How to Build Community
A “sense of community” can be defined by the following factors (McMillan & Chavis, 1986):
1. Membership (Affiliation)
2. Influence
3. Integration and fulfillment of needs
4. Shared emotional connection
1. Membership (Affiliation)
- The feeling of belonging or sharing a sense of personal relatedness. Social presence of self and of others in the group is established.
2. Influence
- A sense of mattering. Making a difference to a group, and feeling as if the group matters to its members.
3. Integration and fulfillment of needs
- Feeling that members’ needs will be met by the resources available to and within the group.
4. Shared emotional connection
- Commitment and believe that members have shared and will share history, common places, time together, and similar experiences.
The following strategies might be used to help establish a sense of community among and between all members of the learning community, including the teacher, students, parents and others (many strategies based on the work of Palloff and Pratt, 1999):
Email, student and teacher blogs, and social networking sites can all be used to help establish communication between community members. Creative projects can be implemented to help community members get to know each other better.
- As a group leader and manager, teachers should establish a strong social presence.
- Provide opportunities for each group member to establish her/his social presence.
- Implement strategies that support an awareness of the presence of others among members.
- Group leaders (often teachers) need to be responsive to other members (quick email responses, assessments).
- Clearly communicate the purpose of the group, and ensure all group members are aware of specific goals for the group.
- Create a distinctive gathering place for the group.
- Define norms and a clear code of conduct.
- Allow for a range of member roles.
- Allow for and facilitate cooperative learning groups.
Email, student and teacher blogs, and social networking sites can all be used to help establish communication between community members. Creative projects can be implemented to help community members get to know each other better.
Reference
Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (1999). Building learning communities in cyberspace. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers.