When you think of “community,” what comes to mind?

Perhaps you think of a group living in a specific geographical location; religious groups or organizations; racial or cultural groups; neighborhoods; or activist groups.

Essentially, communities provide a sense of belonging and personal relatedness, as we all need to feel a sense of mattering. In relation to this, humans are social beings. This means we all yearn for close relationships and friendships, which communities often deliver.

In addition, communities offer a network of support and a place to share thoughts, experiences, and ideas, while being a source of inspiration and motivation. This encourages people to think bigger and achieve more.

Another great component of a community is the pool of resources available. Whether the passing of knowledge amongst its members; local classes, programs and services; local events; or the connections that evolve, resources are one of the major assets of any community.

While there are many other facets of societal communities, let’s focus on a smaller subculture – schools. Often overlooked or not necessarily described as a “community” by the larger population, schools are extremely important to the growth of any society. Therefore building community in the classroom should be a top priority for educators.

What is a classroom community, you may ask.

Similar to communities outside of the school, a classroom community serves as an empowered learning environment where scholars feel a sense of value, belonging, and connectedness to their peers, as well as their educators. In essence, building a sense of community in the classroom fosters and promotes the building of strong ties, positive social skills, and academic achievements (often displayed via student portfolios).

The classroom is a major community for each and every scholar, as it presents a unique opportunity for them to have some regulation over their worlds. By creating a learning community in the classroom, scholars become an active participant in their immediate learning spaces. They learn to trust one another; are empowered to contribute to boost the success of the group; and are willing to collaborate and negotiate.

While there are several, some of the benefits of building community in the classroom are: 11. A sense of unity in the classroom is cultivated 12. Improves the scholar-educator relationship 13. Promotes scholars’ engagement in school 14. Resiliency is developed 15. An anti-bullying environment is promoted 16. Collaborative learning is encouraged 17. Scholars develop better communication and conflict resolution skills 18. Scholars become more compassionate, helpful, and tolerant of others

Supplementary to the aforementioned benefits, creating a classroom community is one of the most efficient and effective classroom management strategies. As students begin to bond and act as a cohesive group, misbehaviors, as well as disruptions are significantly reduced.

That being said, you may be wondering how to create a sense of community in the classroom at your school.

Building community in the classroom and instilling a “community” mindset amongst scholars is fun, and has never been easier. Aside from a lack of imagination, there are no limitations as to what educators can try. It all depends on classroom culture, the scholars, and finding what works best.

Below are 5 ways to build community in the classroom:

Establish a regular morning meeting, whether once per week or daily. Choose a theme and allow each student to participate. Example: Every Monday morning, tap into the concept of Think Pair Share and allow students to share one goal they wish to accomplish by the end of the week.

Create a “We” jar. Assign a number of marbles to a specific task or goal. As scholars accomplish their goals, they earn marbles, which are placed in a jar. Once the jar is full, the scholars collectively choose their prize. Example: When the entire class submits a homework assignment, 2 marbles are earned. Or, when everyone earns a 70 or above on the daily quiz, 3 marbles are earned.

Break bread with scholars. Periodically invite scholars to eat lunch with you. This can be in conjunction with something meaningful such as, the end of state testing or because everyone did well learning a specific unit.

Use technology tools. ClassDojo, a communication app for the classroom, is a great tool to encourage community in the classroom. It allows teachers, parents, and scholars to connect and share videos, photos, and messages throughout the school day. ClassDojo supports the creation of a positive classroom culture, by allowing teachers to send messages of encouragement and acknowledgment, no matter the skill or value (i.e. being kind or acing the math quiz). It also gives scholars a voice through their platform portfolios – they’re able to display what they learn by uploading videos and photos to their profiles.

Create a class flag. Allow every scholar to take part in the decision-making process of designing the class flag, from the initial draft to the final product.

Creating and nurturing a classroom community requires planning, practice, and patience. It can be challenging at times, but exploring and implementing community building ideas for the classroom is well worth the effort.

I remember my struggles as a student who wished to be invisible in the classroom, and grew up thinking that I can never be smart enough as my grades were below average. My teachers did encourage me sometimes, but it didn’t make sense as nothing brought my grades up. I gave up! I didn’t have Mojo as a friend to tell me that if I don’t know it yet, I just have to try harder or try it differently.

I am in love with ClassDojo. Everyone knows it. According to my students, I am the “best ClassDojo teacher in the world.” I shriek out loud when a new video is released, when there is a new update, and I love that this is a tool that I can use with all of my grade one to eight students. In my twenty years of teaching nothing has enhanced and improved my teaching like ClassDojo!

If you’re a teacher, you already know how important it is to establish and maintain communication between school and home. You value parental involvement for field trips, class parties, classroom volunteers, and of course, for supporting your students’ academic growth. If you’re like me, you love when that school-to-home communication is convenient, time-saving, and up to speed with the fast pace of today’s technology-driven world. Sound familiar? That’s where ClassDojo comes in.

You, as an adult, go to Starbucks and pick between the comfy chairs, the small table, the large communal table, or even the high bar where you can stand or sit on a stool. So, why can’t a child make a choice for where they want to work? Where they will work best? Won’t they do better work if they are in control and comfortable?

The key words are: INDEPENDENCE and CHOICE

You may have seen the “no homework” letter I wrote last week. It ended up being shared quickly by thousands around the world when Samantha Gallagher, the parent of one of my students, put it on Facebook. My only intention in writing it was to explain ― to the 21 parents in my class ― that I would no longer assign nightly homework to my second graders, and to explain why I thought it was in the best interests of their children. I had no intention of sparking a worldwide conversation. But I’m grateful I did.

Tasia Fields: “Parents and I have become partners; we’re in it together”

For teachers like Tasia Fields, connecting with parents hasn’t always been easy. Working at a Title I school in Chicago, where four in five students come from low-income families, communication barriers come into play — from language to parents working multiple jobs.

Tasia recently talked to some of our team about how ClassDojo has helped her overcome these barriers and build a classroom community for her fourth grade class.

Why do you love being a teacher?

Education is a real passion for me, so I enjoy all aspects of it. As a classroom teacher, hands down the best part is getting to help kids grow and change over a year — which sounds like a long time, but it’s really not! And the biggest changes aren’t always academic. It can be things like confidence, which is so important. It’s a powerful realization to know you can help create an “Aha!” moment for your students.

Is there a recent “Aha!” moment example you can share?

Yep! There’s a young boy in my class who is so capable of working to his highest potential but somewhere along the line he started to believe he couldn’t. This year, I’ve been encouraging him to go after challenges and push himself. Most recently we’ve been preparing for an exam and I saw he wasn’t sure of himself. But I encouraged him and he did a practice essay for me. I could tell he was nervous — but I loved it! I told him: “I told you you could do it if you practiced!” You could just feel his confidence rise as he started to believe in himself more. The next day when he took the exam he felt prepared, and he did wonderfully.

ClassDojo really helps with this – helping us all talk about these non-cognitive skills that are so critical – like confidence and not giving up. When everyone in my classroom believes these skills are important, and encourages them, students feel empowered to grow.

What does classroom community mean to you?

For me, a classroom community is a group of individuals working together – where there is trust in the environment, it’s comfortable, students are able to struggle and have success, and you have a set of shared values. It’s a community that’s not isolated to the room – it includes parents and other teachers. ClassDojo helps me build this community.

Before you started using ClassDojo, what were some of the challenges you faced in creating this sense of community – are they now easier to overcome?

Before I felt I was limited to a community within my classroom; it stopped at the four walls, and I was the only adult really involved in it. What ClassDojo does is extend the whole feeling of community so it overlaps into other places – parents and families at home, other teachers in the school. That makes us all feel more connected, and trust each other more.

Has forming a relationship with parents been hard?

I teach at a Title I school that is 80% lower income. Work schedules can be really crazy sometimes – so in the past, it has been very difficult. All that changed once I started using ClassDojo. It helps bridge that gap like nothing I’ve ever seen. Parents may not have internet access, but everyone has a smartphone. Because I’m sharing pictures and messages, it helps parents see school as a safe place, and brings them into the classroom experience. Being able to have real, ongoing conversations back and forth with parents really develops personal relationships with them, and helps us operate as a team instead of in silos. It means I’m no longer a “foreign” entity: we’ve become partners, and we’re in it together.

Are there certain features you really love?

The picture messaging capability is amazing – being able to snap a quick picture and send it home. Many parents of my students don’t speak English at home and pictures are a universal language everyone understands. Plus, I love that I can see when parents have read the messages with the ‘read receipts.’ I wear a lot of hats during the day and this way I don’t have to worry about messages reaching or not reaching them.

Have there been any benefits for you personally?

It makes teaching a lot easier for me. There are so many times that parents will send a message that says “thank you!” It’s simple but it really helps me feel that appreciation and support from home that makes a big difference!

What advice would you give new teachers?

Think about your students first – always ask yourself how will your practice benefit your students? Otherwise don’t bother with it. And relax – it’s okay if it doesn’t go perfectly to plan, be flexible and go with it!

Do you think apps like ClassDojo would have made your life easier starting out?

Absolutely! I wish it had been around then – it would have really helped me to bridge that gap between home and school, which would have made a big difference to my effectiveness.

What was the best response you got from a parent to sharing a photo or video?

The best response was, Wow, thank you so much, I love seeing my kid’s work in the classroom! !🙂

From self-confidence and encouraging curiosity to healthy attitudes and life skills, the first teachers to appear in a child’s life are the parents. The educational journey begins almost immediately after a child is born, and learning remains constant from that point on.

Through love, motivation, and encouragement, parents help form the foundation for their child. Kids’ overall character, desire to learn, and interests are great factors in the success and sustainability of their learning.

That said, there comes a time in every child’s life when they must leave the nest to embark on a new experience – to begin school.

School is not only a place where the parent-created foundation and skills are enhanced by formal teaching, it’s a place where new relationships will be born. Two of the most obvious relationships are peer-to-peer and student-to-teacher. But, often times people forget that another pertinent relationship is the parent-teacher dynamic; there is no better combination when it comes to the success of a child’s educational experience.

We hope you and your class enjoyed this year as much as we did. Our team has been reflecting the last few days on what we’ve done well, and what we’d like to do better next year. As we were doing that, we thought students might love the same activity !🙂

You can now download a Certificate of Achievement, celebrating a year well done, as well as an “End of Year Reflection” worksheet. Download now.

We hope your class has fun with this!