Residential Curriculum Q&A: Where does Residence Life Community Building Fit Into a Curriculum?
Residential curricula are focused on student learning. Ultimately, curricular approaches primarily concern themselves with what we hope students will know and be able to do once their time with us comes to an end. Community building falls outside the learning-focus of the curriculum but it is critically important for its effectiveness. A switch to a curricular approach does not mean that a department abandons its community building responsibilities, rather, community building is a critical component of a department’s pedagogy.
Free Pizza! 6 Ways of Building Community UPDATED for a Social Media Residential Curriculum
“Door decs” with your name on it… Crafting in the lobby… An icebreaker where you rhyme your name with a vegetable… free pizza… all cliché ways a college Resident Assistant (RA) goes about building and maintaining community. Of course, the RA position is far more complex than the stereotype that often gets portrayed, or the hokey activities that are often the source of satire, but some of this “hokiness” is there because it works… and yes, some of it is just hokey. One of the most important aspects of social media that still… Read More
Cookies in the Lounge! What The College Dorm Can Teach Us About Building Community Online
“Door decs” with your name on it… Crafting in the lobby… An icebreaker where you rhyme your name with a vegetable… you might be surprised by how a college Resident Assistant (RA) goes about building and maintaining community. Of course, the RA position is far more complex than the stereotype that often gets portrayed, or the hokey activities that are often the source of satire, but some of this “hokiness” is there because it works… and yes, some of it is just hokey. One of the current courses I am taking at… Read More
Bowling Leagues, Cheers Bar, and Central Perk: Cultivate a Third Place, Cultivate Your Brand
In his 1989 work, The Great Good Place, Ray Oldenburg floated the idea of our needing a “third place.” Our first place is our home, where we live. Our second place is our work, where we spend a large portion of our time. Our “third place,” however, is an informal space that brings us together in community and where we interact with others and build social bonds. Classic “third places” in pop culture have included the bar from the television show Cheers and Central Perk, the coffee shop from Friends. At our… Read More
