Category: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Creating Brave and Inclusive Spaces for Challenging Discussions

Linda Hasunuma

Creating a space where students feel empowered to engage in discussions on challenging issues can help your students develop active listening and critical thinking skills, resulting in intellectual growth. Our students benefit from exposure to different perspectives and experiences from their own, even if they may push them out of their comfort zone. It is important, however, to be intentional about when and how you hold such discussions for them to be productive and meaningful. As educators, it is our responsibility to help them learn how to have these discussions thoughtfully and respectfully.

Just as you would not bring up controversial or difficult topics with someone you have just met, it is worth considering how we can create conditions and provide opportunities for students to practice sharing and expressing their thoughts without fear of judgment. Creating a “brave space” in which your learners feel that they can express their opinions is something that takes time to build, and you can begin that process even before classes begin. 

Planning and Laying the Groundwork 

The Syllabus

As you develop your course and syllabus, consider what controversial or challenging topics are likely to come up in your class and discipline and plan for them in your syllabus. If the election year is relevant to your course, might you create space pre- and post-election for a debrief and discussion? If COVID-19 can be explored within the context of your discipline, could including it breathe life and relevancy into your content? Be thoughtful about when to hold these conversations and be explicit about why you are having them, connecting these discussions to your learning goals. Be clear in your syllabus and in your course so that students know what to expect and are not surprised or unprepared for such discussions. You may also want to include a statement about creating an inclusive and brave classroom. This way students understand how these activities and discussions contribute to their intellectual growth. 

To help students create a sense of community and connection before having discussions, you need to be intentional about creating informal and formal opportunities for students to interact, relate, discover what they have in common, and practice some of the skills they will need for more challenging discussions. Here are some ideas to help you get started:

Start Building Community Even Before Classes Begin 

The very first interactions your students have with you and each other can help set the tone for the rest of the semester. Before classes even begin, on the first day, and during the first week or two, consider how you can create opportunities for students to get to know one another and begin building a sense of community and trust. Introductions on a discussion board and pair and small group work can help students practice sharing and considering different points of view through active listening and/or reading of posts. Before the first day of classes, you can create a discussion board in Canvas where students introduce themselves and have the option of posting a video or audio response. This way, students get to know who is in the class and discover what they may have in common with each other, and can begin connecting with one another before the semester by responding to each other’s posts. This can prime them for the first day and make it easier and less awkward to do icebreakers (for example, what is the story of their name, or what is the last movie they saw in the movie theater), and to initiate conversations with people in the class. The goal is for them to connect with one another first. Then, we can think about how to create opportunities to help students practice evaluating arguments and different perspectives. 

Create Guidelines Together

In order to have productive discussions about challenging topics, create guidelines with your students for how the class should conduct such discussions. In order to prompt students to create guidelines, you might ask about their fears towards such discussions and how guidelines and other classroom dynamics might help them feel more comfortable. We recommend doing a “hopes and fears” exercise where students can anonymously write their hopes and fears for such discussions on sticky notes and then post them to a wall. In an online environment, you can use a polling application that generates a word cloud or use a google doc (less anonymous). This helps students to see that they are not alone in their fears and actually share common hopes. It also helps students to talk openly about the fear of saying something wrong, or being judged, shamed, or dismissed. It prepares them by acknowledging the barriers we all face in sharing our perspectives, and how we can work together to create a space in which more students feel that they can take a risk, share, or engage in a discussion that may challenge not only their own personal views but those of their classmates. These spaces, which we call “brave spaces,” encourage students to acknowledge that they can help create a classroom environment where each student feels they can be heard while acknowledging that some discussions may challenge them personally.

You might consider having the guidelines conversation on the first day of class as a way to build community, or run a pre-course discussion board to help students feel more secure and confident on their first day (alternatively you might do both: initiate the discussion in Canvas and complete it in class). Creating guidelines together also helps students learn how to listen, discuss, and debate, but work toward a common goal, and articulate what they value and expect from one another. By reminding them of this commitment, they are more likely to uphold those guidelines. If things ever get off course during a discussion, you can refer students to their guidelines as a kind of anchor or guidepost. Keep these guidelines at the ready and revise them as needed. 

Give students opportunities to practice 

Begin with discussion topics that are low stakes and won’t trigger strong emotional responses, but allow students to get to know one another and practice listening, evaluating another perspective, and then deciding for themselves how to handle differences of opinion. You might begin with a reading in your discipline where students can evaluate two competing explanations. Whether you have in-person, live, or asynchronous courses, you can use pair work and discussion boards to help students practice these skills of listening or reading each other’s posts and commenting on several other students’ perspectives. This exercise helps them to listen, read, and reflect on others’ viewpoints and appreciate the diversity of viewpoints on low-stakes issues, as well as think about how to respond to different perspectives. It reduces the stakes about having conversations where they can disagree with one another and accept different points of view, and try to articulate why they have their own viewpoints.

The goal is to make this type of discussion a part of what you do each class, whether it is a live session or asynchronous. Think, Pair, Share work and trios are great for more focused discussion, but try having different partners throughout the semester to encourage students to feel more comfortable with more people in the room. Online, you can do this in zoom breakout rooms and even with chats as students can chat with a partner privately. Rotating pairs and small groups can help students get to know each other and more of their classmates which helps promote a greater sense of community. After using low-stakes prompts, begin using topics that are more directly related to your course content and discipline. At the end of the discussion, remember to encourage reflection, –individually or as a group. What did they learn from the process?

With advanced planning and knowledge of some effective practices, you and your students will feel more confident and comfortable engaging in such conversations. 

The next blog post on this topic will deal with the unexpected disruptions and hot moments that can occur in classrooms. Even with planning, sometimes you will have an intense and unplanned emotional reaction or moment, and there are some effective practices and strategies that can help you in those “hot” moments.References: Rojzman’s Hopes and Fears:https://www.nsrfharmony.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Hopes_Fears-CFGWork.pdf Brave Space:https://www.naspa.org/images/uploads/main/Policy_and_Practice_No_2_Safe_Brave_Spaces.pdf Temple Resource:https://diversity.temple.edu/

Linda Hasunuma is Assistant Director at Temple University’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching.

Teaching, Learning, Justice and Inclusion: A New Blog Series

Stephanie Fiore

As faculty and students, we may be deeply affected by what is happening in our country and across the globe. To help our students navigate these troubling times, many faculty are actively seeking ways to create more just educational opportunities and experiences. At the Center for the Advancement of Teaching, we have always had at the heart of our work a goal to help faculty create more equitable, accessible, and brave spaces of learning for our students, spaces that allow students to take risks and be their authentic selves. When we talk to faculty about inclusive teaching practices, we speak in the broadest and deepest sense: practices that help students from diverse backgrounds succeed; spaces that acknowledge and honor the cultures, experiences, voices, abilities, and realities of our students; strategies that democratize education, promote equity, and reduce oppression in learning environments; and moments of reflection in which we consider how our own identities influence our teaching practices.

We will be exploring these themes in our EDvice Exchange space through a bi-weekly blog series, Teaching, Learning, Justice and Inclusion. This series will introduce pedagogical strategies that construct a classroom in which all students’ voices are heard, controversial topics are explored and managed, and students can find their path to success.

To start us off, I would like to offer some thoughts about this semester. We are encouraging faculty to think intentionally about how to make their pedagogy more agile, that is, able to adjust to changing circumstances and situations. The three Rs of Agile Pedagogy (as we’ve defined it) are Rigor, Responsiveness and Resilience. The second part – Responsiveness –  is incredibly important in creating a semester that doesn’t crumble when circumstances change, and that accounts for the stress and anxiety our students may be feeling due to racial unrest, ill effects from COVID-19, or marginalization and therefore vulnerability to bias, misunderstanding, or a missing sense of belonging in our classrooms. Sarah Cavanagh reminds us, for instance, that anxiety disrupts student performance by hijacking working memory’s capacity with worrying thoughts, leaving fewer cognitive resources to direct to the problem at hand (The Spark of Learning, p. 184). If we remember that students’ social and emotional lives influence their ability to connect and learn, we will be more responsive to their needs.

Thinking intentionally about how to address these needs can go a long way towards helping students succeed in your classroom. Here are some ideas to consider:

  • Create opportunities for students to connect with you and each other at the outset of the semester. Icebreakers, introductions and getting-to-know-you activities can help. Ask them to send you information they wish for you to know, including any barriers that might affect their learning or help you understand how to support them in class.
  • Maintain open communication channels with regular reminders (how to reach you via email, office hours, or a more anonymous channel).
  • Depending on the size of your class, host monthly individual or small group check-ins with students.
  • Clearly post university resources (e.g. Student Success Center, Wellness Resource Center, Tuttleman Counseling Services) so neither you nor students have to search too long for support.
  • Flexibility matters! Plan for alternative assessments (flexible deadlines, different modalities) to make sure your students have accessible ways to demonstrate their learning. Plan also for alternative activities in case a student cannot attend class.

Remembering that we are not just teaching content – we are teaching students – goes a long way towards helping us all adopt a responsive mindset.

Next topic in the Teaching, Learning, Justice and Inclusion blog series:

September 14: Creating Brave and Inclusive Spaces for Challenging Discussions

Stephanie Fiore is Assistant Vice Provost at Temple University and Senior Director Center for the Advancement of Teaching.

Trauma-informed Teaching: A Lens to View and Help All Students Succeed

Cliff Rouder & Linda Hasunuma

We and our students are experiencing a time of powerful social transformation amidst a global health crisis. The physical, social, and emotional toll that we all may be experiencing brings into focus the need for an awareness of trauma’s impact on learning. The Center for the Advancement of Teaching recently sponsored a three-part workshop on trauma-informed teaching in which Temple faculty and representatives with expertise in this area from Temple’s Wellness Resource Center, Office of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Advocacy and Leadership (IDEAL), and Tuttleman Counseling Services helped us understand what trauma is, how it can impact student learning (and us), and the scope of our role to help students succeed. We have gathered key ideas and helpful information from these sessions in this blog post to guide you in creating spaces for learning that support student success. 

What is Trauma and Why Does It Matter? 

The classic/traditional definition is “psychologically distressing event involving “exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence…” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, p. 261).

It involves a sense of fear, helplessness, and horror. Childhood trauma occurs whenever both internal and external resources are inadequate to cope with an external threat (van der Kolk, 1989). As instructors, it is always helpful to keep in mind that trauma can affect the students in our classroom and us, but in the time of a pandemic and an intense struggle for racial justice, this trauma can be exacerbated. 

While most people understand the effects that trauma can have on a person, they may not realize that trauma can also affect cognitive, social, behavioral, and physical functioning. Students, and you, bring all of these effects into the classroom with you.

© Amy K. Lynch and Kelly Mahler

How Might Trauma Manifest in the Classroom? 

An awareness of the ways in which trauma can manifest for students can serve us as educators in class and during office hours. These include, but are not limited to: 

  • Inappropriate interpersonal boundaries, such as demanding additional information and/or participation in processes. 
  • Emotional responses that are not typically acceptable as “professional behavior.”
  • Rigid thinking/cognitive inflexibility.
  • A loss of self-agency and coping strategies.

It is important, too, to be aware of the ways in which forces of oppression, such as anti-Black racism, can impact students:

  • Psychological Impact: attentional/focus difficulty, feelings of helplessness, chronic stress, apathy, hypervigilance to discrimination/oppression, and perfectionism/burnout.
  • Physiological Impact: somatization (e.g., headaches, rapid heartbeat), sleep difficulties, and disconnection.

What Steps Can I Take to Help All Students Succeed?

Faculty are not therapists or counselors, nor should they be. Within our scope of practice as faculty, however, here are several concrete strategies that you can employ: 

  • Be aware of and manage your own trauma response so that you don’t negatively impact the dynamics of your class. 
  • Be clear about your goals and maintain a routine and structure in a simplified and organized way in areas like your Canvas course design. 
  • Work intentionally to build trust:
    • Assess students’ needs before the semester begins to identify what learning challenges they may be facing. A simple (private) survey asking students their name and major, and if they’re comfortable, asking if there are things about their identity that would be helpful for you to know. In addition, asking them to share any barriers that might impact their learning can help you proactively meet their diverse needs.
      • Recognize ways in which our own biases (both explicit and implicit) are reflected in course content or policies and may activate a racial trauma response. Make changes accordingly. For more information about implicit bias, view this resource. 
      • Create a welcoming and supportive space where students can share and take risks to decrease the likelihood of feeling marginalized. 
      • We can also create that supportive space by setting expectations for engagement and accountability and working through strategies for meeting those expectations. Please see the section titled, “Setting Community Standards for Online Discussions” in this resource.
      • Acknowledging the impact of racism and racial stress is a critical step in creating a learning environment where students can feel heard and affirmed. One way we can do this is by addressing microaggressions (unintended things we and other students say or do that can be hurtful). 
      • Check in frequently about what’s working and what’s not; take the “temperature” of the class.
    • Offer options in your assignments and assessments as to how students demonstrate what they’ve learned. Choices support a sense of autonomy.
    • Take a team approach! Resources like Tuttleman Counseling Services, IDEAL, Disability Resources and Services, and the Wellness Resource Center can support your efforts to promote student well-being.
    •  
    • What are the Boundaries of my Role as Instructor?If a student’s behavior is proving detrimental to themselves or to the effective functioning of your class, you can speak to that student privately to empathetically express concern about the behaviors and attempt to find workable strategies to address those behaviors so they do not impact the functioning of your class. Faculty are often concerned about how to manage this type of conversation. Here is some helpful guidance to consider:  Validate student feelings “That sounds like a lot to be experiencing.” Start from a place of caring. Be compassionate as you frame the need for the discussion. Communicate that the intention of this discussion is to help rather than to punish. Appreciate the courage it took to share “Thank you for sharing this with me–I know it takes a lot of courage.” “Thank you for trusting me enough to share this experience.” If a student does share something as personal as past trauma with you, it’s likely because you have created an environment of trust and caring. So, kudos for that! You can first express appreciation that the student has shared this with you.  Refer to skills and supports  “What supports or resources have worked for you in the past?”“There are folks available who can help. Could I share some information with you?” If a student shares a traumatic experience specifically about sexual misconduct since they have been a student at Temple, let them know you must report that to the Title IX Coordinator, and that they can be a part of the reporting process. Learn more at sexualmisconduct.temple.edu. If a student shares a plan to harm themselves or others, please contact TUPD (215-204-1234) or 911. There are resources available for students in non-emergent crises, such as the Crisis Text Line, or hotlines for interpersonal violence and sexual violence.  Remember that the key to great teaching, no matter the challenge, is communication, empathy, flexibility, and the willingness to see our students as the complex, wonderful human beings they are.  We are deeply grateful to the facilitators of the trauma-informed teaching workshops:
      • Crystal Austin, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Instruction, College of Education and Human Development
      • Hillary Black, LCSW, Assistant Coordinator of Sexual Assault Counseling and Education (SACE), Tuttleman Counseling Services
      • Valerie Dudley, Ph.D., Director of Multicultural Education, Institutional Diversity, Equity, Advocacy & Leadership (IDEAL)
      • Amy Lynch, Ph.D., OTR/L, Associate of Professor of Instruction, College of Public Health
      • Aisha Renee Moore, MSW, LCSW, Coordinator of the Sexual Assault Counseling and Education (SACE) Unit at Tuttleman Counseling Services
      • Nu’Rodney Prad, M.S., Director of Student Engagement, Institutional Diversity, Equity, Advocacy & Leadership (IDEAL)
      • Jessica S. Reinhardt, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Practice, College of Education and Human Development
      • Liz Zadnik, M.A., Associate Director, Wellness Resource Center

Cliff Rouder, Ed.D., is Pedagogy & Design Specialist for the Center for the Advancement of Teaching. Linda Hasunuma, Ph.D., is Assistant Director of Temple University’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching.

Teaching International Students Abroad

Stephanie Fiore

Dymaxion Projection World Map

This fall, some of the international students in your classes may be located abroad in their native countries because travel restrictions have prevented them from coming to campus. Your international students are an asset to your class, bringing important diversity of experiences, cultural perspectives and learning methods. They are also eager to participate in the classes at Temple University despite the situation that has prevented them from coming to Philadelphia. Thinking intentionally about the barriers they may face and the contributions they may add to class can help all your students gain from this complex situation. Communication with your international students is key in helping them overcome challenges these conditions may pose to their learning. Here are some issues you may encounter and suggested strategies to overcome them. 

Time Differences

If your students are in a different country or some US states, they may be in another time zone, sometimes as much as 13 hours different from Philadelphia time. This difference may hinder their ability to feel engaged in your class, especially if you hold synchronous class sessions that meet when it is the middle of the night for them. How can you help them participate and engage with your class community? 

Strategies That Can Help:

  • Make sure you ask your students at the beginning of the semester if they are in a different time zone. We recommend administering a short ‘get to know you’ survey to the entire class in which you ask students where they are currently located. 
  • Solicit students’ ideas for how to participate effectively in class.
  • Record your synchronous Zoom classes to allow students to access your class content at a time that makes more sense for them. This strategy will also allow all of your students with technological access or illness issues to access your course content asynchronously.
  • Make sure to have all of your course materials (syllabus, assignments, required and additional reading) available in Canvas so that students can access them at any time.
  • If you are doing active learning activities during your class time, offer an alternative way to complete work for your students in a different time zone. This alternative may look different than the in-class work but should accomplish the same goals.
  • Consider time differences when setting deadlines for assignments or when setting up times for exams. If a specific deadline is important, make sure all of your students understand ahead of time how to plan, and check in individually with your international students to ensure deadlines make sense for them. 
  • If assigning group projects, determine if you can form a group of students who live in similar time zones in order to facilitate more seamless collaboration. If students in different time zones must work together, encourage them to use effective collaboration tools (such as Teams or Canvas Collaborations) in order to communicate without having to have in-person meetings.
  • If you have scheduled virtual office hours, provide alternatives that are convenient for students in different time zones, or provide an asynchronous way for them to reach you.

Inability to Access Technology

Internet connectivity and access to technology tools could be an issue for some students both in the US and abroad. Stable high-speed internet and access to equipment such as webcams or laptops may not be available to some students, which makes it difficult for them to participate fully in remote synchronous class sessions. For other students, the issue is not internet connectivity but internet restrictions. China, for example, has restricted access to websites and applications that include Zoom and all Google applications (including Gmail) that are widely used for teaching, as well as YouTube, Twitter, Dropbox, Skype and more.

Strategies That Can Help:

  • Remind students, especially new ones, to complete the TUID Photo Verification process in Portal Next Steps. Having a verified photo on file will allow IT Help Desk to provide expedient assistance. 
  • You can test to see if particular domains are blocked in China using a site like Comparitech. First, however, a simple conversation with your students to identify any barriers to learning they face can reveal sticking points and additional insights you might not otherwise have known. 
  • Zoom may not work in certain countries, which may make it impossible for students to attend your Zoom session and to watch your Zoom recordings. Teams, a collaboration software with similar capabilities, will also work in most countries and is available to the Temple community. However, remember that the most important thing, particularly during this time, is to make sure students can reach your course goals, not that they all reach those goals in the exact same way. Talk to your students with these issues and brainstorm together how to help them.
  • Some websites, social media, and streaming platforms are also blocked in other countries, and some sensitive content may also be blocked. Ask students to review class material and let you know which ones they cannot access. In some cases, you may be able to download content and post it directly to Canvas. Post videos to open directly in Canvas rather than requiring students to download videos.
  • If students need alternative methods for receiving and delivering materials and class assignments, consider whether email will help. ITS is working to migrate overseas students’ email accounts from Gmail to Outlook 365 in order to allow them access to email. Regardless, it is essential to communicate with them through your Canvas course announcements and messages.
  • Students with slow bandwidth or limited allowance of bandwidth are likely to experience slow logins, page loads and forced terminations. For synchronous online sessions, allow students to participate without video, which will increase their bandwidth, and remind them to be present through chat or voice participation. 
  • In certain cases, students may be able to join Zoom by phone if they are having connectivity issues. Be sure to provide the complete information for the Zoom session, including how to connect to your Zoom session by phone. Note that this may not be possible in some international sites, and the phone call may have a fee attached. Check with your students if calling into your class is a possibility.
  • Think about bandwidth when selecting course materials such as videos. Students with low or limited bandwidth, whether in the US or abroad, may not have easy access to this material, so consider alternative ways to deliver any essential video content (audio transcription, outline, key points). 
  • Check the technology needs for your assignments and assessments. For instance, if you use a proctoring solution that requires a webcam and a laptop, find out if your students have access to that equipment. If not, consider offering alternative assessments for those students or, better yet, provide alternatives for the entire class.

Sensitive Topics

Students may be in countries or communities where certain topics are not safe to discuss. Depending on the country, students may be reluctant to engage in conversation about topics that may be sensitive to their government or community for fear of retribution. 

Strategies That Can Help:

  • In the first week of class, invite students to review topics on the course syllabus and flag any topics that could potentially be sensitive. 
  • Remember that even writing to you about flagged content can prove unsafe, and students may also be reluctant to discuss any barriers publicly in class. Invite your students to speak with you privately (at a time that works for their time zone) to discuss any issues they might anticipate.  
  • Work with your students to find creative alternatives that allow students to engage with the class content without compromising their safety. You can still, of course, teach the content you were planning to teach in the class, but perhaps your student can write about less controversial topics that will not jeopardize their safety.

The essential key to helping your international students abroad or students in another time zone is communication. Talk to students and work together to find solutions. 

References:

Cox, Michelle. 2020. Guidance for Faculty: Getting and Staying Connected With Int’l Students. John S. Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines, Cornell University. Retrieved from: https://knight.as.cornell.edu/guidance-faculty-getting-staying-connected-intl-students

The Writing Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 2020. Teaching International Students Remotely [Blog post].  (n.d). Retrieved from https://writingcenter.unc.edu/faculty-resources/teaching-international-students-remotely/

Stephanie Fiore, Ph.D., is Assistant Vice Provost at Temple University and Senior Director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching.

Dymaxion projection world map by Justin Kunimune published to Wikimedia Commons and released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Image resized and cropped.

A Little EDvice for Teaching Inclusively

Simmee Myers, MA

For many of us, it is easy to remember a time in our education when we felt welcome or included, and a time when we felt unwelcome or excluded. For instructors, personal reflection on these moments can help guide which strategies they might use to create a positive course environment for all students. While this may be a start, teaching inclusively is not as simple as incorporating one or two isolated strategies into a course. Instead, it is an ongoing process that involves a willingness to implement new ideas, continuous reflection on coursework and course climate, and an openness to learning from students.

What is inclusive teaching?

Inclusive teaching is about helping students feel like they belong and feel supported so that they can succeed. This question is especially applicable to students from underrepresented groups who may be more likely to have questions about their belonging and ability to succeed in college. Most commonly, underrepresented groups include low-income students, first generation students, students from underrepresented racial minorities, LGBTQ+ students and students in fields where the gender balance is significantly disproportionate (e.g.,women in certain STEM fields). However, it is important to stress that inclusive teaching does not only consider students in terms of characteristics of advantage or disadvantage. Rather, it highlights ways that a student’s identity can impact how they navigate learning spaces, and what we as teachers can do to make those spaces welcoming to all who enroll.

Where do you begin?

Since inclusive teaching is an ongoing process, it can be hard to know where to start. The following section provides suggestions for any course at any level.

Use Principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

UDL is a framework that promotes the use of flexible learning opportunities, thus having the potential to reach a greater number of learners. Using multiple means of representation (presentation of information), expression (student’s demonstration of knowledge) and engagement (interests of students) can provide greater opportunities for students to make connections and show what they know. For example, in order to provide multiple means of expression in courses where students complete a cumulative final project, it may be beneficial to give them more than one format for completing this project, as long as each format satisfies  the goals of the assignment. In this case, students may be able to choose from writing a paper, creating a video, giving a presentation or designing a website. Allowing multiple means of expression lets student choose the format that best showcases their knowledge. It may also provide an opportunity for multiple means of engagement, as students may find it exciting to present content in a way that is of significant interest to them.

Think About Language

Language is ever-changing and contextual, which can make it tricky to know exactly what words groups and individuals prefer. Consider proactively exploring the meaning of terminology if you hear something new on the news, at a conference or speaking with a colleague. Additionally, you can discuss with your students how the meaning of certain terms can vary over time and according to context.  

Review representation

Take a look at your course materials. Especially if you teach a course that covers multiple theorists or authors, examine the identities of those being represented. Is there a diversity of identities represented in these materials? If not, consider if there other important voices that you can add to the curriculum. If not, you may want to explore with your students why these voices are underrepresented in your field. Depending on what you teach, the time you spend on this conversation may differ. For example, in a sociology course, underrepresentation of different groups may be related to course concepts and worthy of greater exploration. In an engineering course, the message may be as simple as letting students know that you hope they are able to create a more diverse population in your field by becoming the next prize-winning researchers.

Check in with your students

Instructors are often unaware of student concerns until they receive their student feedback forms when the semester has already ended. Asking students for mid-semester feedback provides you with the opportunity to assess the climate of the course early on, when small adjustments can still be made. One example is to create a brief survey that students complete in class or online using your college’s learning management system (e.g.,Canvas). This feedback can be especially useful when you are trying new things in a course, and may result in a faster and more targeted refinement of teaching techniques. Finally, you may find that some students benefit significantly from a survey question that asks them directly, “What concerns do you have about the course at this time?” Questions like this can be the spark that opens up conversation between student and instructor and can be important for students who have faced significant challenges since the start of the course.

By now, you may be thinking that inclusive teaching strategies just seem like good teaching strategies; indeed this is true. Many strategies for inclusive teaching will help all students in some way, but for students who are experiencing doubts about belonging or success, they may be even more significant. While the strategies above are a way to begin thinking about inclusive teaching, they should only be the start of a continuous and reflective journey to better teaching

Everyone Can Contribute to Student Well-Being

Wellness Resource Center

Peaceful Sunset by Giuseppe Milo

The scope of the faculty role is changing. Complex topics may come up more frequently and students expect that they will be discussed. Mental health and well-being is a growing concern among college students and is receiving national attention. While this larger conversation about mental health is helpful in reducing stigma and encouraging more folks to seek help, it also creates new challenges for faculty.

Talking about mental health, or other personal topics, may be outside of one’s experience and comfort level. Regardless, we know that many aspects of life impact how students show up in the classroom. According to the National College Health Assessment[1], there are many factors that impact students’ academic performance including, but not limited to, stress, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, depression, sickness (cold, flu, etc.), and extracurricular activities. When faculty acknowledge these factors and share support resources, student experiences can improve.

Ultimately, faculty can only control what happens in their classroom, but the good news is that there are ways that they can contribute to a community that cares about well-being and student success. Here are a few examples:

Help students build life skills.

  • Encourage students to take care of themselves and resist the idea that they need to be productive 24/7.  For example, make assignments due at 9:00 pm rather than midnight. This can help students develop time management skills and prioritize sleep. Students may have to think ahead a bit more, but once a course policy is established, students are likely to abide by it.
  • Provide clarity around what expectations they can have about communicating with you. You can provide boundaries around email response time. If you have a statement in your syllabus that says students shouldn’t expect a response from you after 10:00pm on weeknights, hold yourself to that when possible. This also helps to model what boundaries can look like in regard to communication via various virtual platforms.

 

Build your skills to feel more confident responding to concerns that arise.

  • Training is available through the Wellness Resource Center with the aim of supporting colleagues interested in promoting student wellness and resilience. Training topics include how to have effective conversations with students, suicide prevention, and contributing to creating a safer campus environment for students who have experienced sexual assault. Learn more about training opportunities here. 
  • Refer to the Student Safety Nest guide for faculty, instructors, and staff. It includes guiding principles, observable signs of concern, and information about accessing campus resources. This resource can be helpful in expanding on some of the information in this post, as well as how to navigate campus resources.

 

Normalize help-seeking.

  • Share that there are many pathways to seek help and provide information about campus resources. Seeking support looks different for everyone. Sources of informal support can include friends, family, and practicing self-care. Formal support can include seeking counseling or therapy, consultation with a health provider of some type (nurse, doctor, dietician, etc.), or academic assistance such as tutoring or mentoring. There are many opportunities for support at Temple, some of which students may not be fully aware of. Receiving information about sources of support from faculty can remind students of what exists.
  • Encourage students to be self-advocates and access campus resources when they need support. Some students may not have experience navigating larger institutions like Temple, or even making appointments for themselves. Encourage them to be persistent and proactive in accessing services and resources that can help them succeed and be well. By doing this, faculty can help build students’ self-efficacy and reduce any lingering stigma around help-seeking.

Faculty can support student mental well-being in the classroom and do so in ways that remain within ethical and professional boundaries. Content expertise isn’t necessary either. By creating an inclusive environment and encouraging students to build life skills, all faculty can contribute to creating a community where well-being is a priority.

The Wellness Resource Center (WRC) is Temple University’s health promotion office. The WRC offers a variety of intentional learning opportunities to promote well-being and cultivate community. Services include peer-led workshops, campus-wide events, staff and faculty training, wellness consultations, and safer sex supply sales. Learn more about these services and how to request programming at wellness.temple.edu or connect with the WRC on social media (Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook) @BeWellTU.

Photo by Giuseppe Milo, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) License. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.

[1] American College Health Association. (2019). National college health assessment: Fall 2018 undergraduate reference group executive summary. Retrieved from https://www.acha.org/documents/ncha/NCHA-II_Fall_2018_Undergraduate_Reference_Group_Executive_Summary.pdf

Emotions, Learning and the Brain

Where were you on September 11, 2001? Chances are very good that you have vivid memories of that day especially if you were in the United States. Why? Because we tend to remember emotional events. Although our memories of that day may not be completely accurate, it is unlikely that we will ever ‘forget’ where we were when we learned of the attacks because memory and emotion are inextricably linked.    

Many people think of teaching and learning as intellectual endeavors that engage the head more than the heart. However, in her book Emotions, Learning and the Brain, Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, an affective neuroscientist and former teacher, argues that we only think deeply about things we care about and that it is impossible for students to think deeply about a topic unless they are emotionally engaged. Immordino-Yang relates the link between emotion, memory and learning to the fact that the brain mechanisms that regulate emotion evolved to aid survival. “Emotions such as anger, fear, happiness, and sadness are cognitive and physiological processes that involve both the body and the mind.”

She tells the story of a college-aged participant in a study who watches a video about a mother in China who finds a coin on the ground and uses it to buy warm cakes for her son who had been all day at school with nothing to eat. Although the son was very hungry, he offers his mother the last cake, which she in turn declines by lying that she had eaten already. The student is clearly moved by the story and describes the visceral reaction that he had as “a balloon or something just under my sternum”. As he reflects on it, he relates it to his own parents and the sacrifices that they made for him and how he does not thank them enough. (Note to self, find this video and show it to my kids.)

Immordino-Yang points out that the student only made the connection between the story and his own life because he was given adequate time to reflect. She believes that allowing time for constructive internal reflection is key to helping students make connections between material they learn in class and their own lives. This reflection time allows them to engage in cognitive perspective taking, i.e. seeing something from another’s point of view. It is also during reflective moments that students develop social awareness and the capacity for moral reasoning. One of the most common ways to build reflection into a class is through reflective writing activities such as logs and journals either in-class or out-of-class.  

Let’s Exchange EDvice!

Given that learning is an emotional and social experience, how do you help students emotionally engage with material that you teach? 

Open Educational Resources: Good for Affordability; Better for Learning

Steven J. Bell, Associate University Librarian, Temple University

Despite a growing conversation in higher education about open educational resources (OER), the fact remains that many faculty know little about OER or encounter various barriers keeping them from integrating these learning materials into their courses. We know this thanks to a recently published survey, Opening the Textbook: Educational Resources in U.S. Higher Education, 2015-2016, from the Babson Survey Research Group. According to the report’s introduction:

Survey results, using responses of over 3,000 U.S. faculty, show that OER is not a driving force in the selection of [learning] materials – with the most significant barrier being the effort required to find and evaluate such materials. Use of open resources is low overall, but somewhat higher for large enrollment introductory-level courses.

Higher education media reporting on this study focused on two findings:

·       faculty remain largely unaware of OER

·       cost is a primary factor for faculty in choosing learning materials.

Only 25% of faculty indicated awareness of OER, still a slight increase from 2014-2015. One way to increase faculty awareness of OER is to…well…write an EDvice Exchange post to discuss what OER are, promote the value of OER as affordable learning material and address concerns faculty share about OER.

What Makes it OER?
What exactly makes an educational resource open? It takes more than being freely available on the Internet. To qualify as OER learning material should pass the Five R’s Test. That is, can you determine if the content can be:

Retained – you have the right to retain the content by virtue of downloading, storing and managing it;
Reused – you have freedom to use the content as you wish for reuse on the web, a course site, etc.;
Revised – you can adapt, adjust or otherwise modify the content;
Remixed – you can merge the content with other material to create something new;
Redistributed – you can share copies of the original or revised/remixed content with others.

“Openness” happens when faculty create and share learning content they develop for their students, be it a quiz, a video tutorial, course notes, slides or even entire monographs. How can educators be intentional in giving their materials OER status? One way is to contribute the resource to a repository of open and sharable learning resources, such as MERLOT. Alternately, assign a Creative Commons License to the content. This signals the material is available for any of the Five R’s without needing the author’s explicit permission. It looks like this:

The symbols indicate this content requires anyone using it to provide attribution (BY), refrain from using it for any commercial application (NC) and must share it freely with others (SA). The Creative Commons website has a license generator that simplifies the process of assigning a license to content.
  
Why Do So Few Faculty Use OER?
The Babson Survey asked faculty to indicate important factors in choosing learning materials. 87% of faculty ranked “cost to the student” number one. If cost is a prominent decision factor why aren’t more faculty choosing OER to eliminate the cost to students? Another survey question offers some insight. When asked about the barriers to adopting OER faculty cited numerous concerns. The top five were:

·       insufficient resources in my subject

·       too difficult to find resources

·       no comprehensive catalog of resources

·       not used by other faculty I know

·       not high quality

These are certainly valid concerns, but far from insurmountable obstacles to introducing OER into many courses across the disciplines. The successful integration of OER into nearly 50 courses participating in Temple Libraries Alternate-Textbook Project demonstrates this. In exchange for receiving an award of $1,000, faculty agree to eliminate their traditional commercial textbook. Courses from the humanities, social sciences and physical sciences have all managed to identify and adopt OER as learning material.

While there is no single finding tool for all OER, subject specialist research librarians are well versed in locating OER and can assist faculty across the disciplines to identify OER. While only faculty can determine the quality of learning material, librarians can point to peer-reviewed open content.
  

Are You Getting the Results?
When it comes to learning materials, what matters most is whether students are achieving course learning goals. Even the highest quality learning materials are of limited benefit to students if they are unable to afford it. Seven out of ten students reported that they have not purchased a textbook at least once because of the expense. Faculty participants in our Alternate-Textbook Project, in their final project evaluations, typically report high satisfaction with student learning with OER and supplementary licensed-library content. When all students have equal access to learning materials they are better prepared for class. When faculty have greater control over learning content they find students are more engaged with the learning materials.
 

While there will always be courses for which a commercial textbook is the best choice of learning material, the increase in and improved discoverability of OER make it a more realistic option for faculty who wish to provide their students with affordable learning content. Your colleagues at the Center for the Advancement of Teaching  and Temple Libraries are available to assist you in exploring OER for your course. You may also learn more and explore OER resources with Temple Libraries’ Guide to OER.

Let’s Exchange EDvice!
Are you using OER resources in your course? Tell us more about how OER are working for you and your students! If you aren’t using OER, what do you see as the most convincing argument for implementing them? 

Creating a Positive Climate for Learning

Stephanie Fiore, Senior Director, TLC

On the first day of Italian I class, I tell a story about my own experiences learning the language while studying abroad. During a conversation with my host family about the movie “Gone With The Wind”, I meant to say that whenever I saw that film, I cried and I cried (“piangevo e piangevo”); instead, I said that I rained and I rained (“piovevo e piovevo”). My hosts laughed wholeheartedly and responded “Do you snow in the winter too?” This little story never fails to get a laugh from students, but more importantly, it communicates what I want them to know – nobody has ever died of embarrassment because they made an error when trying to speak a foreign language. Errors are part of learning, so everybody just relax!

The willingness to take risks is an essential component of learning. And yet, students are often worried about making mistakes or believe they are just not good at learning languages, math, science (really anything). They may also lack confidence and are therefore anxious about the participation that may be necessary in a learning environment. I know that if I create an atmosphere that encourages risk-taking behavior in my class, these students will more likely thrive.  This fits with the literature on creating a positive climate for learning:

“Learning is not merely a cognitive process; it is substantially affected by emotional factors. Teaching can thrive only in an environment of trust that encourages students to attend, think and learn. Students need a supportive climate that provides generous room for trial and error, enables them to learn from mistakes, encourages them to take risks in overcoming difficulties in learning, and promotes their confidence in their ability to learn.” (Hativa, 255)

So how can we reduce student anxiety and increase their willingness to take risks?  

1.  Be intentional about your messages

  • Express confidence to students that they can do well in your course.
  • Encourage students to ask questions by explicitly telling them that questions are welcome and expected.
  • Take the time to compliment a student on something specific that he or she has done well. The key here is specificity. Praise, reinforcement, encouragement and acknowledgment have all been shown to increase motivation (Gage & Berliner, 1998).
  • When delivering criticism, be specific and state the critique in changeable terms – that is, make clear that improvement is possible.

2.  Clarify that learning is a process

  • Admit when something is difficult to master and then work with the student to develop specific strategies to improve performance and reach mastery.
  • Self-disclosure, that is, speaking from personal experience about your own learning trajectory, can remind students that expertise is developed over time.
  • Help students evaluate their progress by encouraging them to critique their own work, analyze their strengths, and work on their weaknesses. For example, consider asking students to submit self-evaluation forms with one or two assignments. (Cashin, 1979; Forsyth and McMillan, 1991).

3.  Provide opportunities for trial and error

  • Give students opportunities to talk about their thinking in low-stakes situations, such as asking students to brainstorm ideas in teams or making informal ungraded presentations in class.
  • Provide early opportunities for success (Forsyth and McMillan, 1991).
  • Allow students to write drafts of major assignments and provide targeted, clear feedback that will help them make substantive changes where necessary.

Faculty often feel the pressure to move forward quickly, as a semester is short and there is so much material to cover. But by spending a little time to create a positive climate of support, the truth is that we may find that students learn more efficiently and more effectively.

___________

Cashin, W.E., “Motivating Students”, IDEA Paper no.1, Manhattan: Center for Faculty Evaluation and Development in HIgher Education, Kansas State University, 1976.

Forsyth, D.R., and McMillan J.H. “Practical Proposals for Motivating Students.” In R.J. Menges and M.D. Svinicki (eds.), College Teaching from Theory to Practice. New Directions in Teaching and Learning, no. 45. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991.

Gage, N. L. & Berliner, D. C. (1988). Educational psychology (4th Ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Hativa, Nira. Teaching for effective learning in higher education. Springer Science & Business Media, 2001.

Let’s Exchange Edvice

What strategies have you used successfully to reduce student anxiety and encourage them to take risks in your classes?

Inclusive Teaching = Effective Teaching

Carl Moore

Increased student effort does not always guarantee academic success. In my ten-plus years as an academic support administrator in higher education, I found this to be true. My attempts to support students — providing them with guidance and proven study strategies — were sometimes undermined by instructors and learning spaces that did not meet the students’ learning needs. This phenomenon motivated me to investigate how the academy could hold educators more accountable for student success.

Through my research, I discovered canons of literature that alluded to the subversive ways in which learning structures can marginalize learners. On any given college campus, there are myriad potential learning spaces; the classroom is the only one that every student will encounter. But often the classroom contains unintentional barriers, because the instructor has not considered the diversity of learners and their needs.

How might educators proactively alleviate these barriers? My dissertation, Inclusive College Teaching: A Study of How Four Award-Winning Faculty Employ Universal Design Instruction, aimed to answer this question. It shed light on a multitude of inclusive teaching approaches that can be informed by the Universal Design for Learning framework. However, in my time working in faculty development, I have come to realize that the effectiveness of even these strategies heavily hinges on the mindset of the instructor.

Capacities-Based Mindset

Carol Dweck breaks down the concept of mindset into two categories: growth and fixed. A fixed mindset is a belief that people are inherently smart or dumb, good or bad, and that these characteristics will not change. People with this perspective commonly see challenges as a roadblock instead of an opportunity.

On the other hand, a growth mindset acknowledges that one can always gain knowledge and skills. This perspective enables teachers 1) to encourage students who are not succeeding to work harder to achieve, and 2) to challenge those who are succeeding to develop their learning muscles.

Dweck’s research yields evidence that instructors who communicate a growth mindset can cultivate like-minded students, which will nurture students’ academic resilience and increase the opportunity for student success.

A limited view of learners, however, has a deeper socio-psychological impact. Studies have shown that stereotype threat — which labels students in ways that impart low expectations — can undermine students’ academic performance.

To foster an inclusive classroom and an effective practice, educators must be willing to reflect on tacit personal biases and exclusionary teaching methods which limit students’ potential. Students’ chances of scholastic achievement are exponentially improved when their professors view them, separately and collectively, as capable learners.

Universal Design for Learning

Inclusive teaching frameworks like Universal Design for Learning (UDL) also call for educators to maintain a growth mindset. UDL invites educators to consider how a student’s range of strengths can be leveraged for learning.

Scholars posit that providing multiple modes of representation, engagement, and action and expression (assessment) best removes learning barriers from the classroom. This means presenting content in diverse ways, such as through speakers, demonstrations, and videos; interacting with students both in and out of class as well as addressing each one by name; and evaluating their progress toward achieving learning outcomes through means other than tests or essays. Instructors can seamlessly incorporate these strategies into their pedagogy in order to meet a wide range of learning needs.

Key Takeaways

With a growth mindset and UDL as a guide, professors can better educate a broad spectrum of learners and more effectively address the needs of traditionally marginalized groups. Inclusive teaching does not mean lowering the standards or goals for a course. It does, however, allow educators to create multiple, dynamic pathways for students to reach those goals.

Let’s Exchange EDvice…

What do you do to encourage success for all of your diverse students? How do you leverage a variety of teaching approaches to give students mutliple pathways to learning?- – –

Carl Moore joined the TLC as an Assistant Director in January 2013 and has infused UDL in many of the workshops, encouraging educators to see inclusive and effective teaching as one and the same. Next academic year (2014-2015) Carl will conduct an Inclusive Teaching with Technology Teaching Circle. This teaching circle will provide Temple faculty with an opportunity to reflect deeply on their teaching practices and create course materials that are accessible to a range of abilities.