Cultivating Classroom Community: The Evolution of a Large Education Course
Keywords:
classroom community, learning environments, sense of belongingAbstract
The author assesses the evolution of classroom community through an examination of three subsequent semesters of a large undergraduate education course at a regional, comprehensive university. The evolution and modification of course format and assignments across three semesters are treated as interventions to foster interactions among students and between students and instructor, thereby building community and more positive perceptions of this community within the classroom. Quantitative and qualitative course evaluations are analyzed using a Kruskal-Wallis One-Way Analysis of Variance procedure to examine statistically significant increases in students' sense of community and positive perceptions of the learning environment.
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