Standing Alone No More: Linking Research to a Writing Course in a Learning Community

Collaborating with teaching faculty is a well-established method of making library instruction more meaningful and engaging to students, and learning communities provide an excellent opportunity to work closely with both teaching faculty and a cohort of students. A typical learning community brings students together around a similar discipline or theme. The students take some of the same courses and may live together on campus. At Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, the authors of this article, one a librarian and the other a writing instructor, worked together in a learning community to support students as they mastered research skills across two courses, an information literacy course and a first-year writing course. The results of this collaboration show improved achievement in student learning outcomes and increased retention of valuable research skills in writing.