[Music]
people don’t show up in my classes
because they want to be there in fact
most of them are scared even hate the
idea
you see I teach speech at a local State
College and for years public speaking
has been one of the top fears in America
I witness students burst into tears
run out of the classroom physically get
sick all sorts of crazy reactions and
all in the same class period teaching is
definitely not for the faint-hearted and
yet when we get to the end of the
semester it’s not uncommon for me to
hear feedback like amazing class I love
this experience and this is from the
same students who thought they weren’t
even going to survive not only do most
of them have a positive experience but
they’re actually able to demonstrate
high levels of proficiency and skill in
terms of the things that they’ve learned
how is this possible the key to deeper
learning is community now deeper
learning as an educational concept has
been around for many years and different
theorists and researchers have looked at
what are the factors that will determine
whether a student has a surface level or
deeper understanding of the topic at
hand by surface level understanding I
mean the ability to memorize information
and repeat basic tasks where a deeper
understanding has to do with the ability
to use critical thinking and synthesis
and apply what they’re learning to
everyday life it’s like a difference of
being able to memorize the Gettysburg
Address versus being able to understand
and explain concepts like equality
freedom and how they play out in today’s
society so the key to deeper learning
comes from
the collar community and when real
community is present students will
embrace fears overcome challenges and
excel in the learning environment so
what I want to talk with you about today
is what is community what are the
evidences or traits of community and how
do we cultivate this for deeper learning
communities and unique entity because it
is both a process as well as a
reflection of values our understanding
community has kind of evolved over the
years
traditionally community has been defined
in terms of proximity or locale so those
people who physically surround you so
you start a new job you sign up for a
class you move to a new house and you
find yourself in a new community the
problem though with this perspective is
just because you put a group of people
together does not mean they’ll function
well as a unit or even individually
another perspective that was popularized
by Ferdinand Tonys who’s a german
philosopher and sociologist defines
community more in terms of human
relationships and social interactions
with today’s communication technology
and social media we actually have more
opportunity than ever before to create
communities of our own we create
connections when we find people that are
like us that common traits or
experiences and we can alter our
community simply by unfriending and
unfollowing those who don’t seem to fit
and yet the problem with this
perspective is it reinforces the idea
that I only have to associate with those
people that are like me who have common
traits and experiences when in reality
not only do we encounter people who are
different from us with conflicting
beliefs and values but we often have to
work with them and then when we realize
we can’t just vote these people off the
island we decide this community’s just
not going to work this group is not
going to work so the type of community
I’m talking about here is a group of
people that come together for a common
purpose who share ideas and experiences
and the result of this is belonging and
connection people come together because
they’re involved in a comment
ask an activity or they have a goal that
they want to achieve and as they
interact and they share experiences
ideas they uncover those similarities as
well as the differences when they
recognize the diversity that’s present
and still choose to extend understanding
community develops and the byproduct of
this is a sense of belonging and a sense
of shared connection so let’s look at
that sense of belonging first recently I
had an opportunity to direct a play and
the actors and casts were made up with
mostly rookies who had little to no
stage experience so as we got closer to
the performance dates I thought it would
be good for them to get some feedback on
their acting techniques and their
characteristic characterization so they
could give the best presentation
possible so what I decided is I would
bring in some reviewers who could give
them feedback now when I informed the
cast and crew about this most of them
weren’t very excited I mean let’s be
honest we all know how much actors love
critics and yet what surprised me most
not only was how intently that they
listened to the feedback they’re
receiving but the questions that they
asked and the dialogue that ensued when
we did the next run-through the actors
continued to give each other feedback
and help each other out now what was it
that allowed them to hear difficult
things and process them in a short
amount of time
it was the camaraderie that had
developed within the group and the sense
of acceptance they had within the group
and with each other that allowed them to
apply and synthesize on a deep level
researchers at the University of
Pittsburgh as well as University of
Michigan have found a direct correlation
between a college students willingness
to persist to degree completion with a
sense of belonging the experience other
research by dr. Karen Osterman has found
that student success rates and retention
specifically in terms of motivation and
academic performance are directly
correlated with a sense of belonging
they feel in the learning environment so
belonging
is important it has to do with a
recognition that a person is part of a
group and that they matter to the group
it comes first with a willingness to
know those around them and second a
willingness to be known now it could
start on a real simple level by getting
to know the names of the people that
we’re learning with but if we’re willing
to go a bit deeper and actually share
part of our stories we can develop a
deeper sense of engagement and empathy
the other aspect of belonging has to do
with a sense of mattering not only
recognize that I’m part of a group and
that I’m added to the group but the
group matters to me it’s an
acknowledgement of the diversity and the
differences that are there and those
differences are valid and viable and in
spite of them we can still work together
the other evidence of community has to
do with a sense of belonging
it’s that acknowledgement of the
interconnectedness of the relationships
and the impact on each other several
years ago I had an opportunity to
volunteer with the Ruth house which is a
local transitional shelter for women and
children crisis and during that time I
could I was able to sit in a few of the
group sessions where ladies would talk
about the their life stories and the
challenges that they were facing the
group was pretty diverse in terms of
their ages and backgrounds and yet they
shared some similar life experiences
they were also working through the
challenges of living working and having
communal life together and in doing so
they were building a shared history now
this combined with other factors of
community that are infused into that
program has resulted in a successful
sustained recovery rate for the
participants of over three to four times
the national average
so structure is important it has to do
with the approaches that we learn in the
environment we create for learning
experiential activities and learning is
a great way of actively involving people
in the process and an example of this is
on the first day of my speech classes we
do an activity I like to call thank you
flipping me the bird and what we do is
the students take a toy birds and other
objects and they toss them around the
room and as they do so they answer
questions about their background their
interest their career goals it’s a great
way to break the ice and start the
bonding process we repeat this activity
several times to Lily there is objects
flying all over the place and then I ask
them to stop and to take in and look and
what and talk about what did you observe
what would happened here then I pose the
question how is what you just
experienced or saw anything like the act
of communication itself now it’s a
little bit off the wall literally and
yet when we come to the point in the in
our discussion where we’re trying to
unpack and explain what are the elements
needed for effective communication the
students have a common paradigm or an
experience from which they can draw so
community is important and it builds in
the 1950s muzafer sherif looked at how
the presence of super ordinate or
overarching goals impacted group
dynamics and in an experiment disguised
as a summer camp for twelve-year-old
boys he took and he is along with other
researchers orchestrated riot or these
situations where that caused tensions
and rivalries and con factions to break
up in the group what they found though
is when there was an overarching goal or
challenge that required everyone to be
involved with and to achieve for
everyone to experience success rivalries
diminished tensions vanished and
cohesion developed community is
important what we need to recognize now
is what are the challenges that lies
before us is how do we take and
cultivate this for deeper learning
whether you are a learner or a teacher
we need to recognize that community is
not inherent based on structure and
intent alone that ink requires
engagement in and with the process
so here’s what
we need to do based on everything we’ve
just talked about in order to cultivate
learn a cultivate community and that
will lead to deeper learning the first
is we need to find what that common
purpose is what has brought us together
and focus on that next we need to be
willing to embrace dissonance and that
dissonance is the tension that results
because of our differences we need to
not hide those differences but bring
them out in the open and be willing to
talk about them we also need to
recognize we don’t have to agree on
everything just the main thing and
finally we need to recognize that
sometimes conflict will result but
conflict actually is the process that
brings about understanding when we work
through improper ways next we need to be
willing to encourage respect respect for
the individuals as well as the group for
the skills and abilities that are
present as well as the future potential
next we need to value diversity and the
richness that brings to the group and
finally we need to come full circle back
to the beginning point and finding and
focusing on that common purpose and as
long as we keep that main thing the main
thing
community will result so going back to
that opening story of the kids and
students in my speech class what is it
that will turn fear into learning and
dread into positive experience well
according to what my students have told
me it’s community when students feel
like they’re in a judge free environment
they feel they’re able to stretch their
comfort zones and grow when students
feel like they know the people that are
around them they feel like they are part
of something that they’re connected and
they’re able to actually learn better
when students feel like there’s a
positive atmosphere or positive energy
they feel empowered and once people feel
like that they’re part of something
they’re able to connect more with the
people around them as well as what
they’re learning so the key to deeper
learning comes from harnessing the power
of community and when real
the community is present people will
experience a sense of belonging and a
sense of shared connection and just
think how amazing that would be if we
help people not only become better
learners but better human beings thank
you
[Applause]
people don’t show up in my classes
because they want to be there in fact
most of them are scared even hate the
idea
you see I teach speech at a local State
College and for years public speaking
has been one of the top fears in America
I witness students burst into tears
run out of the classroom physically get
sick all sorts of crazy reactions and
all in the same class period teaching is
definitely not for the faint-hearted and
yet when we get to the end of the
semester it’s not uncommon for me to
hear feedback like amazing class I love
this experience and this is from the
same students who thought they weren’t
even going to survive not only do most
of them have a positive experience but
they’re actually able to demonstrate
high levels of proficiency and skill in
terms of the things that they’ve learned
how is this possible the key to deeper
learning is community now deeper
learning as an educational concept has
been around for many years and different
theorists and researchers have looked at
what are the factors that will determine
whether a student has a surface level or
deeper understanding of the topic at
hand by surface level understanding I
mean the ability to memorize information
and repeat basic tasks where a deeper
understanding has to do with the ability
to use critical thinking and synthesis
and apply what they’re learning to
everyday life it’s like a difference of
being able to memorize the Gettysburg
Address versus being able to understand
and explain concepts like equality
freedom and how they play out in today’s
society so the key to deeper learning
comes from
the collar community and when real
community is present students will
embrace fears overcome challenges and
excel in the learning environment so
what I want to talk with you about today
is what is community what are the
evidences or traits of community and how
do we cultivate this for deeper learning
communities and unique entity because it
is both a process as well as a
reflection of values our understanding
community has kind of evolved over the
years
traditionally community has been defined
in terms of proximity or locale so those
people who physically surround you so
you start a new job you sign up for a
class you move to a new house and you
find yourself in a new community the
problem though with this perspective is
just because you put a group of people
together does not mean they’ll function
well as a unit or even individually
another perspective that was popularized
by Ferdinand Tonys who’s a german
philosopher and sociologist defines
community more in terms of human
relationships and social interactions
with today’s communication technology
and social media we actually have more
opportunity than ever before to create
communities of our own we create
connections when we find people that are
like us that common traits or
experiences and we can alter our
community simply by unfriending and
unfollowing those who don’t seem to fit
and yet the problem with this
perspective is it reinforces the idea
that I only have to associate with those
people that are like me who have common
traits and experiences when in reality
not only do we encounter people who are
different from us with conflicting
beliefs and values but we often have to
work with them and then when we realize
we can’t just vote these people off the
island we decide this community’s just
not going to work this group is not
going to work so the type of community
I’m talking about here is a group of
people that come together for a common
purpose who share ideas and experiences
and the result of this is belonging and
connection people come together because
they’re involved in a comment
ask an activity or they have a goal that
they want to achieve and as they
interact and they share experiences
ideas they uncover those similarities as
well as the differences when they
recognize the diversity that’s present
and still choose to extend understanding
community develops and the byproduct of
this is a sense of belonging and a sense
of shared connection so let’s look at
that sense of belonging first recently I
had an opportunity to direct a play and
the actors and casts were made up with
mostly rookies who had little to no
stage experience so as we got closer to
the performance dates I thought it would
be good for them to get some feedback on
their acting techniques and their
characteristic characterization so they
could give the best presentation
possible so what I decided is I would
bring in some reviewers who could give
them feedback now when I informed the
cast and crew about this most of them
weren’t very excited I mean let’s be
honest we all know how much actors love
critics and yet what surprised me most
not only was how intently that they
listened to the feedback they’re
receiving but the questions that they
asked and the dialogue that ensued when
we did the next run-through the actors
continued to give each other feedback
and help each other out now what was it
that allowed them to hear difficult
things and process them in a short
amount of time
it was the camaraderie that had
developed within the group and the sense
of acceptance they had within the group
and with each other that allowed them to
apply and synthesize on a deep level
researchers at the University of
Pittsburgh as well as University of
Michigan have found a direct correlation
between a college students willingness
to persist to degree completion with a
sense of belonging the experience other
research by dr. Karen Osterman has found
that student success rates and retention
specifically in terms of motivation and
academic performance are directly
correlated with a sense of belonging
they feel in the learning environment so
belonging
is important it has to do with a
recognition that a person is part of a
group and that they matter to the group
it comes first with a willingness to
know those around them and second a
willingness to be known now it could
start on a real simple level by getting
to know the names of the people that
we’re learning with but if we’re willing
to go a bit deeper and actually share
part of our stories we can develop a
deeper sense of engagement and empathy
the other aspect of belonging has to do
with a sense of mattering not only
recognize that I’m part of a group and
that I’m added to the group but the
group matters to me it’s an
acknowledgement of the diversity and the
differences that are there and those
differences are valid and viable and in
spite of them we can still work together
the other evidence of community has to
do with a sense of belonging
it’s that acknowledgement of the
interconnectedness of the relationships
and the impact on each other several
years ago I had an opportunity to
volunteer with the Ruth house which is a
local transitional shelter for women and
children crisis and during that time I
could I was able to sit in a few of the
group sessions where ladies would talk
about the their life stories and the
challenges that they were facing the
group was pretty diverse in terms of
their ages and backgrounds and yet they
shared some similar life experiences
they were also working through the
challenges of living working and having
communal life together and in doing so
they were building a shared history now
this combined with other factors of
community that are infused into that
program has resulted in a successful
sustained recovery rate for the
participants of over three to four times
the national average
so structure is important it has to do
with the approaches that we learn in the
environment we create for learning
experiential activities and learning is
a great way of actively involving people
in the process and an example of this is
on the first day of my speech classes we
do an activity I like to call thank you
flipping me the bird and what we do is
the students take a toy birds and other
objects and they toss them around the
room and as they do so they answer
questions about their background their
interest their career goals it’s a great
way to break the ice and start the
bonding process we repeat this activity
several times to Lily there is objects
flying all over the place and then I ask
them to stop and to take in and look and
what and talk about what did you observe
what would happened here then I pose the
question how is what you just
experienced or saw anything like the act
of communication itself now it’s a
little bit off the wall literally and
yet when we come to the point in the in
our discussion where we’re trying to
unpack and explain what are the elements
needed for effective communication the
students have a common paradigm or an
experience from which they can draw so
community is important and it builds in
the 1950s muzafer sherif looked at how
the presence of super ordinate or
overarching goals impacted group
dynamics and in an experiment disguised
as a summer camp for twelve-year-old
boys he took and he is along with other
researchers orchestrated riot or these
situations where that caused tensions
and rivalries and con factions to break
up in the group what they found though
is when there was an overarching goal or
challenge that required everyone to be
involved with and to achieve for
everyone to experience success rivalries
diminished tensions vanished and
cohesion developed community is
important what we need to recognize now
is what are the challenges that lies
before us is how do we take and
cultivate this for deeper learning
whether you are a learner or a teacher
we need to recognize that community is
not inherent based on structure and
intent alone that ink requires
engagement in and with the process
so here’s what
we need to do based on everything we’ve
just talked about in order to cultivate
learn a cultivate community and that
will lead to deeper learning the first
is we need to find what that common
purpose is what has brought us together
and focus on that next we need to be
willing to embrace dissonance and that
dissonance is the tension that results
because of our differences we need to
not hide those differences but bring
them out in the open and be willing to
talk about them we also need to
recognize we don’t have to agree on
everything just the main thing and
finally we need to recognize that
sometimes conflict will result but
conflict actually is the process that
brings about understanding when we work
through improper ways next we need to be
willing to encourage respect respect for
the individuals as well as the group for
the skills and abilities that are
present as well as the future potential
next we need to value diversity and the
richness that brings to the group and
finally we need to come full circle back
to the beginning point and finding and
focusing on that common purpose and as
long as we keep that main thing the main
thing
community will result so going back to
that opening story of the kids and
students in my speech class what is it
that will turn fear into learning and
dread into positive experience well
according to what my students have told
me it’s community when students feel
like they’re in a judge free environment
they feel they’re able to stretch their
comfort zones and grow when students
feel like they know the people that are
around them they feel like they are part
of something that they’re connected and
they’re able to actually learn better
when students feel like there’s a
positive atmosphere or positive energy
they feel empowered and once people feel
like that they’re part of something
they’re able to connect more with the
people around them as well as what
they’re learning so the key to deeper
learning comes from harnessing the power
of community and when real
the community is present people will
experience a sense of belonging and a
sense of shared connection and just
think how amazing that would be if we
help people not only become better
learners but better human beings thank
you
[Applause]
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