This applies to all kinds of CBCs, from part-time online courses, such as Dickie’s and Nicolas’s #ship30for30 course, but also to the offline coding bootcamps like the one I teach. It’s not just the discipline and structure that makes CBCs appealing (please read my last post).

It’s the community.

The community is the number one aspect of the course that will make the experience memorable. Strong communities will push each member to engage, foster new relationships, and elevate the learning experience. I would argue it will elevate the instructor experience as well, making them feel emotionally invested.

It is crucial for the course provider to nail down this community from the get-go.

As for the student, within a learning environment, you’re looking to be comfortable, to find that friend to rely on and be able to make mistakes. A solid and supportive community allows that to happen.

Here are four suggestions that you should apply to your CBC community to foster a stronger sense of community.

  1. Create space for socialization; this could be offline meetups or online zoom sessions. Creating opportunities to meet new people and build connections. Especially in this current pandemic, people are starved to connect.

  2. Have dedicated communication channels for off-topic subjects, such as:

    memes

    random

    and any other community interest

  3. Have a dedicated community manager who interacts with the community and makes them feel heard. This is an ever more critical role in this day and age, and make sure you incentivize them well.

  4. Listen to the community and follow through with their suggestions quickly. This flexibility allows the community to feel heard and increases engagement.