Focus on Community in the Syllabus
You can use the syllabus to reaffirm your commitment to establishing a community of learners by making statements like, “We are all here to learn more about…” or “As a student in this class, you will be part of a community of fellow learners. Working together is part of the process and ….” or “My task during this semester will be to establish and build a community of learners, and I invite you to assist in that process.” These statements point out that you value the sense of community and make explicit what may only be intuitive—that you want students to cooperate, learn and work together, and help each other.

Another way to foster community is to create group assignments and projects—a powerful way to help them learn. Putting students into groups helps them get to know each other and build common experiences. (In courses with small enrollments, when students have been working in small groups a lot, think carefully about how to put them into groups so that they work with students relatively new to them and not the same students they have worked with in previous projects.)

In writing syllabi, many faculty members often make a lot of statements about what students can and cannot do—or at least the consequences of certain actions. Making positive statements about community and teamwork will help focus on that task and change the way students see the syllabus.

Establish Explicit Norms
The first class session is a great time to make it clear to students that you value a sense of community and that you will work on that goal. It can be a great time to invite them to participate in the process of building that community of learners. Sometimes, I have asked students what would help make the classroom a community and recorded their ideas on white board or PowerPoint slide and then helped them determine how to make that happen. Other times, I have made the point that community is important and that I will do my part and expect them to do their part. I also indicate that I will not tolerate any behavior that weakens or diminishes the attempts students make to learn and try out new behaviors, a critical aspect of a learning community.

Force Them to Learn and Use Student Names
Although one of the sweetest sounds in any language is the sound of your own name, pronounced correctly, often we do not focus on student’s learning each others’ names. We may work at learning their names in the classroom—a task made much easier in some culinary classrooms where students wear names stitched on their uniforms. You can, however, encourage and foster students learning the names of their fellow students. Some of the ways I do that is to ask them to call out a student’s name before tossing them the ball to contribute to class discussion. This use of names prevents students from being surprised that the ball is coming their way and, often, assists them in being alert to catch the ball. It also makes it clear to whom the ball is directed.

When I use small groups, I encourage them to introduce themselves and obtain the names of the members of their small group. With large classes and lots of small group activities, you can mix the students around a lot and enable them to learn many names. Then I make them use the names in class discussion by saying that they have to mention their name before they say anything and refer to other students by name as well.

Use Student Names a Lot
Recognizing and using students’ names—and even facts about their life or situation—shows students that you know who they are and that you care about their lives as well as their learning. Using their names helps other students hear them, and they can slowly acquire the names, as well.

When I call on students, I use their names, and if I cannot remember, I ask—even if I am asking late in the semester. It models the ability to continually ask for names and helps those students who may not be so quick at learning names of other students. Especially in large classes, it takes me a while to learn names, and sometimes to get the pronunciation correct of Greek, Thai, Chinese, Korean, Chilean, Turkish or French names.

One way that I practice using names is taking attendance, which helps me learn the names and the correct pronunciation, especially when I invite students to correct my mispronunciation. Although I do not grade based on attendance or even participation, taking attendance shows them that I value their being there and contributing to the learning community. They also know that I know who comes to class and who does not. However, in the NYU hospitality courses, attendance is not usually a problem. Students want to be there and come ready to discuss the reading.

Fred Mayo is a clinical professor at New York University and a frequent presenter at CAFÉ events nationwide. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..