Creating Inclusive Learning Communities

Recently I attended an orientation session for a Master of Science in Dental

Hygiene graduate program. The cohort was large-22 members, the largest
group in the programs history. The program is delivered entirely online, but
requires two visits to the campus, one for orientation and one for graduation.
When I read this, I thought to myself, why would they make you go to an
orientation if its an online degree program? I thought that it could be part of
the actual course requirements, if the program didnt have enough contact
hours, then they could theoretically count the day and a half towards
program requirements, or lecture hours in a course. But after I got there I
understood why, although it wasnt until after another student shared her
story. Dorothy recently completed her baccalaureate degree in dental
hygiene the semester before. She talked about the program, and how in her
research class, she had to collaborate with two students to develop a
research prospectus. She went on to discuss how one of the group members
basically did nothing during the year long process that they collaborated on
their research topic. She then made a comment along the lines of people are
probably less likely to screw you if they have met you in person. I thought
this was an interesting point, not an observation that I would have made on
my own, but an accurate one. When you think about creating a community
of learners, especially an inclusive one, you have to be willing to accept
people as they are, and you would hope that they wouldnt screw you on a
project, but it happens all the time, not just in school but in personal
relationships as well. So was this the reason for the face-to-face orientation?
Probably not, I think it was a strategy to promote learning, to create a safe,
culturally diverse, respectful, environment that would promote a sense of
community among a group of dental hygienists, with a common goal. It
would be similar to joining the gym, we need other people with similar goals
and aspirations, to help us drop the extra weight. And for the faculty in the
program, I think they hit on an important tactic that will facilitate learning
and promote collaboration and student success. Irregardless of our cultural,
sexual, or ethnic backgrounds, we all share a common characteristic, we
want to be life-long learners, further our careers, and promote, and educate
others in the same field. In an online environment, students struggle to
make connections to people when they are just a picture in a little box. The
discussions, the synchronous web meetings, and the collaborative or group
projects allow us to feel like we share a commonality, like we belong, like
being a part of a community.
Karen Portillo and Ellen Rogo, both professors in a dental hygiene program in Idaho, conducted
a study involving students in a graduate dental hygiene program. Their purpose was to
determine what instances in the program impeded or contributed to the development and
sustainability of an online community within a specific program. They attribute the development
of a sense of community to social constructivist theory where learning is an active process
unique to each individual and knowledge is gained within the context of social interaction.
They also state that interaction in the online environment is necessary to develop social

presence, teaching presence and cognitive presence. These three components make up
the Community of Inquiry model, where there is equal reverence placed on the formation of
community as well as expanding knowledge. They also referred to another study that
proposed that social presence is a mediating factor between teaching presence and
cognitive presenceteaching presence in needed to help students shift from social presence
to cognitive presence. Because there is not a wealth of information or studies on creating
community specifically in dental hygiene programs, the authors attempted to answer two
questions with their research; what experiences impede or promote building of online
communities as well as sustain them. The results of the study indicated that a week long
orientation was one of the most relevant factors in building an online community, it allowed
students to meet face to face, as well as meet the instructors in the program, and work out
technical bugs in the learning management system. The factors that promoted
development of a community also impeded the building of community. Students who
posted late, or who didnt have as much clinical experience either hampered discussions, or
in the latter case, felt that they didnt have as much to contribute to the conversation.
Large group discussions were also difficult because of the number of students in the course
and planning of synchronous meetings was difficult when learners did not live in same time
zones. Also lack of response from the instructors impeded development of inclusive feeling
in the course. Some of the responses in regard to sustainability of community were related
to program design, those students that stayed within program course schedule, had more of
a connection with their cohort, but when students took courses out of sequence, or initiated
thesis work, the community was less cohesive.
This was a great article to examine how important development of community is within an
online format. From my own experience, many of these observations are similar to those I
have experienced over this last year. I can honestly state that lack of faculty participation
impedes development of community, as does independent/directed study course work; I
would imagine that this is a similar feeling to that of students working on their thesis or
capstone project.

Rogo E, Portillo K (2014). Building online learning communities in a graduate dental

hygiene program. Journal of Dental Hygiene. 88(4) pp. 213-228.