By: Christie VanHorne, M.Ed, MPH, Vassar College | LinkedIn Profile
January 27, 2025
Creating a sense of community and shared purpose is essential for a warm and welcoming classroom environment. I teach an undergraduate course on critical issues in women’s health, a challenging yet vital topic in today’s political climate that tackles personal and complex issues. From day one, I focus on fostering respect, collaboration, and well-being in the classroom, seizing the opportunity to inspire and inform future public health leaders and advocates.
To break the ice and set the foundation for a successful semester, I use a station activity designed to foster connection and cooperative learning. This interactive exercise helps students get to know one another and encourages them to take an active role in shaping our classroom community. I organize four themed stations, and students rotate through them in small groups. To learn more about how to facilitate the activity, please see the annotated assignment. The engaging format keeps the atmosphere energetic, blending meaningful discussions with moments of levity.
The stations are as follows:
- How We Will Treat Each Other
- This station focuses on building a culture of respect and kindness. Students collaboratively create a list of how they want to be treated in the classroom. As groups rotate, they contribute new ideas, highlight existing ones by adding stars or checks, and build on the suggestions left by their peers. Student examples include: “Stories stay, lessons leave,” “Patience—take a deep breath before emotional responses,” and “Listen to learn, not always to respond.” Establishing norms fosters a welcoming environment where students feel respected, supporting meaningful engagement and building trust. By creating the list, they are more likely to take ownership of the proposed classroom norms.
- Class Expectations
- Establishing class expectations serves several vital roles. For this station, I ask them to list what they hope to learn in the class and their expectations for me as their teacher. It can help me identify topics to spend more time on or case studies to use. If there are topics we will not cover in detail, I can inform them of that and also tell them they will have an opportunity to research a topic of their choice for the final. Notably, asking these questions allows them to share their interests, why they have taken the course, and their lived experiences, creating a supportive environment that promotes collaboration and different perspectives.
- Taking Care
- Academic success should start with self-care. Students reflect on how they prioritize their well-being throughout the semester and share tips for managing their mental health, balancing responsibilities, and what campus resources are available. I also ask them to consider how we should incorporate moments of care during class. I support them by providing fidget toys, having moments for meditation and breathing exercises, and including a weekly reflective journal as fifteen percent of their overall grade.
- Getting to Know Each Other
- The final station is about connection. This is a chance for them to get to know each other outside of academics. Students have discussion cards that prompt them to ask themselves questions such as, “What is the most beautiful sound?” “What has been the highlight of your week?” or “What is something you’ve always wanted to learn?” It is crucial to keep the questions lighthearted and unrelated to privileges some students may have, such as international travel opportunities or summer vacations. The goal is to promote inclusivity.
After every group has rotated through each station, I lead an activity debrief to recap and reflect on the discussions. I invite students to share their thoughts on the process by asking questions like, “What worked well for you?” “What norms should we prioritize?” or “How can we continue to uphold these practices?” To ensure their ideas are accessible throughout the semester, I upload pictures of their contributions to our learning management system and start class by reviewing them every few weeks.
The activity underscores the idea that every student plays a role in shaping the classroom culture. By the end of the first class, we’ve established a shared understanding of how we’ll navigate the semester together, built on mutual respect and care. I teach challenging content that is personal to many of my students, but this activity can help to build trust and community regardless of your course topic.
Teaching Variations
- Online Learning: This activity could offer a great online learning experience but requires some preparation. Create the station titles beforehand using an online platform or whiteboard. Use breakout rooms to create the groups and have them rotate between each station virtually. At the end, have them debrief with their small group to identify what ideas they will share and who will share, and then make space for all to share in the main room. Keep screenshots of their ideas from the whiteboards to reference throughout the semester.
- Larger Student Bodies: This activity could be challenging with more than 25-30 students. I have less than 20 students in my class. To use this with larger groups, you could break the class in half and double the stations or add additional topics to review (but this would take more time). A teaching assistant would be necessary to support facilitation. It would be interesting to compare and contrast the findings for each topic with the entire class.
Photos from Spring Semester 2024
