Transcript Communicative Climate and Community

The Role of Communicative
Climate in Building
Community
• Student experience
• FSEM goal: solid academic preparation
• Retention
Awareness of Own Role in
Building Community
• Enabling students to metacommunicate
own roles as classroom community
builders. (See J.R. Gibb, "Defensive
Communication," Journal of
Communication 11 (September 1961):
141)
Gibb’s Defensive Supportive
Climate behaviors
 Evaluation
 Support
 Control
 Problem-
 Strategy
 Neutrality
 Superiority
 Certainty
orientation
 Spontaneity
 Empathy
 Equality
 Provisionalism
Building an inclusive learning
environment for diverse students
• Knowledge – Awareness is first step
• Behavior – Socio-economic status, student
background (first to attend college? social
skills in how to disagree, how to express
oneself, when to jump in?)
• Affect – Reluctance, apprehension, anxiety
due to social marginalization (ethnic groups,
SES, novelty, cultural norms)
Building an Inclusive Climate
(Cont.)
• According to experience of ESL
students, American peers may need
some guidance on how to be more
accepting of diverse others
 Model and encourage behaviors that
foster a supportive climate
What worked to help exchange
students feel welcome in the U.S.
classroom?
• professor acknowledged language difficulties
of ESL students and offered to help;
• gave early feedback on linguistic skills which
in turn gave them confidence to share their
ideas;
• provided small group tasks designed to
problem-solve together;
• gave opportunity to share culture (after
checking comfort level of student);
• posted on-line discussion boards in which
ESL students could participate more readily