Research Paper on "Strategy for Building a Community"

Research Paper 4 pages (1366 words) Sources: 4

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Strategy for Building a Community

There are a number of different strategies that one can use to help to foster a sense of community -- not just within the classroom but within the external neighborhood and its residents and occupants -- for assisting children with their learning. Many of these methods are denoted within Hardin's Effective Classroom Management: Models and Strategies for Today's Classroom. In addition to explicating the intrinsic relationship between community building and teaching students, one of the most valuable techniques covered in this manuscript related to community-building is the idea that it should be a component of or an actual part of the learning process. From a teacher's perspective, then, it is important to realize that these two objectives -- engendering lifelong learning for students and making them see their relationship to a vibrant, thriving community (which they will one day grow up and contribute to significantly) are actually all part of the same process. Community building ideally involves families, educators, and communities (McFarland-Piazza et al., 2012, p. 34). There is no distinction between building community and utilizing didactic methods for students; community building actually should be a part of most if not all didactic instruction.

Thus, the particular tactic that I believe will be most beneficial to my particular overall classroom management revolves around the tenet of perspective taking, in which students are "provided explicit opportunities…through which they can imagine how the world looks from someone else's point-of-view" (Kohn, 1997). This is a critical concept to implement into one's classroom management, because it allows children to see the pragmatic value of that which they are learning. Reading about the application of basic mathematical concepts (such as multiplication, for example) may help students learn. But actually taking them into a grocery store and letting them see the massive amounts of cash involved in a wholesale transaction will reinforce the point even more. In doing so, they will understand the relationship between the different forces in the community such as the grocery store, the wholesaler, and even the local customer which may be them or one of their parents. Although this scenario is just an example, it suitably demonstrates the value in using community to reinforce learning, and using learning to reinforce community-building for students.

I actually believe that the best age to introduce this particular classroom management principle is for the younger students, specifically those in first grade through third grade. This way, students will get a foundation for learning and building community that should hopefully last with them through their scholastic journey -- and beyond, conceivably. However, if this concept were not introduced to students until later on in their educational journey -- such as in middle school, perhaps -- they will have lost critical time in which their personalities and learning habits are being formed. Additionally, using this management principle with younger students will help them to become more extroverted and to grow up believing that they are part of a community of people, so that they can contribute to it accordingly.

It is critical to realize that this line of thinking is supported by Hardin, who asserts that "Activities that promote an understanding of how others think and feel foster intellectual growth while helping students become more ethical and compassionate" (Hardin, 2012, p. 146). The key to making this particular technique succeed is to get children to stop thinking about themselves (which is not always easy to do) and to focus on how they relate to others. That way, they can understand that learning is not something that merely occurs in a vacuum (or in the classroom environment), and that it is a vital part of life itself.

The case from last module that I would like to specifically apply community building initiatives to involves the first scenario and the third grader known as Billy. Billy is a learner who may very well be gifted, and who has little difficult keeping up with his work in general. Specifically, his subjects of interest appear to be both math and English, which is great since typically students display a… READ MORE

How to Reference "Strategy for Building a Community" Research Paper in a Bibliography

Related Research Papers:

and Analysis of a Particular Approach or Example of Community Development in Practice Case Study

Community Development in Practice

The term 'community involvement' has actually just recently pertained to play a main role in the discourse of rural development specialists and policy makers. At the… read more

Case Study 12 pages (4061 words) Sources: 24 Style: Harvard Topic: Management / Organizations

---

Community Prevention Drug Use Among High School Thesis

Community Prevention

Drug use among high school athletes is often a problem in relation to the pressure to perform while also coping with other factors such as peer group, home… read more

Thesis 4 pages (1195 words) Sources: 4 Style: MLA Topic: Sports / Exercise / Fitness

---

Business Strategies Home Building Market: Models, Strategy Thesis

Business Strategies

Home building market: Models, strategy, and segments

Business models

Risk mitigation has become more important in the new home building market, although real estate is always risky. Builders… read more

Thesis 1 pages (354 words) Sources: 2 Style: APA Topic: Urban Studies / City Planning / Housing

---

Social Entepreneurship Social Entrepreneur a Slum Term Paper

Social Entepreneurship

Social Entrepreneur

A slum is a dwelling that is built on public or private real estates unlawfully. In Turkey, these illegal settlements started with movement of people from… read more

Term Paper 15 pages (4068 words) Sources: 15 Topic: Management / Organizations

---

Cork'd: Building a Social Network for Wine Case Study

Cork'd Strategy

Cork'd business model has thus far focused on creating an online community of members that are able to access the community for free. The way that revenue is… read more

Case Study 4 pages (990 words) Sources: 2 Topic: Business / Corporations / E-commerce

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>