Building Community From the First Day

The CTL Partners with Contemporary Practices to Discuss Student Belonging and Community Building

• Podcast and article between Andy Hall, chair of Contemporary Practices (CP), and the Center for Teaching and Learning at SAIC to discuss how faculty can foster belonging in their classes.

How to Teach a Good First Day of Class (24-minute read)

• Advice Guide from the Chronicle

You will remember me: on the importance of learning students’ names  (4-minute read)

Tips for Learning Students' Names (2-minute read)

• Practical strategies for remembering student names.

Co-Creating Community Agreements (5-minute read)

• Why and how to create classroom guidelines along with the youth in your course.

Day one Survey

• Use this survey to get to know your students on the first day. We created this one for the MSP program, but it can be adapted and modified for any age group. 

Icebreakers and energizers can jumpstart connections between students of all ages! Below are some ideas:

• Using Icebreakers: Quick Guides: Teaching Resources 

• A Collection of Icebreakers and Connection Activities

• 100 ways to energize a group

Group Work

Working Together: Teaching Collaboration in the Arts (5-minute read)

• This article from the Kennedy Center focuses on performance arts but offers valuable insights into effective arts-based group learning

Collaboration is Uncomfortable- Terri Newman (20-minute read)

• In this academic article, a secondary teacher discusses how she facilitates her classroom as a community of practice.

Peer Teaching and Learning in Art Education (13-minute read)

Classroom Conflict

Getting Started with Managing Classroom Conflict (4-minute read)

• A primer on addressing classroom conflict from Cornell

Rupture – Repair (2 minute Read)

• 2-page handout from the Spokane Public School District on dealing with teacher-student conflict from a restorative stance

Addressing microaggressions in the classroom (3-minute read)

• Brief article with video examples of microaggressions with strategies for intervening when microaggressions occur in the classroom.

Restorative Questions (5-minute read)

• Reflective questions to ask individuals who cause harm and who have experienced harm.

Solution-Focused Restorative Circle (8-minute video)

• Video example of a solution-focused restorative circle in an Irish secondary school. 

Developmental Relationships - ACT for Youth (6-minute read)

• Developmental relationships are a framework for thinking about the relationships between youth and adults. This resource provides an overview of developmental relationships that links to tons of other resources, guides, and frameworks. 

Online Teaching with CS

Active Learning While Physically Distancing: Common active learning strategies and corresponding approaches appropriate for online teaching in both synchronous and asynchronous approaches - Louisiana State University

Building Community (Link from Flaxman ebook) from Small Teaching Online: Applying Learning Science in Online Classes, by Darby Flowers and James M. Lang

Faculty Conversations on Teaching and Learning: Building Community: 20-minute video - SAIC faculty

How to Build an Online Learning Community: 6 Theses, by Jesse Stommel, Digital Studies at the University of Mary Washington. Accessed May 19, 2020.

How to Build Relationships Virtually: The Ultimate Guide for Teachers: Helpful tips and tricks for building an online community - By the 'Albert' team

Zoom Camera Usage Guidelines for Students