Building Community Virtually on the Fly

The Recreation Management and Leadership (RML) program at Western Washington University utilizes a cohort-based model in which sequenced courses and overnight retreats work in tandem to cultivate an inclusive learning community. COVID-19 necessitated not only that we quickly move all of our courses...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Schole : a journal of leisure studies and recreation education 2023-05, Vol.38 (2), p.132-133
Main Authors: Chmielewski, Kristen, D'Eloia, Melissa H., Goodnow, Jasmine M., Russell, Keith C., Burtz, Randall T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
community building
COVID-19
Distance Education
Higher Education
Online Courses
Pandemics
recreation and leisure
Recreational Programs
remote learning
Videoconferencing
virtual retreats
Workshops
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Summary:The Recreation Management and Leadership (RML) program at Western Washington University utilizes a cohort-based model in which sequenced courses and overnight retreats work in tandem to cultivate an inclusive learning community. COVID-19 necessitated not only that we quickly move all of our courses online, but it challenged us to transition our nature-based retreats to a virtual environment as we attempted to build community and foster connections over Zoom. In this piece, the RML faculty shares how the missteps of our first virtual retreat taught us lessons about connecting, interacting, and teaching in a virtual space and prepared us to run a vastly improved, successful Zoom retreat the following year.
ISSN:1937-156X
2162-4097
DOI:10.1080/1937156X.2021.1984861