How do universities maintain a cohesive class culture?

01 Feb 2019

Forbes recently released 12 tips for building a cohesive company culture.

As the publication states, “Thanks to modern technology, many jobs that once required an in-office presence can now be done from anywhere. This is especially true for tech companies, many of which now operate with partially or fully remote teams.

“Even when managing a mostly remote staff, creating a strong, cohesive company culture is still one of the most important responsibilities a business leader has.”

So, for a business, a cohesive culture is compulsory. But what are the benefits of establishing a cohesive learning landscape at university?

Many students are transitioning to online courses while others are distracted by their laptops and handphones during lectures, making it increasingly important for teachers to keep a tight grip on student cohesiveness.

Keeping seminars small may increase student integration. Source: 杰肖/ Unsplash

Cross-cultural understanding

As an international student, you’ll want to attend a university where the lecturers have a great understanding of how people communicate across cultures.

In a seminar of students from around the world, professors must administer a great deal of patience. Not everyone in the room may understand the terminology used or the theories being explained. On top of language barriers, there are cultural barriers too.

As such, the promotion of cross-cultural understanding will help to create a cohesive community.

Create inclusive experiences

Inclusive university trips or excursions certainly keep the campus spirit alive.

If you’re attending an online university, maybe it’s worth organising a few face-to-face meetups and keeping the human interaction alive. Getting to know your peers and your professor away from the screen is beneficial for both parties.

Alternatively, if you’re an on-campus learner and you think your seminars need extra inclusivity, suggest some research trips. They don’t have to be far away and can even happen on-campus, but by switching up your learning environment will keep your knowledge and mindset refreshed.

Small lecture and seminar sizes

Keeping seminar sizes low greatly improves the quality of lecturer feedback, since they have more time and to dedicate attention towards your work.

Not only that, but you’ll also get to know your university peers better through close-knit group sessions and projects that require extra work outside of the seminar room.

Even if you’re studying online, with an overload of fellow students in a virtual group chat, your comments or questions may be drowned out by other’s consistent enquiries or general discussions. Smaller groups or smaller online chats are much easier to manage.

Fluent engagement with students

To achieve a cohesive learning environment, it’s crucial for your professors/lecturers to be issuing one-to-one sessions.

Instead of addressing the group as a class, individualised attention is great for strengthening the bond you have with your lecturer and for your lecturer to understand you as a student with personal goals instead of part of a collective.

Not only will this lift the community spirit in the lecture hall, it will also increase the trust students have in their lecturers and keep their motivation flowing.

#StocktonThenandNow: Small class sizes still allow for classroom bonding and a personalized experience. pic.twitter.com/zeqPFIRr8f

— Stockton University (@Stockton_edu) January 29, 2019