Cultivating a Learning Community

March 25, 2021

Particularly in an online course, transforming a class of individual students into a collaborative and cohesive learning community can increase engagement and satisfaction, which leads to retention and student success. However, it rarely happens by accident.

As educators, we know that building community in the online environment increases the likelihood of student success. Finding ways to concretize something as ephemeral as ‘a sense of belonging’ can be difficult.
Melissa Wehler

Quick Reads

Quick reads are short articles and videos that reflect on or summarize current thinking, research, or experiences related to the topic.

Five Ways to Build Community in Online Classrooms

From Faculty Focus - Being deliberate, consistent, and relentless, we can build communities in our online courses that help students to connect with not only with the course materials, but with one another.

Active Learning while Physically Distancing 2.0

A google doc outlining common active learning strategies adapted to various online environments including synchronous, asynchronous, limited access, and a physically distanced classroom.

Four Types of Discussion Forums in Online Courses

Often discussion forums are the challenge for you and students and can fall into a ‘typical’ structure. Dr. Judith Boettcher shares different strategies and formats for utilizing the discussion function for different teaching purposes.

Tips for Facilitating Asynchronous Discussions

Our Online Education team has pulled together effective tips for facilitating this way of engaging with students unique to the online environment.