Classroom Community

Students will engage deeply in classroom-based learning if they feel that they are welcomed, valuable, contributing members of a learning community, and are likely to engage less in a course in which they feel like their presence is neither noticed nor needed. One of the strategies for creating conditions that build a sense of community and reduce anonymity in the classroom is learning students names.

Here are some ideas on how to do it. Several have the added advantage of going beyond just learning names to learning more about each student’s background, aspirations, and interests.

• Photo roster/seating chart: Create a seating chart (using Table option in Microsoft Word with columns) based on where students sit; cut and past each student’s picture into the appropriate cell in the table.
• Name tents: Cut 8 1/2 x 11 inch card stock paper in half, distribute the paper and markers and ask students to form a tent and print their first name on one side and last name on the other side. Students place their name tent at the front of their desk. Collect the tents and have them available for pick up each class section, or tell students they must be responsible for bringing their name tent to each class.
• Group photographs: Particularly effective if students have already been formed into teams. Gather students in groups of 4-6 for a photograph, make prints, and circulate the photograph with a marker so that students can write their names underneath their picture.
• Video introductions: Have students fill out basic information on an index card, then line up, submit their card, and introduce themselves while being videotaped. This has the added value of being visually memorable and allowing you to hear the correct pronunciation of their name.
• Student info cards: Ask students to attach a passport size photo to an index card and add identification information (e-mail, telephone number, major, career goals, hobbies).
• Name game: Students and professor form a circle, introduce themselves and repeat names of those who have already introduced themselves. In the end, consider the entire group saying all names together. For larger classes, form more circles.
• Online self-introductions: Ask students to write a brief paragraph introducing themselves to the rest of the class and post this on a designated forum thread. If possible, ask students to post a photo of themselves or to select and appropriate avatar. To ensure that students read all the introductions, create a quiz or point-generating assignments based on details you have gleaned from the students’ introductions.
• Interviews and introductions: Students will be paired up and interview one another by asking questions (for example, What is your major? Why are you taking this course?). Pairs will then introduce their partner to the whole class.
• Academic “speed dating”: Students will go through several short face-to-face conversations with their peers, each conversation anchored by a prompt provided by the teacher and posted on a presentation slide. A buzzer is set for 2-3 minutes, and when it goes off, students must quickly find another partner with whom to participate in a brief conversation. To use this activity on the first day, create prompts that focus on the syllabus such as “What is the purpose of the assignment on page 8?”, as well as lighthearted prompts such as “Describe the most unusual or fun job you’ve ever held.”

Barkley, E. (2010). Student engagement techniques. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.