Talina Corvus: Creating Classroom Community

Creating Classroom Community

Today’s classrooms take many shapes. They might be a physical space in a brick-and-mortar building, or a virtual space where people interact online. Regardless of the modality, when teachers and learners gather, there is an opportunity for a community to be built, and building classroom community is important. Studies show that students who feel like they belong to a community are more engaged, invested and motivated (Young & Bruce, 2011). Learners learn better when they are part of a flourishing classroom community–whether that classroom is physical, virtual, or something in between.  

Building community in the classroom is something Talina Corvus thinks about a lot. Talina teaches in three different programs for Pacific: the Doctor of Physical Therapy program, the Interprofessional Education program, and the PhD in Education and Leadership program, and she understands that creating meaningful community in each of her classes is critical to her students’ success. Talina is intentional about designing and facilitating activities that will help her students transform from a collection of strangers to a connected community of learners. 

For Talina, building community begins with an invitation. Borrowing concepts from Priya Parker’s The Art of Gathering, she invites her students into a learning “gathering” at the start of the course and at the beginning of each class session. As the course progresses, she reinforces routines that engage students in activities which help them connect their personal lives to the course content, while also connecting to their peers. By the end of the course, her students have not only gained knowledge related to the subject, but also have learned how to learn from each other and to be accountable for each other’s success–skills that transcend a single discipline or course of study. 

Watch the interview below to hear Talina talk more about creating a space where students can engage in community and support each other’s learning.

Fostering classroom community takes time. It requires careful, intentional thinking. It calls for responsiveness and flexibility, but the effort yields improved outcomes even beyond individual student learning. When a group of independent students becomes an interconnected community of learners creating and sharing knowledge together, then learning is maximized and all members of the classroom community can thrive.