Join Wendy Riggs, MS, for a deep dive into the difficulties of building a community in online classrooms and how to overcome these barriers using technology. A sense of community is usually developed among students and educators when working in the same room. This sense of community is essential for student learning. COVID-19 has changed the educational landscape, and more instructors are being asked to deliver some (or all) of their STEM classes online. Teaching online poses a significant challenge to the development of a sense of classroom community, often because instructors are already spread thin by the demands of creating high quality, fully-online lecture and lab content. Despite a lack of training and experience with online teaching, fostering a sense of community and collaboration in an online classroom is critical for facilitating an empowering education. In this webinar, Wendy will talk about the important role that a sense of community plays in spaces of learning, the barriers educators may encounter when trying to teach online classes, and sustainable strategies for doing it anyway.

1. Creating
Community
in Online
STEM Classes
Wendy Riggs
College of the Redwoods Icons by Agata at https://goodstuffnononsense.com

2. I am delivering this webinar from my home, which sits on Wiyot land in
Eureka, CA on the shores of Humboldt Bay. Eureka sits on land known in
the Wiyot language as Jaroujiji, where you sit and rest. This land is next
to Humboldt Bay, known as Wigi, after a story of how the bay became a
saltwater bay. This is the traditional homeland of the Wiyot peoples of
the Wiyot tribe, Blue Lake Rancheria, and Bear River Rancheria. Despite
actions sanctioned by the local, State and Federal governments
designed specifically to remove the Wiyot (and other indigenous
peoples) from this land and destroy their cultural practices, Wiyot
people remain on these lands and practice ceremonies central to the
maintenance of their traditions, culture, and landscape. They continue
to shape the history and knowledge of this place and are actively
working to restore the land stolen from them.
Please educate yourselves about the humans whose lands you live on
and the cultural heritage of the people who have been forcibly removed.
Source: The Clarke Museum Land Acknowledgement
Image of Humboldt Bay (in the public domain)

3. Engaging with
each other
during this
webinar
• Chat
(moderated)
• Questions
(via Q&A)
• Twitter
(#HAPSchat)

4. Purpose 1. Why community?
(so many reasons)
2. Online?
(I wonder…)
3. Solutions!
(try this!)

5. A. Absolutely!
B. Yeah…
C. Maybe…
D. I don’t think so…
E. Nope.
POLL 1: Do you think “community”
impacts learning?

6. Community matters
Students learn more when they feel
connected to their learning community
“Instructor-student relationships lie at the heart
of humanizing, serving as the connective tissue
between students, engagement, and rigor.”
Pacansky-Brock et al (2020)

7. Connections matter…
The most important quality in a friend is:
o Being there when you need him/her
o Listens to you and understands you
o Always has your back
Creating Birds of Similar Feathers: Leveraging Similarity to Improve
Teacher-Student Relationships and Academic Achievement
Gehlbach et al (2016)
If you could have one thing in common
with your teacher, which of the following
would it be?
o Sense of humor
o Interest in the same subject matter
o Mutual respect
o Similar personality

8. A. Absolutely!
B. Yeah…
C. Maybe…
D. I don’t think so…
E. Nope.
POLL 2: Have you ever been part
of a meaningful online
community?

9. What are the qualities of this online
community?
• How do you know it is a community?
• What does it feel like?
Respond in the chat

10. Online community works!

11. Online community works!
 Shared interests

12. Online community works!
 Shared interests
 Respect

13. Online community works!
 Shared interests
 Respect
 Love and trust

14. Online community works!
 Shared interests
 Respect
 Love and trust
 Bang for your buck
(your time spent is worth it)

15. Online community works!
 Shared interests
 Respect
 Love and trust
 Bang for your buck
(your time spent is worth it)
 Effective technology

16. It must be intentional
Creating community is just as important
as content delivery because…

17. It must be intentional
Creating community is just as important
as content delivery because…
…if you don’t, content delivery is less
likely to work.

18. Image from Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0

19. Invite students in
We cannot force folks to form community.

20. How?

21. How?
 Trust students

22. How?
 Trust students
 Imagine students

23. How?
 Trust students
 Imagine students
 Help students

24. How?
 Trust students
 Imagine students
 Help students
 Pester students

25. How?
 Trust students
 Imagine students
 Help students
 Pester students
 Share your joy

26. How?
 Trust students
 Imagine students
 Help students
 Pester students
 Share your joy
 Love them (bell hooks)

27. Humanizing strategies

28. Humanizing strategies
1. “Getting to know you” quiz

29. Humanizing strategies
1. “Getting to know you” quiz
2. Introductory discussion

30. Humanizing strategies
1. “Getting to know you” quiz
2. Introductory discussion
3. Fact sheet

31. Humanizing strategies
1. “Getting to know you” quiz
2. Introductory discussion
3. Fact sheet
4. Facilitate group work

32. Humanizing strategies
1. “Getting to know you” quiz
2. Introductory discussion
3. Fact sheet
4. Facilitate group work
5. Make human videos
(your webcam is your student)

33. 6. Weekly check-ins
Humanizing strategies

34. 6. Weekly check-ins
7. “Like” comments
Humanizing strategies

35. 6. Weekly check-ins
7. “Like” comments
8. Liquid syllabus
Humanizing strategies

36. 6. Weekly check-ins
7. “Like” comments
8. Liquid syllabus
9. “Best by” dates
Humanizing strategies

37. 6. Weekly check-ins
7. “Like” comments
8. Liquid syllabus
9. “Best by” dates
10. Clear communication policies
Humanizing strategies

38. 6. Weekly check-ins
7. “Like” comments
8. Liquid syllabus
9. “Best by” dates
10. Clear communication policies
11. Facilitate student-student connections
Humanizing strategies

39. Just a few more resources…
 Archived professional development series
 Entire Canvas course (search CVC-OEI adoptable in
Canvas Commons)
 The Peralta Online Equity Rubric
➢ Rubric
➢ Research for criteria
➢ Bibliography of research
 Everything Michelle Pacansky-Brock (@brocansky)