Themed Living and
Learning Communities
A Great Way to Build Connections
Presentation brought to you by Alyssa Moritz,
Resident Assistant, Lister Centre
University of Alberta
Goals and Benefits
of Themed Communities
Goals of Themed Communities
To create an environment where likeminded individuals who share a
common interest can live together
To learn about new and diverse
opportunities
To develop a strong sense of
community
To promote cohesiveness and
friendship
Essential Elements of a
Community
Purpose or common interest
Motivate others to become involved and increase
knowledge
Helps you build a network of contacts
Promotes group solidarity
Interconnectedness
Promotes involvement within the residence community
as well as with the community at large
Increased sense of responsibility and contribution
Respect for individual differences
People have different experiences and backgrounds and
themed communities unite people who have a common
interest
Essential Elements of a
Community
Integrity of the group
Promote a positive image to the post-secondary
institution and city/town
Well-being of others
People in the community feel included and
involved
Increases people’s self-esteem and self-respect
Demonstrates and promotes well-roundedness
in non-academic facets
Research and Studies
Supporting the Benefits of
Themed Communities
Research to Support Themed
Communities
A study by Vincent Tinto:
Increased awareness of individual
responsibility to learning and the
learning of others
As students learn and engage
themselves with others both
academically and socially, they
experienced higher success rates
Proof that Themed Communities
Benefit Students
In a study performed by Lenning and Ebbers
(1999), they found that :
The benefits to students who participate in
learning communities include “higher
academic achievement, better retention
rates, greater satisfaction with college life,
improved quality of thinking and
communicating, a better understanding of
self and others, and a greater ability to
bridge the gap between academic and
social worlds”
Examples of Themed
Communities
Some examples of Themed
Communities
Active Living and Wellness; Bilingual;
Volunteer and Community
Involvement; Eco-Awareness;
Outdoor Adventure; and Service
Learning
Steps to Creating a
Successful Themed
Community
Create an Idea
Think of an unfilled niche that would benefit
your residence
Develop short and long-term goals
Short-term: develop volunteer opportunities
Long-term: Further develop volunteer
opportunities into Community Service Learning
Gain support from residents, residence
staff, and your supervisors
Advertise your Themed
Community
Create bright, attractive, and easy to
read posters
Post them in high traffic areas
By doing this as your first step, you
enable students already living within
the residence to gain an
understanding of the new concept
An Example
Advertising Continued
Create a letter to mail to students who
have applied to return to residence
the following year
Detail the goals and benefits of living
on a themed floor
Describe your ambitions and personal
goals
Create Confirmation
Actively recruit students through
sending out an application form
By asking them to fill out an
application form you are gaining
commitment from students
After committing to participate in the
themed floor, they will gain excitement
and anticipation for the year to come
Creating Programs for a Themed
Community
5 key areas to focus on when building
and creating a themed community:
Diversity
Academics
Citizenship
Community
Wellness
Community: Can include, but is not
limited to building a safe and cooperative
living-learning environment based on
mutual respect, a sense of belonging, and
acceptance of all people
Programming idea: Encourage residents
to become involved on the floor, in
residence, on campus, and the larger
community through involvement in groups,
committees, etc.
Wellness: Helping residents to
become more proactive in attending to their
own mental, spiritual, physical, emotional,
social, intellectual, and environmental
health
Programming idea: Invite a guest speaker
from a volunteer organization, student
group, or another organization pertinent to
your theme
Academics: Encouraging and
strengthening academic skills and goals.
Helping residents build faculty connections
and develop living-learning communities.
Programming ideas: Exam/essay writing
workshop, invite somebody in to talk about
applying to Grad school, organize a library
crawl
Citizenship: Helping residents
become active and responsible members
of their communities by developing a
greater global understanding and an
awareness of their rights, responsibilities,
privileges, and place in the residence, city,
nation, and world
Programming idea: create a CSL project
Diversity: Helping residents
understand, appreciate, and celebrate
one’s self and other’s contributions and
unique attributes
Programming idea: have a foreign film
night or a diversity circle
Development of a
Themed Living and
Learning
Community
Step 1: Create interest
Step 2: Gather applications
Step 3: Move-In
Step 4: Create a community
Upon move-in, promote cohesiveness
and community bonding
Encourage residents to come out to
various events in the first couple of
weeks
Get people involved on the floor with
various senior positions
Bring in guest speakers and facilitate
discussions about the theme
Encourage students to become
involved on the campus community
Encourage students to become
involved in the residence community
Plan a variety of floor activities from
movie nights, dinner outings, or a
Pancake breakfast
Benefits in the Community
Students feel a strong sense of
belonging
Boost in self esteem
Healthier mind frame
Students are encouraging each other
to become involved