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Community is a multifaceted and multilayered aspect of who we are as individuals. As instructors, it is important to foster a sense of community in the classroom. Research indicates that the creation and nourishment of the classroom community is beneficial to both students and instructors. However, it is equally important that students are able to identify the communities that they stem from and the community that they have become a part of by becoming a member of the university. The university is an institution with a physical place and that physical place has a deep rooted sociopolitcal history. When we acknowledge that “Chico State stands on lands that were originally occupied by the first people of this area, the Mechoopda,” we are highlighting the sociopolitical history of the physical space we occupy as a university. Recognition is important, but it is equally important that we aid in the immersion of students within the broader community that the university is a part of. Amongst other means, immersion is possible via place-consciousness pedagogy and civic engagement.
Examine selected research on community building and involvement.
Sochacki, J. (2020, March 23). A checklist for building community in the college classroom. https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-classroom-management/a-checklist-for-building-community-in-the-college-classroom/(opens in new window)
Building community. Centre for teaching and learning, Western University. https://teaching.uwo.ca/teaching/engaging/building-community.html(opens in new window)
Metzger, J. (2012). Teaching civic engagement : evaluating an integrative service-learning program. Gateways (Sydney, N.S.W.), 5(1), 98–114. https://doi.org/10.5130/ijcre.v5i0.2399(opens in new window)
Owusu-Agyeman, Y., & Fourie-Malherbe, M. (2021). Students as partners in the promotion of civic engagement in higher education. Studies in Higher Education (Dorchester-on-Thames), 46(6), 1241–1255. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1666263(opens in new window)
Ready to apply community building and involvement to your teaching? Here are some ideas and strategies to get you started:
Create a sense of community in the classroom:
Connecting to and recognizing the larger community and ‘place’: