The Dynamics of Thrive's Learning Communities

By Chris Edwards
 
KENNESAW, Ga. -- In the first-year of college, making new connections can be tough while trying to adapt to the ‘norms’ of college living.

Kennesaw State University’s now presents first-year students with an opportunity to make new connections early in their college careers through the Thrive Program’s learning communities.

In the fall semester of the Thrive Program, students are required to be a part of a learning community.

Thrive’s learning communities are composed of a leadership focused seminar class that is linked to two or more general education classes which relate to a student’s selected major.

Cathy Bradford, one of Thrive’s founders, explains that learning communities help students make early social connections with other classmates.

Students of a learning community go to class together and are likely to be familiar with most of their classmates in the classes of the community.

When a student is able to make connections with other classmates, it helps when they have a problem in class or in life.

For example, Emmanuel Brown is a fourth-year student who was a part of a business learning community during his first semester at KSU. Brown says he knew most classmates in two or three of his first year classes.

“It is nice knowing that there are people with the same interests as myself and people I can hang out with and kind of explore the college life with,” said Brown.

Samantha Abney, a sophomore Thrive student says that because of learning communities and Thrive, she is now less scared of entering a large university such as KSU

Learning communities are one of many features of the Thrive program that make the transition to college easier for first-year students.