Learning Communities

The social connections, friendships and support that students give each other are important from an academic, social, and mental health point of view. Creating a sense of community in the classroom builds academic success, supports student well-being, and strengthens peer networks.

Whilst you cannot force people to build friendships, have fun or engage, sometimes a facilitated approach, whereby you provide the structures or means to engage, is beneficial. To support you in this, we have created a Learning Community Toolkit [internal only] and compiled some useful strategies below.

Facilitated Social Engagement

• Icebreakers. Start your first session with an engaging activity to help students build rapport. For example, pair-sharing on a fun topic or a quick group brainstorming activity. Refer to the Learning Community Toolkit for ideas.
• Informal chat opportunities. For in-person sessions, arrive early or stay a few minutes after class to create space for casual conversations among students. Encourage small group chats by rearranging seating or prompting informal discussions. For online sessions, open the virtual room early or keep it open after the session ends. Use breakout rooms to facilitate smaller group conversations for those who prefer a more private setting.
• Encouraging chat and interaction. In online sessions, utilise chat functions or digital boardsand, and incorporate polling tools to engage students in both online and in-person settings. Highlight ground rules for respectful communication and encourage sharing links or resources. You could also refer to the Student Charter which contains useful guidance.

Collaborative Learning Activities

• Rotating discussion groups.Divide the room into small groups and assign each group a specific question or topic to discuss. Rotate students to new groups periodically to broaden their interactions and viewpoints.
• Study or Reading Groups. Assign students to small groups to work on collaborative tasks or discuss readings. Provide guidance but allow student-led interaction.
• Social Tasks. The social task can be a fun way to build relationships and make friendship groups that will support students social well-being, mental health, and ultimately each other. You can help facilitate this by setting a shared goal for students to work towards, like designing a group presentation, tackling a fun, course-related challenge, or a scavenger hunt around the campus.
• Breakout Rooms. In online sessions, them for smaller, focused discussions to make participation less intimidating in large classes.

Student-led spaces

Students don’t always need assistance from their teachers in developing social connections. Where students are already using established networks, a simple nudge of encouragement to widen this to include their classmates or suggestion of other networks/social groups they could join may be sufficient.

• Virtual Common Rooms. Provide students with tools (e.g., create a Canvas Community or a Canvas Big Blue Button conference room into which students can drop in at any point or specified points during the day/week) to create spaces for informal gatherings. You can also suggest themes like book clubs, music reviews, or quiz nights to spark engagement.
• Encourage Existing Networks: Students often already use platforms like WhatsApp or Discord—recommend leveraging these for academic discussions while sharing online safety tips.
• NUSU Student Societies and Clubs. There are lots of opportunities for social engagement outside of class. Remind students of the relevant university student societies and sports clubs they can join and the importance of these for developing networks.