Building a Classroom Community
Building a Classroom Community
In the week leading up to a new school year, many teachers have butterflies in their stomachs. Questions such as “What will my new classroom be like?”, “What will my new kids be like?”, “Will they like me?”, “Will I like them?”, “Will they like each other?”, “How will I get them to bond?” pop into their minds constantly.
No matter how new or experienced you are to teaching, the new school year inevitably brings about the nervousness around successfully building an inclusive and effective classroom community. Though you may not have explicitly used the term “classroom community”, many new academic year fears centre around this. In this article, we will address the following questions:
What is a classroom community?
Why is building a classroom community important?
What are some ways I can build an effective classroom community?
Where can I go to learn more about strategies for building community?
What is a classroom community?
The term community suggests a group of people, in this case students, who belong and work together in a shared space for a shared purpose. An effective community is one in which members feel safe, and fulfil their purpose optimally. When we talk about a classroom community, this means students working together collaboratively in their pursuit of learning. In a safe classroom, students accept each other for who they are. They embrace each other’s strengths and weaknesses, personalities, interests, and individuality. They support each other in becoming more confident and respectful people.. The relationships of members in communities are often characterized by qualities such as respect, caring, trust, commitment, inclusiveness, and empowerment (Raywid, 1993). In a learning classroom, students work in large groups, small groups, pairs and individually to contribute to and support each other's knowledge and skills.
Why is it important to build a classroom community?
Establishing an effective classroom community serves a purpose for schooling as well as for the world beyond school. Recent studies suggest that children who feel a sense of identity within a group are the most well-adjusted and successful in school. Interactions such as sharing, discussing, and problem-solving through different situations helps build innate qualities that students will use throughout their lives. Some of the most important skills that employers in today’s world look out for are in fact cultivated during our school years. A positive classroom community builds “people skills” through social interactions, collaboration, empathy, problem-solving, and gratitude.
Thus, building an effective classroom community sets the foundation on which students will learn and thrive. Though it takes planning, effort and time, it is essential to build this climate at the beginning of the school year to ensure that the students are then set up for the remainder of the year. Teachers who spend time doing this will tell you it is well worth it.
How do I Build a Classroom Community?
Here are some ways in which you can begin to establish an effective classroom community:
1.Focus on gratitude -
Gratitude is a powerful way for students to feel like they are a part of a community where their efforts and thoughts are appreciated. The age groups of the students involved can be a factor in determining how often and how many gratitude activities should be implemented.
For lower school or primary school students: Use activities that include guiding sentences, organizers or sentence starters to ensure that your students can be authentic in showing their gratitude to others. Be careful to ensure that each student in your class has someone who is showing them some gratitude.
For middle school + high school students: Facilitate collaborative, student-led activities that promote gratitude within the classroom. A platform such as Padlet has free versions for schools and allows students to share their own response, view each other's responses, and learn more about their peers. This practice creates a sense of inclusion and community within the classroom.
2. Set Classroom Expectations
Classroom expectations (e.g. we will be respectful when talking to each other) should be achievable by all the students in your classroom. Use positive reinforcement to highlight students who are following expectations. In some classrooms, the use of progress charts may be a motivating visual for students.
3. Celebrate each student’s individuality:
Each one of us comes from different backgrounds in society and all of us have our own stories to tell; some happy, some sad, and some exceptionally fascinating! There are always aspects of each child’s story that make them unique. Nurturing and accepting the uniqueness of every child builds a sense of self-confidence and trust, which in turn fosters community building. Use common classroom time (e.g. morning meeting, attendance) to invite students to share stories and aspects of their lives that will allow them to get to know each other more. A bio-poem (see below) is also a great beginning-of-year tool to highlight experiences, biographical information, relationships, interests, and strengths
4. Communicate during unstructured/non-instructional time:
Check-ins: Check-ins with a student can have both social-emotional and academic purposes. Educators usually begin with social-emotional check-ins to increase comfort and to build a rapport with students. Check-ins can be as simple as asking the child about how they are doing or how they are feeling emotionally. A 1:1 check-in with a child creates a safe space which in turn builds trust and a sense of worth. As the year progresses, teachers can use check-ins to talk about academic matters as well. Check-ins with your students sets you up nicely for point no. 5
5. Be your child’s champion:
“Every child deserves a champion – an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be!” ~ Rita Pierson
Conclusion
The time invested at the beginning of the year to build an effective classroom community is well worth the planning and effort from teachers, to ensure happy students and a culture of learning. Fostering skills such as awareness, appreciation, respect, open-mindedness, and problem-solving sets students up for success not only in your classroom but also into adulthood.