a way to help them persevere through higher education and give

students an idea of what a future career could look like. Giving back in college can come in the

form of service learning, outreach programing, or a development of a senior capstone project.

All of these different components of a learning community are important for the success

of the program and the students, but in order to determine if everything is properly working

together there also needs to be assessment. This assessment is to ensure that students are

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progressing, engaged, and satisfied with their education experiences at the University of

Wisconsin- Eau Claire. Yancy, Sutton-Hayword, Hermitte, Dawkins, Rainey, and Parker (2008)

have outlined in their article ways to assess these three questions. In order to assess students’

progression one would look at students’ grades. To assess engagement, the authors recommend

using the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). “The NSSE is an instrument used to

measure the extent to which students engage in effective educational practices that are

empirically linked with learning, personal development, and other desired outcomes such as

student satisfaction, persistence, and graduation” (Yancy, Sutton-Hayword, Hermitte, Dawkins,

Rainey, & Parker, 2008, pg 253). To answer the third question of students’ satisfaction, one

would conduct end-of-semester surveys that gather students’ opinions of classes, professors,

advisors, the extent to which they utilized campus services, and overall satisfaction of the

learning community in helping them be successful in transitioning into the university.

Having this assessment will ensure that the learning community is meeting its goals and

is helping students in the way it designed to. The assessment can give insight on how programing

needs to be different for the next year and where the program is successful. The assessment also

gives statistics of success rates in areas such as grade point averages and trends over time. These

statistics become valuable when presenting for funding and providing proof that the learning

community is successful.

Inter-Tribal Student Learning Community

As previously stated, the first cohort of the Inter-Tribal Student Learning Community

students would ideally consist of ten to fifteen students. Having a smaller group of students

allows for connections and impacts to be made without overstretching the program within the

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first year. During the spring semester of 2016, Odawa and I have been working to recruit

students to join the learning community in the fall. This recruitment involves attending tribal

education fairs at tribal centers or community colleges. Once a student has been accepted to the

university, personal recruitment outreach has been done. The personal recruitment outreach

involved calling the admitted student and inviting the student to ask any questions they may have

about the university, asking the student about their interest in joining the Inter-Tribal Student

Learning Community and stressing our support to the student on their future decision. These

recruitment calls are also followed up with an email from Odawa, again congratulating them on

their acceptance and proving them with the sign up form for the learning community. These

recruitment strategies are very important in securing students because this outreach makes the

student feel cared about and that the student already has a support system at the university, if the

student chooses to attend the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire.

When it comes time to move onto campus, learning community students will have the

opportunity to move in early. During this time, they will meet their fellow cohort members and

the faculty and staff involved with the learning community. They will have a variety of activities

planned in order to get them acquainted to the university and help with the transition to campus.

Examples of planned activities are a feast and social, a walking tour of campus which will

include showing students where their classes will be held, and a variety of team building and ice

breaker games.

As far as classes go, the learning community cohort will be taking two courses together

both in the fall and in the spring. In the fall students will take American Indian Studies 101,

which is going to be taught by Odawa White. The other course will be general education 100,

which is a common course taken by many other learning community cohorts. The combination

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of these two specifically chosen classes allows for the transfer of ideas and overarching concepts,

which has been previously outlined in research to be effective in the learning process and overall

transition to the university.

In addition to classes, there is a calendar of events planned out for the school year with at

least two events planned per month. In September students will attend the Office of Multicultural

Affairs welcome back picnic and the Multicultural Leadership Retreat. The events allow

opportunities for new incoming students to meet other students and staff involved in within the

Office of Multicultural Affairs. In addition, students will be encouraged to join the Inter-Tribal

Student Council, which has meetings on a weekly basic, as well as attend monthly Indian Nation

Speaker Series. Involvement with this student organization and speaker series allows students to

connect with other Native American students on campus, learn more about their culture and

heritage, and unite with tribal community members. Through Inter-Tribal Student Council

students will help create and oversee events for Native American Heritage month in November.

The Native American Heritage month events include ask an Indian panel, speakers, feasts, and

the Honoring Education Powwow. Participating in these events can give students an outlet to feel

as if they are giving back to a larger community, learning skills that can be used in future careers,

and educating others about their culture.

Conclusion

Native American students are the most underrepresented group in high education with

only 17 percent pursuing some type of higher education (Flynn, Duncan, Jorgenson, 2012).

Native American students also have the highest dropout rate of any other ethnicity in the United

States which is 29 to 36 percent (Flynn, Duncan, Jorgenson, 2012). Research has indicated that

15


Native American students have a better chance of succeeding if they have support on campus

that is both social and academic, have tribal and community support, and resources that are

understanding of their culture (Flynn, Duncan, & Jorgensen, 2012). It is also critical that these

connections and support occur within the first year The Inter-Tribal Student Learning

Community would be beneficial not only to the students it will be serving but also to this

university for a variety of reasons, especially helping increase the diversity at this campus to the

goal of 20 percent by 2020. The integration of course work, student-staff collaboration, and

culturally responsive programming geared towards Native American students’ needs will help

this campus be a leader for the education of Native American students.

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References

Bowman, N. R. (2003). Cultural differences of teaching and learning: A Native American

perspective of participating in educational systems and organizations. American Indian

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courses. Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 29(3), 22. Retrieved from

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Clairmont, T. (2014). For Future Generations. Tribal College Journal, 25(3), 26-28.

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Development: JCD, 90(4), 437-449. Retrieved from


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Counseling & Development, 88(3), 311-318

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Jehangir, R. & Williams, R. & Jeske, J. (2012). The Influence of Multicultural Learning

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doi:10.1177/0042085912440417

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