Defining Learning Communities in the Veterinary Medicine Curriculum

Learning communities (LCs) are a type of high-impact, collaborative educational practice where students cooperate with other students in two or more classes to improve learning. Additional criteria used for defining LCs vary across the literature and have focused on high school and undergraduate programs. Similar benefits may also be experienced in professional programs; however, before further studies can investigate and describe these benefits, the structure for LCs in the veterinary curriculum must first be defined. To accomplish this, a survey instrument was developed and distributed to veterinary students attending Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine during the 2019 to 2020 academic year. The survey focused on a number of criteria and included both qualitative and quantitative questions. Criteria included demographics, prior experiences, and structure of an ideal LC. Recurring themes in the qualitative responses were identified, reviewed, and categorized based on an established coding theme. Significant correlations included an association between respondents’ opinions on the ideal number of people in a LC and prior participation in LCs; age and preference for LC focus; ideal number of LC members and LC focus; and gender identity and thoughts on LC diversity. Based on the survey results, the typical veterinary student would consider an ideal LC to (1) be selected by the students of the LC, (2) have faculty mentors, (3) have a focus on coursework with some social aspects, (4) have fewer than seven members, (5) be composed of friends, (6) meet both during and after class, and (7) be diverse.