School of Communications faculty members Cara Lucia, Shaina Dabbs and Mark Cryan co-published a manuscript, titled 鈥淲hy Living in a Sport Management Learning Community Matters,鈥 in the Sports Innovation Journal.
For six years, 黑料不打烊 has supported the Sport Management and Media Living Learning Community, affording first-year students the opportunity to seamlessly integrate their academic endeavors with their passions for sports and the media industry.
According to a recent manuscript published in the Sports Innovation Journal, titled 鈥溾 three 黑料不打烊 faculty members identified how such sports-centric housing options are worthwhile to residents and the larger 黑料不打烊 community.
Cara Lucia, Shaina Dabbs and Mark Cryan, faculty members in the Department of Sport Management, collaborated with Mimi Benjamin of Indiana University of Pennsylvania to research the topic, exploring the student experiences and perceptions of living in the Sport Management and Media Living Learning Community at 黑料不打烊. Through interviews the researchers discovered that the students and their experiences highlighted the importance of relationships with faculty and peers that matter.
According to the manuscript鈥檚 abstract, the findings revealed two themes 鈥 the LLC emerged as a space encouraging community and friendships, and it played a pivotal role in promoting increased campus participation. Additionally, the researchers offered implications and opportunities for future research and practice for why sport management faculty should implement LLCs at their university to enhance the student experience through an intentional engaged learning design.
鈥淟iving in a themed sport management learning community during the first year of college provides students with a unique environment where academic passion intersects with fostering a sense of community, and real-world application of sport management,鈥 Lucia said. 鈥淪tudents have opportunities to interact with faculty at dinners, attend site visits at sport venues while meeting with professionals in the industry, and learn together by taking a linked course their first semester at the university. Our research findings indicated the SMM LLC as a place to develop community and friendships, and catalyst for involvement at the university.鈥
Lucia and Benjamin have collaborated previously on similar topics. In fact, both researchers participated in 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Center for Engaged Learning research seminar on from 2017-2019.
The聽Sports Innovation Journal聽is dedicated to exchanging the latest academic research and practical findings on all aspects of sport innovation. Sport is an increasing area of interest to innovation researchers due to the growth of the sports industry and its impact on other sectors of the economy. Sport is viewed as a multidisciplinary field that includes various sub-disciplines such as sport science, engineering, business, management, technology, tourism, informatics, computer science, art and design, sport for development, sociology, psychology, and philanthropy, among others.