The course web site for Principles of Classroom management has become a touch stone for course activities. Charlie presents the site to students at the beginning of the course, pointing out the syllabus, assignments, and resources he's included on the site. As the course progresses, Charlie updates the site regularly, and lets students know they should check it at least once a week to see if schedules or assignments have changed. He also sends them emails about new interactive pieces he’s put on the site as the course proceeds.
One area of the site is directly connected to an activity in which Charlie regularly engages in the classroom. The site includes an "Interaction" page and uses this page to help build community among students. In the classroom, Charlie frequently asks students to participate in a brief free-write activity. On a 3x5 card, students give a short response to an open ended question. The question has to do with areas of the students' teaching or aspects of assignments due over the course of the week.
Before he created the course web site, Charlie used to simply collect and read these cards after class as a way to "dipstick" what was going on for students. By posting selected responses from the cards to the Interaction page of the web site, Charlie enhanced the dipstick effect by creating a better sense of community among students who are generally isolated from one another in their student teaching assignments. Students check the site to see if their responses have been posted, and get a chance to see what some of their peers are thinking.
Charlie's "Interaction" Web Page. Charlie posts student reflections on the site's "Interaction" page, which helps him create a sense of community among the students.
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