Community building through shared practice.

Community building through shared practice. Ron Colbert, Vice President Representing Intermediate/MiddleChildhood, submitted the following article, written by Susan B. Rosa ofFitchburg, State College. What is "community"? Webster Webster,town (1990 pop. 16,196), Worcester co., S Mass., near the Conn. line; settled c.1713, set off from Dudley and Oxford and inc. 1832. The chief manufactures are footwear, fabrics, and textiles. (1976) defines community asa unified body of individuals ... an interacting population of variouskinds of individuals in a common location ... a group of people with acommon characteristic or interest," but can it be fully achieved oris it merely a "will-o'-the-wisp"? If we believe thatbuilding a cohesive cohesive,n the capability to cohere or stick together to form a mass. education community matters, then how can wemotivate individuals to participate in this process? Moreover, how canwe get educators to buy into the construct? Maslow, Adler, Dreikurs, andother behavioral psychologists suggest that what motivates humanbehavior is the desire to truly feel part of something greater thanyourself. Motivation comes from believing that who you are and thecontributions that you make truly matter to those in the group, thatyour presence and expertise increases the productivity andaccomplishments of those involved, and that a group can often achievemore collectively than through individual efforts. I have come to realize the importance of building and sustaining agenuine sense of community with faculty and students in educationalsettings. As a Behavioral Sciences behavioral sciences,n.pl those sciences devoted to the study of human and animal behavior. Division Chair and subsequently aneducation faculty member, I often have pondered whether we could build atrue community with our students if we did not have "a unified bodyof individuals" within our own departments. If community is thevehicle for purposeful pur��pose��ful?adj.1. Having a purpose; intentional: a purposeful musician.2. Having or manifesting purpose; determined: entered the room with a purposeful look. interactions and genuine progress, then how doesone go about building a cohesive community of educators within adivision or department? As Chair, I considered an approach to building agreater sense of community within my division. I began by asking facultyto consider their personal goals for the academic year ahead. At our first Division meeting, each member of the group received ahandout asking them to list their personal goals for the academic year.Each member then chose one goal that had the greatest meaning for him orher and reflected his or her vision as an educator. I collected thehandout and explained that I would compile a list of their goals,looking for Looking forIn the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. common themes/threads, and share it at the next meeting. Ialso wrote that I considered our division a community. To be part of acommunity means to know each other in the truest sense (i.e., know ourhopes, dreams, and aspirations aspirationsnpl → aspiraciones fpl(= ambition); ambici��n faspirationsnpl (= hopes, ambition) → aspirations fpl). It is through knowing that we cansupport each other and deliberately help each other achieve our goals.While compiling the lists, three common threads emerged: 1) personal andprofessional growth, 2) goals related to teaching students, and 3) goalsrelated to department websites and technology. Goals relating to relating torelate prep → concernantrelating torelate prep → bez��glich +gen, mit Bezug auf +accteaching our students seemed like the right place to start. So the nextstep involved teasing teasingthe act of parading a male before a female to see if she displays estrus, and is therefore in a state where mating is likely to be fertile. out the commonalities of our teaching practices. As a division chair, it was my responsibility to hold monthlymeetings that included all five departments--anthropology, criminaljustice, psychology, social work and counseling, and education. Althoughvaried in their focus, these departments all consisted of educators whoneeded to prepare and conduct weekly lessons for their students.Clearly, this was one aspect we shared. Therefore, I added "Sharingour teaching practices" to the monthly agenda, allowing time forteachers to discuss the activities in their classes that they consideredmost effective. When I first approached the division about adding thisnew component to our meetings, the response seemed complacent com��pla��cent?adj.1. Contented to a fault; self-satisfied and unconcerned: He had become complacent after years of success.2. Eager to please; complaisant. but notreluctant. That was all the incentive I needed. Providing a framework for this sharing would be helpful indeveloping a focus. The first topic was: "Whatstrategies/activities do you include at the beginning of the semester se��mes��ter?n.One of two divisions of 15 to 18 weeks each of an academic year.[German, from Latin (cursus) s toengage and excite (Excite.com, Irvington, NY, www.excite.com) One of the major search engines on the Web founded in 1995 and part of IAC Search & Media. Excite was acquired by Ask Jeeves, Inc. in 2004, which was acquired by IAC in 2005. See Web search engines. your students?" I put aside 15 minutes at the endof our meeting to address this first topic. Here's what happenednext. The first few seconds were painfully silent, and then one facultymember, "J," said that he provided each student in his Introclasses with a 10-question questionnaire that assessed what theyI<new about criminal justice to serve as a springboard for continuingdiscussion. "K" responded that he wouldn't want studentsto feel "tricked" into displaying their ignorance, but"J" pointed out that their misconceptions Misconceptions is an American sitcom television series for The WB Network for the 2005-2006 season that never aired. It features Jane Leeves, formerly of Frasier, and French Stewart, formerly of 3rd Rock From the Sun. could lead to aproductive consideration of why we have preconceived ideas Noun 1. preconceived idea - an opinion formed beforehand without adequate evidence; "he did not even try to confirm his preconceptions"parti pris, preconceived notion, preconceived opinion, preconception, prepossession andinaccurate information. In the interest of discussing stereotypes,"L" sometimes showed up at- her first class in a dog costume."M" also used a questionnaire for openers and asked hisstudents, "What have you always wanted to know aboutpsychology?" He sometimes gave short answers or let them know thathe would be spending two weeks on the subject. "N" asked herstudents to imagine that they were teachers and to consider what theywould like to know about their students. They were invited tobrainstorm, make posters, etc., and then pick areas they werecomfortable sharing out in class. "P" finds WebCT an excitingmeans of communicating with his students, especially introverts."R" and "K" echoed "P" 's enthusiasm. The interaction felt lively and meaningful. Some faculty wrote downthe ideas being shared, and there were moments of laughter and lots ofhead nodding. Virtually everyone left the meeting smiling and chattingas they walked down the hallway. We included this item in the agendathroughout the rest of the academic year. Handouts pertaining per��tain?intr.v. per��tained, per��tain��ing, per��tains1. To have reference; relate: evidence that pertains to the accident.2. to themonthly topic were put in faculty mailboxes prior to the meetings.Participation was voluntary, but I often asked faculty for input ontopics they would be interested in discussing at our meetings.Attempting to take advantage of the positive momentum. I asked iffaculty members would be open to the idea of going into eachother's classrooms as a way of sharing styles, ideas, etc. andgetting feedback, if desired. After a long pause, one faculty memberrecalled a time that she had taken a course at our college that hadopened her eyes to other teaching practices and the student perspective.She called it "a wonderful experience." Five faculty membersoffered up at least one course and times when they would welcomevisitors. These faculty members were called "ClassroomCohorts." Although this opportunity was not fully utilized, due totime constraints In law, time constraints are placed on certain actions and filings in the interest of speedy justice, and additionally to prevent the evasion of the ends of justice by waiting until a matter is moot. and perhaps a lack of comfort, I still believe that itis an option worth pursuing. As educators, we have a great deal ofexpertise to offer each other. "Classroom cohorts" can be ameans of professional development for the seasoned teacher as well asthe neophyte ne��o��phyte?n.1. A recent convert to a belief; a proselyte.2. A beginner or novice: a neophyte at politics.3. a. Roman Catholic Church A newly ordained priest. . Whether or not this experience really established a strong sense ofcommunity within this division is unclear. But I am sure that facultyenjoyed interacting on subjects that were not tied to standards,revisions or accreditation, which are often the focus of meetings in thefield of education. There was authentic interest and generosity whenthey shared their practices, techniques, and strategies. The look ofcuriosity and ever delight was refreshing and rewarding. It is my beliefthat we can build dynamic education communities that validate To prove something to be sound or logical. Also to certify conformance to a standard. Contrast with "verify," which means to prove something to be correct.For example, data entry validity checking determines whether the data make sense (numbers fall within a range, numeric data individualexpertise, as well as create a purposeful group climate that is engagingin its design, and productive in its results. My observations give meconfidence in the viability of this approach. I have experienced theexcitement that it brought to my division and I believe that it canachieve its potential even more fully. References Maslow, A. (1970/1954). Motivation and personality. New York New York, state, United StatesNew York,Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of :Harper & Row. Adler, A. (1938). Social interest: A challenge to mankind. J.Linton & R Vaughan (Trans.). London: Faber and Faber Faber and Faber, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Ltd. Dreikurs, R. 11937). An introduction to individual psychology.International Journal of Individual Psychology, 3(4), 320-349. Webster, A. M. (1976). Webster's seventh new collegiate col��le��giate?adj.1. Of, relating to, or held to resemble a college.2. Of, for, or typical of college students.3. Of or relating to a collegiate church. dictionary. Springfield. MA: G. & C. Merriam Company. Alfred Adler's key publications were The Practice and Theoryof Individual Psychology (1927), Understanding Human Nature (1927), andWhat Life Could Mean to You (1931). --Susan B. Rosa, Fitchburg State College/Northeast Foundation forChildren