Do your students know each other’s names? Increasing student learning through social cohesion

Collaborative learning involves a group of students working together towards a common goal. Increasing social cohesion within student groups can increase student engagement and satisfaction, helping to maximize learning outcomes. Instructors, however, often find it difficult to build social cohesion among their students. This leads to a class without any strong social ties among students, many students never learn the names of their classmates. As a result, the impact of discussions, group projects, and other interactive learning activities are minimized. This session will review the literature on cohesion and teambuilding, providing participants with intentional, yet simple, team-building activities. By learning, discussing, and practicing team-building activities, participants will gain skills that can immediately be implemented in any classroom