Creating Community: From Individual Reflection to SoTL Transformation

• Main Author: Beau Beaudoin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Georgia Southern University 2012-01-01
• Series: International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
• Subjects: Community; Standards of practice; Multicultural perspectives; Student engagement
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/ij-sotl/vol6/iss1/17

Numerous studies have demonstrated that students thrive in courses where a community environment augments their learning experience through shared empowerment and enhanced participant engagement. This essay describes the author’s originally self-directed efforts with classroom community approaches and the transition to utilizing SoTL’s six standards of clear goals, adequate preparation, appropriate methods, outstanding results, effective communication and reflective critique to transform the process from experiment to standards-based assessment. Presenting examples of community practices with two substantially different demographics, a multi-section undergraduate media ethics course and a graduate class for teachers and teacher-candidates, the author suggests that others may benefit from a similar framework.