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The Library Terrace Lounge

Fall 2020 Dominican Magazine



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This fall, Dominican opened its newest, and perhaps most innovative and collaborative space, inside an iconic, well-known space. While returning students and visiting alumnae/i will certainly recognize the familiar 70s-era Indiana limestone and Graylite glass exterior of the Rebecca Crown Library, the interior bears no resemblance to the familiar quiet research and study space of old. The completely reconstructed first and second floors of the library are now home to the Learning Commons, a space for integrative, reflective and collaborative student support and learning.



The Learning Commons is a true partnership and collaboration between the Rebecca Crown Library and the division of Student Success and Engagement. Vision and planning for the new space began in 2019, centered on the concept of “academic self” and helping students understand and capitalize on their individual learning styles.



“Everyone has their own unique way of engaging in the learning environment, and the services, resources and support of the Learning Commons will help deepen students’ understanding of their own approach to learning,” explains Barrington Price, vice president of student success and engagement. “It is a center for students to gather, to support and facilitate learning, and promote help-seeking behavior.”



The new student-centered space brings together departments and resources to enhance how students learn—socially over coffee or lunch in the Cyber Café; in a structured space on the first floor with tutors, coaches and librarians; or independent study on the second floor. Offices and services once housed in different buildings around the campus are now centrally located to better serve students.



“We held numerous meetings and focus groups, and conducted substantial research to understand how students learn best, and found that students want and need a collaborative space that promotes peer-to-peer learning, along with active and engaged library support and instruction,” explains Felice Maciejewski, university librarian. “It is a seamless space for students to get the service and support they need in one location.”



“Our vision is for students to see the library as a robust, bustling space where peers are working together, where risk-taking is good, and seeking help is essential for learning,” says Jennifer Stockdale, director of the Academic Support Center, now located on the first floor. More than 60 tutors and academic coaches are available to work with students in a wide range of areas including writing, math, finance, computer science, accounting, languages, and STEM.



Also located in the Learning Commons is the university’s Disability Support Services program that serves more than 200 students each year; services for graduate students; and the many programs supporting Dominican’s Latinx, African-American, undocumented and under-represented students. An especially exciting addition is the WeatherTech Innovation Lab, where students can learn and experiment with new software and emerging technologies including 3-D printing and green screens. Tutoring, test proctoring and collaborative spaces are plentiful, and for students seeking a more contemplative space for study or reflection, the outdoor patio is now an enclosed glass atrium with a small outdoor perimeter. The next phase of construction will include an expanded media center on the lower level with a recording studio.



While the Learning Commons represents best practices at the university level, what makes Dominican’s environment special is the focus on helping students understand their academic self.



“We are hyper-focused on individual attention and supporting students one at a time,” Price says. “We create authentic faculty-to-student and student-to-student relationships, and understand that good ideas come from working together. This is great professional development practice, as well.”



Dominican has a number of programs in place, including an academic alert system to identify students who could benefit from academic and well-being support services. Faculty, academic counselors, advisers, tutors and coaches work as a sort of “rapid response team” to connect students to the services that can help them be successful.



“Our students are truly multi-taskers and they have a lot of responsibilities outside of school,” Maciejewski says, “It is our responsibility to support them and help them navigate the academic environment so they can succeed.”



“We want students to feel comfortable building learning communities among themselves and see tutoring as an extension of a study group, not as a result of struggle or a sign of insufficiency,” Stockdale adds.



“With an inviting, welcoming space for students to gather, we hope to destigmatize help-seeking behavior and empower students to ask questions,” Price says. “This generation of students are savvy, well-versed learners and it is important to be responsive to their needs.“