The Value(s) of Building Intellectual Community in our Classrooms

Students need to get comfortable with (i.e. to respect and to not be scared of) each other, to listen well, and to speak thoughtfully, so that as members of an intellectual community (e.g. a classroom), they can maximize potentials for discovery and reflection, by making the most of classroom activities, such as discussion and group projects. In creating a classroom community that encourages respect and risk-taking, students are more likely to become aware of and, ideally, to become conscious agents of the "making" of knowledge, i.e. students begin to see that the construction of knowledge is a social act, that what we think we know and why have consequences in a social setting, and that in many ways, what counts as knowledge is determined by the setting within which it is constituted -- by the field, the classroom, the texts, the teacher, and the students, for example. Too, by working to build community in a classroom, the members of that community learn to attend more closely to others -- especially to other (unfamiliar) concepts, texts, and people. So, the most effective communities are those in which members are both demanding and forgiving -- those that allow members the space to try out new ideas and to potentially make mistakes, but that will not lapse into relativism (i.e. will call its members out, will hold them accountable for their work, beliefs, etc). In sum, the most successful communities (classes) are those where the students feel like members of the community, where they are not receptacles into which the teacher deposits "knowledge," but are active participants (not by being complacent but by being conscious learners -- and critics) in the construction of knowledge.

How to Build Intellectual Community: Goals and Requirements

Goal: Modeling for students what intellectual community feels like and demonstrating what its rewards are. Requirements: . Trust: the more of it there is, the greater the payoff; encourage students to engage in public (intellectual) risk-taking and exposure of their ideas; feedback needs to focus on supporting their willingness to try, not just rewarding them when they're "right." . Intellectual Commitment: classes need clearly articulated expectations for intellectual participation. Students can be part of this process: instructors can have the class work together to articulate goals/criteria for each assignment and for larger class components, like class discussion. Too, those expectations for intellectual participation should be consistent in all class assignments. For example, intellectual activity in the online arena needs to be infused with the same expectations of intellectualism as any other classroom activity . Deep Integration: All assignments -- whether completed in or outside of class -- should be fully integrated into the course. For example, online community and in-class community need to be all of one piece (online community shouldn't feel "other" than the community of in-class interaction). Want to know how to get students to participate in the online community? Model the behavior and make it relevant to your F2F interaction. Don't just do the online activity outside of the classroom. . Creative Empowerment: If possible, give students space to create part of the community themselves. Let them define the terms of the community and the kinds of interaction they want to engage in. Let them make a space for themselves. . Valuing Both Individual and Community Expression/Experience: If students feel empowered in their own spaces, they'll feel more comfortable coming together in a community. The goal isn't to just create a hive-brain. You want to make them comfortable in their own intellectual skin as well as in the community's space(s) and conversation(s).

Examples of effective online learning communities: Gardner Campbell's Rock/Soul/Progressive FSEM: (http://rocksoulprogs08.umwblogs.org) Students are blogging about class work and readings individually, the site collects all of their conversations in one place Steve Greenlaw's Globalization FSEM: (http://fsem100j.umwblogs.org) Think of using a Web site to bring together all kinds of digital activity that can foster community (blogs, wiki collaboration, social bookmarking, shared images, instant messaging) Spore Collective: (http://cgarmon.umwblogs.org/the-spore-collective-manifesto) Students in Carol Garmon's Sculpture class define the parameters of their own intellectual experience in the class, including expectations for using an online space to further the conversation.