By: Laura C.

Education is an experience that takes place when the right atmosphere is created.  Building a sense of community in the classroom, where students feel engaged, uplifted, supported, and empowered is one of the most crucial elements necessary for fostering student learning and success.

Creating community in the traditional classroom can already be a challenge; so how then can it be created in a purely online setting?  Oftentimes, online education is deemed inferior because this community factor is regarded as lacking or missing altogether. 

As an online instructor, I can attest that building community in the online setting is 100% possible!  Although different from the in-person context, online community is just as viable, and impactful on student learning, as within the traditional setting.  Below are my top tips for building community in the online classroom.

Investing in relationships and creating a welcoming vibe from the beginning is paramount.  I have found that the first few minutes of class time are most crucial for building trust.  The following icebreaker activities have served well:

Teacher – Student Interaction

• Daily Share-Out:  Share everyday experiences or something interesting that is currently going on in life.  Sharing pictures or videos can greatly enhance this activity.
• 5-Minute Conversations:  Find a shared interest and discuss the topic for the first few minutes.  Beginning this quick conversation with a catchy phrase (like “Calling all Superheroes!” or “Calling all Foodies!”) and proceeding with a few leading questions helps to break the ice.
• The Good, The Bad:  Share one good or bad thing that has happened that day or week and discuss its impacts.  Although usually more successful in subsequent sessions, I have found that inviting more serious conversation can lead to stronger bonds of trust that serve to nurture future sessions.

Student – Student Interaction

Stimulating student interaction during class is also key to building community.  The best sessions are always the ones in which I step back and watch my students learn from each other.  I intentionally build interactivity into my classroom through:

• Group Work:  Allowing students opportunities for one-on-one or small group collaboration invites students to get to know each other and build friendships.
• Student Presentations:  Allowing students to teach one another class content, showcase their own knowledge and expertise, and field questions from peers creates a professional student-led learning community.
• Interactive Technology:  Some of my favorite resources include class polling with real-time results, as well as creating Padlets or Jamboards together.

Teacher – Parent Interaction

Keeping an open line of communication between teacher and parents is essential for building community, especially online.  I assure parents they are invited and encouraged to be involved by:

• Providing Resources:  Providing information up front alongside regular updates on student progress and what to expect keeps communication steady.  Examples include beginning-of-the-year handouts and routine newsletters.

Simply Being Available:  This is perhaps most important.  Parents want to know that their questions and concerns are guaranteed an efficient and sufficient response from their child’s teacher.

Read more about “Formative Assessments that Entertain“, “The Marvelous Mentimeter“, and “Tips to Engage Learners of All Ages“.