Classroom Community | instructored

Teachers Promoting Synergy by Creating a Sense of Classroom Community

Objective

Engagement with peers leads to higher motivation and active learning. Creating a Learning Community will allow the learning capabilities of students to synergize and encourage exponential growth.

We have to start with the emotional needs of students, as in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, students must feel comfortable in their learning environment and welcomed to put themselves out there to potentially make mistakes.

Reflective

This makes sense; in a receptive environment students will be supported to flourish. In the article Back to School: A Surefire Strategy for Building Classroom Community by Anne Shaw, she discusses how through the ‘Take What You Need’ exercise and circle time, she is able to create community in her classroom. I think these activities are great not only for students to create relationships with each other but to ensure the classroom atmosphere is open to opinions and ideas from all.

Interpretive

Motivation and active learning are needed to achieve a student engagement in the classroom. A great place to start with achieving that is by creating a positive learning environment where students feel free to express their opinions and beliefs and explore their creativity. By creating this classroom environment, teachers are able to promote synergy and collaboration in the classroom. As Maslow’s hierarchy of needs suggests, human beings need a safe environment where they can trust and rely upon their classmates.

Cold classrooms where no two students ever talk to each other will not only negatively impact the students overall perception of the class but also impact their ability to learn. I have been in both situations as a student where the students never talked, and the room was an eerier silence before the start of class, and I have also been in classes where students create those sought after relationships that encourage and promote each other’s learning.

Decisional

I think it is always good to start a course out with student introductions, as well as a teacher introduction, perhaps even go through a get to know one another exercise asking each other personal questions and sharing answers.

I want to start off each class with a group chat, asking some guiding questions to see how things are going with each individual on their job.

Questions such as:

Have you come across any issues with the system while doing your job lately?
Is there something specific about the system you would like me to demonstrate to you, or any areas you feel slightly confused about and could use further clarification?
Have you found any short cuts or tricks that have helped you in your job that you would like to share with the rest of the group?

From this I can guide my lesson to focus more on specific issues that the students come across, as well as to create an environment where they can feel free to discuss challenges or even topics that trainers may have missed. By providing the opportunity for students to teach other students, this encourages student directed learning, as well as providing me the teacher with tips and tricks that the students have come up with.

Shaw, A. (2013, August 13). Back to School: A Surefire Strategy for Building Classroom Community. Retrieved May 29, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/back-to-school-strategy-building-community-anne-shaw

Barkley, E. (2010). Promoting Synergy between Motivation and Active Learning. In Student Engagement Techniques - A Handbook for College Faculty. San Francisco, California: Jossey Bass.