I saw him for only about 10 minutes a year, and he said, “No worries; send me a payment later.” At that moment I felt like a valued and trusted member of his community. That got me to thinking about community building in the classroom.
For decades I had been purchasing my maple syrup from the same man at the farmer’s market. I live in BC, and each winter this man lived in Quebec and harvested his maple syrup. Then each summer he would trek across Canada to bring me, just me 😉, maple syrup.
Each year he gave me his big warm smile I felt like he remembered me, but I couldn’t be sure. But when he trusted me to send him the payment later I was pretty sure he remembered me.
And that made my day.
Research has shown the power of community on our physical and mental health. Importantly, it is not just really close relationships that matter. Casual interactions matter too.
Community building in the classroom is essential to the health and well being of our students. It is one of what I have identified as the five pillars of classroom management.
What is Classroom Community?
Succinctly put, a classroom community is the group of students and teachers who work together in a classroom.
But a strong classroom community is a place where everyone works together in a supportive and collaborative learning environment. Everyone feels valued, respected and included creating a sense of belonging. This creates more motivation, engagement and makes students ready to learn.
Classrooms are social settings. In order to do their best academically, students need to have a sense of belonging. When they feel a part of a cohesive group, students are more likely to align their choices with classroom expectations and participate in learning.
Characteristics of a Strong Classroom Community:
- Mutual Trust and Respect: Everyone in the class has trust and respect for each other. This creates a safe space for risk taking and open-communication.
- Sense of Belonging: Feelings of isolation are reduced and participation is increased because every student feels a part of the group.
- Shared Goals and Values: In a community everyone is working towards shared academic and behavioral goals.
- Collaborative Learning: Shared discussions, group activities and peer teaching allows students to support each other’s learning.
- Positive Relationships: Relationships between students, and also between teachers and students, are nurturing and positive. These relationships are built through consistent meaningful interactions.
- Engagement and Motivation: In a supportive environment students are more likely to be engaged and have an intrinsic motivation to learn.
- Conflict Resolution: When everyone feels valued and feelings of isolation are reduced conflicts are resolved more constructively and can enhance understanding.
Why Build Community in the Classroom?
Academic Benefits:
A strong classroom community creates a safe learning environment, and in a safe environment students are typically more willing to take risks and participate more.
Increased Participation: With greater comfort comes more sharing of ideas. Students feel safer to ask questions leading to a deeper understanding of the material.
Enhanced Collaboration: Inside a healthier more accepting environment peer learning and group work become more effective as the students help each other more academically.
Higher Achievement: According to research, students in classrooms with a strong sense of community tend to have stronger academic results.
Social-Emotional Benefits:
Increased Engagement: Students are more engaged and motivated to learn when they feel they belong.
Emotional Well-being: The lowered anxiety and stress that occurs within a healthy classroom community creates a supportive environment, all of which leads to better emotional health for students and teachers alike.
Positive Relationships: As students build strong relationships with their peers and the teacher a sense of security and belonging is developed. This is essential for social development.
Resilience: Within a strong community student can develop the resilience and coping strategies to face challenges.
Behavioural Benefits
Lower Dropout Rates: Students remained engaged and invested in their education making the likelihood of dropping out lower.
Better Behaviour: When students feel connected to their classroom community they are more likely to make positive choices.
Fewer Disciplinary Issues: When there is a strong sense of community, there are fewer disciplinary problems as students respect and support each other more.
Increased Attendance: When students feel a part of a caring and supportive community they are less likely to be absent.
What is Community Building in the Classroom?
I believe so strongly in incorporating community building activities throughout the whole day in the classroom that I have focused my initial resources in my TPT store on simple activities that are both effective educationally and easy to incorporate at any point in the year.
I find that many simple activities activities can easily be incorporated like:
However, these are just the tip of the iceberg. Other strategies and methods include:
- Morning Meetings – use a structured format such as starting with a greeting, including a sharing time, group activity and a morning message.
- Collaborative Learning – Include group work into the day and encourage teamwork and peer support. This can be enhanced by a monthly rotation of seating arrangements that helps everyone to know everyone.
- Opportunities for Collaboration During Free Time: My students had access to a massive classroom library, which they explored together endlessly, STEM Kits, which they enjoyed together regularly, and interactive Science and Socials displays which they played with whenever possible.
- Classroom Jobs – Create a sense of classroom ownership by assigning everyone roles and responsibilities. Even better if you rotate the chores on a weekly basis.
- Restorative Practices – Hold restorative circles where students can express feelings, share experiences and resolve conflicts.
- Classroom Expectations – Work together with your students to establish the rules and expectations for your classroom. This creates a sense of shared responsibility.
- Service Learning Projects – Create a sense of civic community and nurture servant-heartedness by engaging students in local projects like a recycling program or a school garden.
The Importance of Building Community in the Classroom
Community building in the classroom is essential for creating an environment in which students feel valued, respected and engaged.
By creating a sense of belonging in the classroom we can have a profound impact on our students’:
- academics
- social-emotional learning
- and behavioural choices
It is not necessary for all of our students to be besties. My maple syrup guy and I have what is a tenuous connection at best. However, my repeated purchases have demonstrated respect for his product and integrity of the product. And his trust in me demonstrated a respect for my continued patronage and support.
By building a sense of community between our students we are creating safe touch points in their lives, and the research demonstrates the benefits of this: higher academic achievement, increased emotional well-being, better behavior, and lower dropout rates, to name just a few.
Integrating simple activities throughout the day is enough. Build classroom community through what you are already doing. The essence of a strong community is developed through the everyday activities and your consistent efforts to make each student feel like they are a valued part of the group.
With so much a stake, it is essential to prioritize community building in the classroom even if it is just by taking baby steps, one step at a time. The essence of a strong community lies in the small, everyday interactions. You’ve got this!
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