For new and experienced online and face-to-face instructors, or those who work with them, this session will share concrete strategies for creating community within courses, whether online or face-to-face. Strategies will cover starting the semester, building community throughout, grading class participation, and closing the community at the end of course

Marquart, Matthea S.

English

Columbia University Academic Commons

Matthea Marquart        Director of Administration, Online Campus;  Lecturer Columbia University School of Social Work Founded in 1898, Columbia University School of Social Work now offers a fully online Master’s in Social Work. For more info: http://socialwork.columbia.edu/the-student-experience/online-campus/ AGENDA: Building Community in Online and Face-to-Face Courses, from Starting the Semester to Closing the Course 1 Welcome & intro 2 What risks do we ask students to take?   3 Before the course begins 4 Community agreements 5 Community-building throughout the semester 6 Closing the community 7 Wrap up, questions, & thanks Introductions Please type into chat:  • Your city, school, and something you’ve learned or enjoyed from this conference so far • What brought you here today? AGENDA: Building Community in Online and Face-to-Face Courses, from Starting the Semester to Closing the Course 1 Welcome & intro 2 What risks do we ask students to take?   3 Before the course begins 4 Community agreements 5 Community-building throughout the semester 6 Closing the community 7 Wrap up, questions, & thanks “Learning results from what the student does and thinks and only from what the student does and thinks. The teacher can advance learning only by influencing what the student does to learn.”   HERBERT A. SIMON, one of the founders of the field of Cognitive Science, Nobel Laureate, and University Professor (deceased) at Carnegie Mellon University, from: How Learning Works: Seven Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching Why is it important for students to participate in the classroom? Why is it helpful to create community in class? Please type into chat:  • What risks do we ask students to take in class? What risks do we ask students to take in class? We ask students to be vulnerable in front of others: • Speaking in public • Volunteering to have people look at them • Admitting they don’t know the answer  • Being wrong, being right, feeling judged either way • Experiencing conflict / disagreement • Sharing personal opinions, thoughts, experiences  The other people include: • Potential crushes, exes, competitors, friends, peers • The instructor who has power over them What particular risks do you ask students to take with your subject matter? Please type into chat:  • How might students be even more vulnerable in your particular subject area? Risks in face-to-face and online classrooms Please type into chat:  • What are unique risks for students in the face-to-face (F2F) classroom? • What are unique risks for students in the online classroom? Source:  http://www.pewinternet.org/2017/07/11/online-harassment-2017/  Source:  http://www.pewinternet.org/2017/07/11/online-harassment-2017/  How can we create a classroom in which students feel comfortable taking risks? Creating, using, and enforcing community agreements Building community These strategies can help establish a respectful, supportive environment that promotes participation & learning  AGENDA: Building Community in Online and Face-to-Face Courses, from Starting the Semester to Closing the Course 1 Welcome & intro 2 What risks do we ask students to take?   3 Before the course begins 4 Community agreements 5 Community-building throughout the semester 6 Closing the community 7 Wrap up, questions, & thanks How can you start to build community prior to your first class session? Please type into chat:  • What’s worked for you in the past? • How might you start to build community prior to your first class session?   Example welcome announcement Dear Macro Community Practice Students,   Welcome to the course!  I’m delighted to be working with you this semester, and I look forward to each of your contributions to the class discussions, both in the Canvas course site and in class.  Everyone at CSSW brings a wealth of experiences to share, and the more you contribute, the stronger this course will be.   For class on Wednesday, please do three things: [continued….]   My policy is to start every class on time.  To avoid getting points taken off for lateness, please log in earlier than you think you need to log in;  this will help you deal with any unexpected technical difficulties.  I will be in class about 20-30 minutes early each week for anyone who wants to chat, ask questions, or get to know each other, e.g. so that I can be a good reference in the future.     I look forward to seeing you in class!   Best, Prof Marquart Example discussion forum Example class slide Example discussion forum Example discussion forum AGENDA: Building Community in Online and Face-to-Face Courses, from Starting the Semester to Closing the Course 1 Welcome & intro 2 What risks do we ask students to take?   3 Before the course begins 4 Community agreements 5 Community-building throughout the semester 6 Closing the community 7 Wrap up, questions, & thanks How might you create community agreements in your course? Please type into chat:  • What’s worked for you in the past? • How might you go about creating community agreements in your course?   How might you enforce community agreements in your course? Please type into chat:  • What’s worked for you in the past? • How might you react when someone breaks a community agreement?  Example community agreements: Workers and the Workplace • What’s said here stays here • Acknowledge others’ feelings;  give feedback, e.g. by saying “ouch” • Share what’s learned here • Use each other & each other's strengths as resources Example community agreements: Staff Development, Training, & Mentoring • Argue the point, not the person • Communicate respect even if you disagree • Assume good will / don’t take it personally • One mic • “Call them in, not out” • Share real world experiences • Share ideas / be brave • Don’t be afraid to shift your mental model • “Step up / step back” • Share job opportunities / network Example community agreements: Macro Community Practice Example community agreements: Racial Identity Development EXAMPLE: Racial Identity Development: Online course, First-year MSW students • Community agreements reviewed: – At the start of each class session, with potential to edit / add to the agreements – Within each small group breakout discussion  • Community agreements enforced: – In grading rubrics for class sessions – In grading rubrics for online class discussion forums – In the moment during live class discussions  Example class slide (online) Example class slide (face-to-face) Example online breakout group setup Example class participation rubric Example discussion forum instructions Example discussion forum rubric AGENDA: Building Community in Online and Face-to-Face Courses, from Starting the Semester to Closing the Course 1 Welcome & intro 2 What risks do we ask students to take?   3 Before the course begins 4 Community agreements 5 Community-building throughout the semester 6 Closing the community 7 Wrap up, questions, & thanks How might you build community in your course throughout the semester? Please type into chat:  • What’s worked for you in the past? • How might you go about building community in your course throughout the semester?   Examples of community-building strategies Class celebrations/ congratulations Community-building discussion forums Ask students to tell each other what they appreciate / respect / will miss about each other  Share fun or personal music / videos / images before class or during breaks Example class slide Example class slide Example class slide Example class slide Example class slide Example class slide Example class slide Example class slide Example class slide Example class slide AGENDA: Building Community in Online and Face-to-Face Courses, from Starting the Semester to Closing the Course 1 Welcome & intro 2 What risks do we ask students to take?   3 Before the course begins 4 Community agreements 5 Community-building throughout the semester 6 Closing the community 7 Wrap up, questions, & thanks At the end of the semester, how might you close out the community? Please type into chat:  • What’s worked for you in the past (as a student or as an instructor)? • How might you thoughtfully close your community at the end of the semester?  Is there a way to connect it to the course content?   Example class slide Example class slide Example class slide Example class slide Example class slide Example class slide Example class slide AGENDA: Building Community in Online and Face-to-Face Courses, from Starting the Semester to Closing the Course 1 Welcome & intro 2 What risks do we ask students to take?   3 Before the course begins 4 Community agreements 5 Community-building throughout the semester 6 Closing the community 7 Wrap up, questions, & thanks Takeaways Please type into chat:  • What’s one idea from the presentation or a colleague in this session that you’ll try out? • What’s a key takeaway for you from this session? Q&A If you would like to contact me: • Matthea Marquart: Twitter @MattheaMarquart or msm2002@columbia.edu • Columbia University School of Social Work: Twitter @ColumbiaSSW; Video https://www.youtube.com/user/columbiassw; Website http://socialwork.columbia.edu • All of you for your fantastic participation! • Peter Eggebraaten • Kelly Holt • Kim Langham • John Weidert • Peiyi Woo • Rebecca Chung • Kristin Garay • Steven Schinke • Craig Schwalbe • Jackie Martinez • Mary Ann Drury • Natasha Dachos • Mary-Lea Cox Awanohara • Dorothy Robinson • Mark Phillipson • Lucy Appert • Columbia Southern University • 2017 Excellence in Higher Education Conference • Columbia University School of Social Work • Columbia’s Center for Teaching and Learning   

Building Community in Online and Face-to-Face Courses, from Starting the Semester to Closing the Course

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Building Community in Online and Face-to-Face Courses, from Starting the Semester to Closing the Course

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