The design and implementation of a mathematics learning community

We describe the design and implementation of the Mathematics Learning Community structured as a cohort-based and faculty-mentored group composed mostly of underrepresented minority students in mathematics. The Mathematics Learning Community’s goals are: (i) to increase the number of students majoring in mathematics at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, (ii) to improve the retention and completion rates, and (iii) to increase the number of students pursuing advanced degrees in mathematics. The design is innovative in a number of ways including its focus on a single discipline, its inclusion of both graduate and undergraduate students in the same learning community, and the use of student vertical tutoring, and faculty mentoring, among other things. The inclusion of upper-level students appears to have reduced the unintended negative effects of typical student-centered learning communities. Although the program is relatively new, the Mathematics Learning Community has been successful by a number of different measures.