Crafting Space for Student Belonging Part IV: Clear Communication

At a recent CAT event, a newly hired faculty member visiting our offices for the first time shared how hard it had been to find us. This news wasn’t entirely surprising; we are nestled so deeply in the Tech Center that a campus tornado warning would have no impact on our day-to-day operations. But it wasn’t the location of our offices that proved to be the issue; it was the building itself. Our location is listed as the “Tech Center” on all of our communications, but on Temple’s campus map, it appears as the “Welcome Center / TECH Center,” no doubt to help prospective students find their way. Check Google maps and you will see “The Welcome Center” in hyperlinked purple, large and eye-catching next to small black lettering that reads, somewhat mysteriously, “Temple University Tech Center and…”. (And what? Tornado shelter, possibly? No amount of zooming in reveals the answer.) 

What this faculty member needed was clearly communicated directions. And this is what our students need as well! Without a clear sense of where we should be going and what we should be doing, we’re left wandering, often turning to the help of strangers who may not know the answer (as happened with the new faculty member noted above) or worst case, steer us astray. When our students aren’t sure what to do first, where to go for help, how to find readings and assignments and so forth, they end up feeling as lost as a newly-hired academic trying to find a tornado shelter. Clear communication ensures our students know how to navigate our courses successfully while feeling confident, supported,  and comfortable in our learning environments. So we’re offering here some strategies to ensure  clear communication in our courses—both in conveying and receiving information.

Multiple Means of Communication

At the start of a new semester, students often feel uncertain and uneasy about what to expect from a new instructor and unknown course material. Offering multiple ways for students to contact you can help ease this uncertainty.

Your syllabus includes a wealth of information (see our previous blog post “Building a Better Syllabus” to find tips on crafting a welcoming syllabus). Consider copying the contact information and pertinent student resources listed in your syllabus and prominently displaying them on the Front Page of your Canvas course so that students have easy access to this information without paging through the entire syllabus document.

When providing your contact information—such as your email address, phone number (optional), or office hours (more on these below), be sure to set clear parameters and expectations. For example:

• “I will respond to emails within 24 hours on weekdays.”
• “I encourage you to stop by my office for a chat when you are in the vicinity. I am usually around Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and will definitely be in my office Tuesdays from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM. Email me directly if that day/time doesn’t work for you and you’d like to set up an appointment.”

This helps manage expectations, so students don’t anticipate immediate responses or feel frustrated if your office hours don’t align with their schedules. 

Another way to foster clear communication is by utilizing the LMS. Open an anonymous “Muddiest Point” Discussion Board which allows students to ask questions about things in the course they find unclear or confusing. Encourage students to post their thoughts, questions and ideas, being sure to monitor it and reply in a timely fashion. Chances are if one student has a question, other students may have the same question. External tools such as GroupMe are alternatives to create lines of communication between you and your students.

Normalize Help-Seeking 

Let your students know that it is natural for them to have questions about the course and even their overall college experience. Consider identifying “office hours” using language that signifies that the time is for students and not designated alone time for you in your office (for example, “student hours”). You may also offer a meeting menu with options such as, “Ask a question about course content; Ask a question about upcoming assignments; Ask about how to find tutoring on campus; Talk about being a professor; Talk about possible jobs in this field; etc.). If opening up the topics you receive questions about means that you may not have a definitive answer, that’s okay! You can always point students in the right direction by referring them to the correct campus resource. 

Use your syllabus to provide a list of campus resources and a brief description of their services. In addition to posting resources in the syllabus, discuss them in class periodically throughout the semester. A student’s situation may change during the course of the semester and they may not always remember that the resources are in the syllabus.

Clear Expectations

Expectations, standards and objectives need to be clearly stated. When creating assignments, discussion prompts and quiz questions make sure the directions are transparent and concise. Consider using rubrics, which provide an explicit set of criteria, help students understand the components of an assignment, and can help you grade more objectively. In this way, there are no hidden expectations that students feel they must figure out in order to succeed. 

Using pre-requisites in Modules can keep students on track and have them work through information in a sequential manner. This reduces instances of students jumping ahead and avoids confusion about upcoming content until you are ready to introduce it.

Consistency in Communication and Course Design

Clear communication is enhanced by consistent messaging and consistent course design. Set up Modules so that information and course content is delivered in the same fashion week after week. Develop a rhythm for the course by introducing modules at the same time each week and making sure they follow a similar outline or pattern so students can make an easy transition each week. Use weekly Announcements to introduce the release of new material and include an overview of the upcoming work, due dates and expectations. 

To ensure students are receiving your updates and notices, encourage them to set their system notifications so that any information you send out is received, and not lost in the shuffle.

Clear and Targeted Feedback

Feedback is one of the most important forms of communication that takes place between a faculty member and a student. Through our feedback, we communicate with students whether and how they are meeting established standards of success and, perhaps more importantly, what adjustments need to be made. 

Feedback should be shared with students as soon as possible after the work has been submitted and ideally before the next major assignment to ensure students can match feedback with performance and utilize the input in future work. Try to use language that will be maximally accessible to students. Writing an abbreviated “awk” beside an awkward sentence is vague and does not help students make needed changes going forward. Feedback should also be directly related to the goal of the assignment. If the goal of an assessment is assessing a resident’s patient communication skills but all of your feedback focuses on their diagnosis, the feedback is not helping the student improve communications. 

Show students where to see feedback in Canvas. They may not be aware that you not only added a letter grade to the gradebook but added comments or annotations in Speedgrader.

Repetition of Important Information

At the start of any given semester, students are confronted with an often bewildering array of class policies, assignments, due dates, participation expectations, and more. This barrage of information is frequently coming at the same time as they are settling into a new living environment, adapting to new friends and acquaintances, seeking needed accommodations, rushing to get to work, and so on. Our students are busy folks juggling many demands on their time and attention! 

Repeating important information more than once can help students reconnect to important information. Reference the syllabus throughout the semester. Remind students where they can find information such as how to contact you and where to get academic and other types of assistance. Check in with students more than once about major assignments or assessment expectations and guidelines. Consider scheduling announcements to remind students of important deadlines.

By providing multiple means of communication, normalizing help-seeking, establishing clear expectations, being consistent in your communications and course design, offering clear and targeted feedback and repeating important information, you will ensure students never feel lost in your course! And this, in turn, will help them feel like they’re always in the right place at the right time – that they belong where they are.