Crafting Space for Student Belonging Part VIII: “So, make the friendship bracelets”: Fostering student belonging in large lectures

Elizabeth Cerkez, Associate Professor of Instruction, Chemistry, College of Science and Technology

Scrolling through social media, I saw a post from a colleague at the University of Delaware. He was making chemistry plus Taylor Swift lyric friendship bracelets for his students in organic chemistry.

My mind raced: I love this idea. I could do this.

I already had some beads, so I started crafting.

Using my encyclopedic knowledge of Taylor Swift lyrics and chemistry, I came up with fun crossovers:

- - “Calibration Problems” for “Champagne Problems,”

- - “Electron Touch” for “Electric Touch,”

- - “Miss Americium and the Half-Life Prince” for “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince.”

Bringing these to my next lecture, there was immediate excitement, “We can get a bracelet for answering a question?” And then the further excitement from the Swifties in the room, “That lyric! That chem concept!” When I posed the first question to the room of 200+ students, more than half of the hands went up. I could see students’ eyes widen with delight. Let’s just say that’s not a common experience as a faculty member teaching General Chemistry.

I left that lecture and immediately ordered more beads.

Creating belonging in a large classroom takes some effort. Unlike a small class, everyone cannot talk to everyone. Finding a way to help students feel belonging is as unique as each faculty member; we need to find what works for us. One of my colleagues plays music at the start of each class; another invites students to anonymously answer off-topic questions such as “Do you put Jelly or Peanut Butter on a sandwich first?”; and another has students introduce themselves by sharing the image on their phone’s lock screen.

The phrase “to each their own” is apt here, and it takes trial and error to find something that clicks. What worked in one classroom may not work in another. The main goal is to help students see that their professor is a fellow human with interests outside of the topic at hand, and so are all their classmates. The goal is to create a community grounded in everything that makes us unique.

But “belonging” in a large lecture is not just about feeling comfortable in the room with the professor and one’s classmates. It is about the feeling that, “maybe I’m not cut out for this” – the more figurative belonging. Friendship bracelets can make classrooms more jovial and more communal; they do not solve the problem of belonging-related uncertainty.

The largest lectures are content-dense courses taken early in a college career. They are abrupt transitions from the small, personal classrooms of high school. Importantly, they can make students feel isolated because they think they are the only ones struggling and that perhaps they are not cut out for this major or–in the worst-case scenario–for college. This is particularly true for those from underrepresented groups in your field. Helping students realize that everyone struggles, and that this struggle is a component of the learning process, is a key item for faculty to demonstrate in the classroom. This can be done even in the largest of lectures. One of the most effective ways to do this is by sharing our own stories.

Just like how the friendship bracelets humanize me, describing how I struggled with chemistry helps to show students an example of how a setback was overcome by an expert in the field. When to introduce this information is key – I usually do this after the first exam. This gives enough time for our large class to build community and for them to trust that I can offer them expertise as an instructor (something women and people of color are particularly cognizant of). Before releasing exam scores and feedback, I verbally acknowledge that many of them may find they did not earn the score they had aimed for but there is still time left in the semester. And then I ask them to guess what score I earned on the AP Chem exam in high school. Without a doubt, students guess 4s and 5s, a reasonable guess for someone who now holds a Ph.D. in chemistry and is their professor. However, when I reveal that I earned a 1 (the lowest possible score) students show those same faces of amazement they did when the friendship bracelets were announced.

I then invite students to answer an in-class poll question, submitting an activity outside of academics that they excel at, such as drawing, sports, music, etc. Then I ask them to describe how they were at the activity the first time they attempted it. Invariably, students respond “horrible” “disaster” “️”. Finally, they are asked to submit how they improved, and the majority of students say “practice.” This simple exercise, which takes 3-5 minutes during class, goes extremely far in helping students see that struggle is normal, even expected, and they do belong. Success with an activity or an academic subject is not defined by how well they did on the first try.

The key to fostering belonging in large classrooms is that the two pieces go hand in hand – the friendship bracelets and the story of failure. Building community among classroom participants by excitement over a bracelet helps to set the stage to share the things that make us truly human – the struggles and the challenges. Building community gives our students confidence that they can overcome challenges because they do fundamentally belong in our classroom, in the major, and in college. Like Taylor says, “I’m making a comeback to where I belong.”

For an introduction to research-based evaluations of belonging uncertainty, I recommend the following book chapter:

Murdock-Perriera, L. A., Boucher, K. L., Carter, E. R., & Murphy, M. C. (2019). Places of Belonging: Person- and Place-Focused Interventions to Support Belonging in College. Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research.

Crafting Space for Student Belonging Part VII: Alone Together: Making Group Work Work in the Asynchronous Online Classroom

by Elizabeth White Vidarte

Collaborative group work offers rich opportunities for learning — but it can be challenging in asynchronous online settings. Unlike in-person courses, online groups must navigate different time zones, communication styles, and technological barriers. You might hesitate to assign group projects in these settings, concerned that students will struggle with coordination or that uneven participation will lead to frustration. However, with thoughtful planning and intentional structuring, asynchronous group work can be highly effective, fostering deep learning, engagement, and the development of essential collaboration skills.

This post lays out strategies for designing and facilitating successful asynchronous group projects. From setting clear expectations and communication norms to structuring collaboration and handling conflict, these approaches will help you create a supportive environment where students can thrive — together, even while apart.

Start by Planning

Before assigning a group project, consider a few key questions. If the first two questions give you pause, consider whether the project truly needs to be a group assignment. But if question #3 stumps you—good news! That’s exactly what we’re covering in this section.

- - What learning goal is the collaborative work addressing? Ensure this goal is reflected in your assessment criteria.
  - How will you assess the group’s work? Will you evaluate the final product, the process, or both?
  - How will you guide and support students through group work? Do you have strategies for setting expectations, facilitating communication, and managing conflict?

Lay the Groundwork: Self-Assessments & Group Agreements

Before students can collaborate effectively, they need to reflect on their own work styles and how those might impact a group dynamic.

- - Ask students to self-assess – Have students evaluate their strengths, communication preferences, and potential challenges when working with others. Students can share reflections in a document, discussion board, or via short video/audio messages.
  - Create group agreements – Once students understand their own working styles, they should develop a group agreement outlining:
    - Preferred communication methods (e.g., email, discussion boards, messaging apps)
    - Expected response times for messages
    - Decision-making processes
    - Conflict resolution strategies
    - How to support each other when life gets in the way

Establish Communication Norms

One of the biggest challenges of asynchronous group work is staying connected without real-time interactions. To prevent miscommunication and disengagement, students need clear communication channels and regular check-ins.

- - Help students choose the right tools – Some may prefer Canvas discussion boards, while others might use Slack, Microsoft Teams, or shared Google Docs. Ensure accessibility across different locations.
  - Encourage proactive communication – Students should check in regularly, not just when problems arise. A simple message like “Hey team, I’ve drafted my section—let me know if you have any feedback!” keeps things moving.
  - Require a team check-in – Assign a brief weekly discussion post where students update each other on progress. Alternatively, encourage brief Zoom meetings or an asynchronous video/audio update.
  - Set norms for tone and format – Written messages can be misinterpreted. Encourage clear, respectful communication and suggest using video or voice messages when needed.

Use Structured Collaboration & Documentation

Without a clear structure, asynchronous group work can quickly become chaotic. Encourage students to document their work to ensure accountability and streamline collaboration.

- - Use shared documents (Google Docs, Canvas Pages, or a wiki) to:
    - Keep meeting notes
    - Track deadlines
    - Assign tasks
  - Use margin comments – These allow students to ask questions or clarify ideas, mimicking organic discussion in in-person meetings.
  - Designate an “Action Items” section – At the end of each document, ask students to include a section that summarizes next steps and responsibilities. By documenting key decisions, groups minimize confusion and create a transparent workflow that all members can follow.

Have a Plan for Conflict Resolution

Even in well-structured groups, conflicts and challenges will arise. Help students assume positive intent and work through difficulties productively.

- - Remind students to assume best intentions – Emphasize that tone can be easily misread online and encourage clarifying questions before assuming bad intent.
  - Encourage compassion and flexibility – At any given time, students may be dealing with personal challenges that impact their ability to contribute.
  - Establish a “cooling-off period” for disagreements – Encourage students to step back and revisit issues with a fresh perspective.
  - If a team member is struggling – Coach students to reach out privately with a problem before escalating the issue within the group. Remind students that faculty support is available if they need help navigating group dynamics.

Final Thoughts

Effective group work in asynchronous courses doesn’t happen by chance — it requires intentional design, clear expectations, and structured support. By helping students reflect on their collaboration styles, establish strong communication norms, and document their work, you can create an environment where group projects lead to meaningful learning experiences rather than frustration. When done well, asynchronous group work not only strengthens students’ content mastery but also equips them with valuable teamwork and communication skills that they will carry into their professional lives.

By implementing these strategies, faculty can turn the challenges of asynchronous collaboration into opportunities for connection, growth, and deeper engagement. After all, learning is at its best when done together — even from a distance.

Elizabeth White Vidarte, Ph.D., works at Temple’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching as the Online Learning Specialist.

Crafting Space for Student Belonging Part VI: Alone Together: Creating Connection in the Asynchronous Online Classroom

by Elizabeth White Vidarte, Ph.D.

If you’ve ever taught an asynchronous online course, you know that creating a sense of connection and community can be one of the biggest challenges. Unlike a face-to-face class where students can bond over side conversations before lecture or group activities during class, online students may never even see one another’s faces. But here’s the thing—belonging matters. And not just in a touchy-feely, wouldn’t-it-be-nice kind of way. Research consistently shows that students who feel like they belong engage more, persist through challenges, and ultimately succeed at higher rates (Wilson et al., 2015; Kuh et al., 2007).

How can we foster belonging in a space where students are logging in from different locations, at different times, with different life commitments? The good news is that small, intentional choices in course design and facilitation can make a big impact. In this post, I’ll outline why your efforts to create a positive learning environment make a difference and how to leverage Canvas to increase students’ sense of belonging. Next week, we’ll tackle asynchronous group work to take online student interaction to the next level.

Why Belonging Matters (Even More Online)

Feeling a sense of belonging isn’t just about warm and fuzzy feelings—it directly impacts learning outcomes. Students who feel connected to their course, peers, and instructor are more likely to:

- - Engage in course activities
  - Adjust to academic challenges
  - Achieve higher grades
  - Believe in their own ability to succeed (self-efficacy)
  - See the relevance and value of their coursework (Hurtado et al., 2007; Freeman, Anderman, & Jensen, 2007).

And here’s something really important: belonging doesn’t just benefit students who might traditionally struggle. Collaborative learning experiences, when done right, help all students thrive—whether they’re learning from peers with different perspectives or strengthening their own knowledge by helping others.

So how do we build this sense of connection in an asynchronous online environment?

Leverage Canvas to Make Students Feel at Home

The way we structure our online courses can either support or undermine students’ sense of belonging. Here are some ways to use Canvas intentionally:

1. Design for Clarity and Accessibility

Use Modules for structure – A well-organized course helps students feel confident and reduces anxiety. Chronological or thematic modules provide a clear path forward.

Create a course tour video – A short walkthrough can help students understand where to find key information, reducing stress in the first weeks. You can do the same for the syllabus, too. Self-enroll in our Ready, Set, Panopto! Canvas course to learn how to use Panopto to record course videos, or use an app you’re already familiar with like Zoom or your phone.

Ensure accessibility – Use Canvas’s accessibility checker to confirm that all students can engage with your materials (e.g., captions on videos, alt text for images, readable fonts). Invite students with and without accommodations to share any helpful information about what they need to make the course more accessible to them.

2. Make Yourself Present

Students are more likely to stay engaged when they feel their instructor is a real, approachable human. You can:

Post frequent announcements – Beyond logistics, use these to celebrate student successes, connect course material to current events, and encourage engagement.

Record a welcome video – Introduce yourself and your passion for the course. (Bonus: Use Panopto for auto-captions!)

Engage in the discussions you assign– If you can’t reply to every student, consider sending personalized messages to different students each week or giving a shoutout to a few students’ contributions in a brief weekly video.

Use multimedia feedback – A short video or audio comment in SpeedGrader can make feedback feel more personal.

Ask for feedback on the course– A mid-course (or earlier!) survey can help you gauge how students are feeling and make adjustments as needed. You can follow up with a response to the class as a whole in which you detail trends you notice and highlight ways you plan to adjust (or why you can’t make adjustments).

3. Foster Peer-to-Peer Connections

Kick off with an icebreaker – A simple introduction discussion (e.g., “Share something you’re passionate about”) helps students see one another as real people.

Encourage group collaboration – Canvas Groups can facilitate teamwork on projects, study groups, or peer review (more on groups in asynchronous courses below!).

Set up an ongoing Q&A board – Giving students a space to ask and answer questions builds community and shared responsibility. You can use a tool like Poll Everywhere or Padlet or even a simple Canvas Discussion Board. But consider contributing yourself, adding deadlines and/or assigning bonus points for participating so that students don’t see these as extra busy work.

Ask students to pay it forward — Consider asking students to reflect at the end of the course on what advice they wish they had taken to heart at the beginning of the course — and share it with the next semester’s incoming students!

4. Connect Course Content to Student Goals

Students need to see the why behind what they’re learning.

Preview learning outcomes – At the start of each module, explain what students will gain and how it connects to their academic or professional goals.

Incorporate reflection – A short journal prompt or discussion post that asks students to relate the material to their experiences fosters deeper engagement.

Layer content with application – Instead of long stretches of passive content, break things up with opportunities for students to do something with what they’re learning.

5. Keep Students on Track

Set students up for success — Clear and explicit expectations for how to participate and succeed in an asynchronous course can make all the difference, especially if you repeat those expectations over and over again. Don’t just include them in the syllabus; pepper your first few modules with short videos and/or announcements detailing the “behind-the-scenes” work students will need to do to successfully complete assignments.

Explicitly discuss time management — However you choose to do it (eg via video mini-lecture, Canvas quiz, or Kahoot! game), offer students advice on how to manage their time using the tools they already have access to, like Outlook or Google Tasks. You can also recommend the Student Success Center’s academic coaching service.

Use consistent deadlines – Predictable schedules (e.g., weekly discussions always due on Tuesdays) help students manage their workload and is essential in an asynchronous course. Canvas allows you to create a “No submission” assignment that will nonetheless add a deadline to the students’ To-Do list and Canvas Calendar.

Monitor engagement with Canvas Analytics – If a student hasn’t logged in or submitted work, a quick check-in email can make a huge difference. Using SpeedGrader’s “Message students who…” feature allows you to quickly message students with missing or low-scoring assignments. Starting a message to students with a friendly tone and asking how they are (or expressing concern) can help students feel that it is possible to make a comeback. And if that doesn’t produce results, the shock of a zero may prompt students to address the situation.

Final Thoughts

Creating belonging in an asynchronous online class doesn’t require a major course redesign or flashy tech tools. It’s about thoughtful decisions that help students feel seen, supported, and connected. When students feel like they belong, they engage more, learn more, and are more likely to persist. And ultimately, that’s what we all want—for our students to succeed not just in our courses, but in their broader academic journeys.

What’s worked for you in fostering belonging in your online classes? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Elizabeth White Vidarte, Ph.D., works at Temple’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching as the Online Learning Specialist.

Crafting Space for Student Belonging Part V: Teaching Beyond the Syllabus: How to Foster Community in the Classroom

By Dana Dawson

This series of blog posts has so far considered how we can apply Universal Design for Learning principles to course design, create inviting Canvas courses and syllabi and communicate with clarity and warmth in order to create a sense of belonging in our classes. This post will center on those occasions when we are actually in a room (whether brick-and-mortar or virtual) with our students. Just being in the same space with others doesn’t always mean we feel a connection (think of the last time you went to a gathering where it seemed like everyone knew someone except for you). Here are some strategies that will help students feel confident, competent, and connected in your classroom.

Getting to Know You

While there are times when it’s kind of nice to fade into the background and be anonymous (stocking up at the pharmacy, maybe?), the classroom is not one of those spaces. It’s true that we have students who are shy and introverted, but even students who may not jump at every opportunity to ask a question or share a thought need to feel that it matters whether they’re sitting in your classroom.

Use icebreakers to learn a bit about your students and to help them get to know one another – and not just at the start of the semester.
At the start of group activities, have students introduce or reintroduce themselves and share something quick (“What’s something you’re excited about this week?” for instance).
Sandy Kyrish, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Advertising and Public Relations in the Lew Klein College of Media and Communication, has students do 30-40 second “elevator pitch” talks each class on topics such as “What is your biggest pet peeve?”, “What would be your dream concert to attend?” or “What is an assumption people make about you and what is an assumption you make about other people?” These both acclimate students to sharing their ideas (she teaches Communications, after all) and help students learn more about one another. Students even report they have made friends in her classes as a result of this activity!

Encourage Student Questions and Comments

Show students you value their presence and ideas by actively seeking out their thoughts and questions.

Avoid disparaging questions and comments (for example, responding to a question with a comment such as, “If you’re in this class, you should already know that”). Asking a question in class takes courage and it’s better for us to be aware of where there are points of confusion or disagreement so we can address them during or after class. Some questions cannot be answered in class because they require a student to address missing prerequisite knowledge or will take you too far off the main topic. In these cases, let the student know you will address the question separately after class and be sure to share the response and any follow-up resources to the entire class.
Use digital tools that make student thinking visible (but can also be set to keep student contributions anonymous) such as Padlet, GroupMe, a Canvas discussion board, Zoom chat, or a Google or Microsoft Word doc to collect students’ thoughts and questions during lectures. Later, make space to review their contributions and respond to questions and comments.
Reference contributions to out-of-class activities such as discussion board posts that solicit student’s ideas during class time. This can also be a way of recognizing and encouraging participation by students less inclined to speak up in class.
Wait 10 seconds after asking for questions or ideas. It takes time to collect one’s thoughts and formulate a question or comment and too often, we move on before providing that time to our students.

Encourage Student Interaction

You may be familiar with this meme:

Our students often struggle with group projects, whether brief single-class activities or longer team-based learning projects. But the struggle is worth it! There is a lot of research to show that peer learning benefits knowledge acquisition, increases application and retention, and promotes student persistence in our classes and degree programs.

Use peer and collaborative learning in your classroom. Check out our blog post “Another Look at Active Learning, Part 3: Peer & Collaborative Learning In The Classroom” for strategies and tips.
Teach group work as a skill. The LinkedIn Learning library, available via the Applications menu in TUPortal, features many videos on skills necessary for effective group and team work (for example, I’ve used parts of courses on active listening in my classes to help students focus on listening as an essential skill for working well with others).
Peer review is a great way to get students connecting and supporting one anothers’ learning and can break down misconceptions students have about other students’ knowledge and skills.
Use structured discussion techniques to add variety to in-class discussions and to ensure broad participation. Chapter 7 of Stephen Brookfield’s The Skillful Teacher: On Technique, Trust, and Responsiveness in the Classroom (available as an e-book through Temple Libraries) outlines a number of options.
Ensure that in-class pair or group work has a clear deliverable. If you’re teaching an online synchronous class, it’s especially beneficial to use a collaborative tool such as Padlet or a Word or Google doc to allow you to follow along with students’ progress as they complete a task.

Order, please! Order!

Predictability plays an important role in ensuring our students don’t feel alienated in the space of our classrooms.

Ask students to collaboratively create guidelines for in-class participation. The Hopes, Fears, Agreements protocol works well for this and can also help students see that concerns they have about participating in-class are shared by others. Post agreements to a shared space and refer to them throughout the semester as the foundation of interactions in the classroom.
Clarify how you prefer for students to address you. Be aware that some students may be acclimated to addressing educators in a particular way based on their past experiences. For example, in my undergraduate studies, it was most common to address instructors by their first name but when I started teaching at Temple, I quickly learned that it felt disrespectful for many of my students.
Provide clear instructions for in-class activities by posting steps on a slide or hand-out, describing the activity before students begin moving into groups and clearly explaining the goal and expected output.
Organize class sessions around a predictable structure. This is an example of how you might structure a 50 minute class:

While you may change what happens during most of the class session from class to class, students will welcome the predictability of a consistent opening welcome and overview of the class session and a debrief at the end where they will be able to ask questions about the day’s content.

Closing Thoughts

By encouraging familiarity and connection, offering opportunities for participation and interaction and ensuring a predictable learning environment, we can build a space of trust and community where our students can focus on learning and not be distracted by feelings of isolation and anxiety.

Remember that we at the CAT are here for you if you need assistance in how to implement practices that improve belonging.

Dana Dawson, Ph.D., serves as Associate Director of Teaching and Learning at Temple’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching.

Crafting Space for Student Belonging Part IV: Clear Communication

By Dana Dawson and Denise Hardiman

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.

Dana Dawson is Associate Director of Teaching & Learning at Temple University’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching.

Denise Hardiman is Manager of Educational Technology Lab Services at Temple University’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching.

Crafting Space for Student Belonging Part III: Building a Better Syllabus

by Jeff Rients

One of the most important tools available to instructors, especially at the start of the semester, is the syllabus. A typical syllabus is jam-packed with useful information about the course, such as the meeting time and location, instructor contact information, required materials, assignment descriptions, grading breakdowns, and various policies. All of this information is extremely useful for succeeding in the course, which is why we tend to become grumpy when students don’t read the syllabus as thoroughly or refer to it as often as we would like.

However, the syllabus isn’t purely informational in nature; it is are also rhetorical. That is to say, your syllabus sets the tone for the course. Students’ emotional relationship with the course and the instructor impacts their learning. And with just a little revising, we can make our syllabi an instrument for establishing a positive bond between students and our courses/ourselves. The five key moves we can make are cultivating a growth mindset, instilling a sense of belonging, demonstrating care, valuing diversity, and normalizing challenges.

Growth Mindset

It is important that students understand that your course is not designed to winnow the natural talents from the undeserving. Rather you want to communicate that your course is a journey that can be completed by any student who is willing both to put in the work and take instructor feedback seriously. Places in your syllabus where you can emphasize this growth mindset in your syllabus include:

If the course lists any prerequisite courses, add some information on where students can go to refresh themselves on key concepts from the previous course.
Where you list office hours and/or other academic support (such as the Student Success Center), explain that taking advantage of these opportunities is a normal and expected part of the learning process.
In your grading or assessment section, describe how the feedback you provide is designed to help students succeed at the course. Encourage them to read all feedback carefully and contact you if they do not understand any of it.

For more on incorporating a growth mindset in your classroom practice, see this prior EDvice Exchange post.

Sense of Belonging

Although all the actions described in this blog post will contribute to students’ sense of belonging and consequently improve their chances of success in your course, you can start to build a sense of belonging directly in your syllabus with just a few simple moves. Consider the following:

Explicitly welcome the students to the course. Imagine the first page of the syllabus as an invitation to the learning party you are throwing for them.
Include an instructor bio where you share your own trepidations or struggles with the course subject as well as your love for the material.
Include a section such as Tip for Success in which you tell students directly that feeling like they don’t belong in the class is a common reaction to encountering difficulty in the course. Assure them that although these feelings are normal, that putting in the work needed and seeking out help can help overcome both the difficulties and the alienating emotions.

Care

Students are more likely to persevere through difficulties if they know that their instructor is their ally, not their antagonist. We can demonstrate an attitude of care towards our students with the following moves:

Where you list your contact information, add a note explicitly inviting students to reach out to you whenever they have a question about the course.
Create a general purpose discussion board on Canvas for students, inviting them to crowdsource answers to any queries posted there.
If you have a TA, make sure to include their name, contact information, and a note explaining their role in helping the students succeed in the course.

Include links to resources such as the Student Success Center, Cherry Pantry, Wellne,ss Resource Center, and Tuttleman Counseling Services.

Valuing Diversity

Students from minoritized groups are often at highest risk of feeling like they don’t belong in our classrooms. We need all our students to feel welcome in our courses, not just those who are most like us in terms of demographics and life experiences. To signal that you value diversity in your classroom, try these moves:

Include your pronouns, and those of your TAs, if any.
Invite students who have names or pronouns that have not been updated in the record to share them with you. (For more on pronouns, see this EDvice Exchange post.)
If you include a section on classroom discourse rule and course climate, specifically note that you value differing opinions and the input of people with different backgrounds and experiences. Or better yet, spend some class time working with the students on the rules for productive exchanges of ideas and opinions.
Acknowledge that more and more students have caregiving responsibilities in your attendance policy.

Normalizing Challenges

Students’ sense of belonging can be threatened when they encounter difficulties in your course. What should be considered an opportunity for learning and growth at best and a temporary setback at worst can be over-interpreted as a sign that they have signed up for the wrong class, that they are in the wrong major, or even that they are not cut out for college at all. These students don’t yet understand that struggle is a part of the learning process. You can normalize the challenges of your course in your syllabus in the following ways:

Rebrand office hours as Student Drop-In Hours and explain that coming to the instructor for support is a normal activity for successful students.
Emphasize in the section on assignments and/or grading that feedback is meant to inform students how to improve their learning and invite them to come discuss any feedback they do not understand.
In the section listing the textbook and/or course readings, add a note explaining that struggling with the course readings is a common student experience and invite students to reach out to you or the TAs for help.

At the CAT we recommend reviewing your current syllabi with these five concepts in mind. Are you already doing some of this work? Great! But consider how you might incorporate the others. We need our students to read the syllabus and understand that they are embarking on a great learning journey, but also that they have friends and allies who will be with them along the way.

Jeff Rients, Ph.D., is Associate Director of Teaching and Learning Innovation at Temple University’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching.

Crafting Space for Student Belonging Part II: Using Canvas to Promote Belonging in Undergraduate Courses

By Jonah Chambers and Elizabeth White Vidarte

Imagine it’s your first visit to Philadelphia where you are meeting an important client for a new job. The only address you’ve been given is “The Rocky statue on the Parkway,” so after pulling off I-676, you struggle to figure out where to go once you’ve exited onto The Ben Franklin Parkway. Eventually, you ask a kind stranger who suggests you try navigating to the Philadelphia Art Museum, but following “Art Museum Drive” takes you to a tiny parking lot overlooking the Schuylkill river (a river, you’ve since discovered with some light embarrassment, that is not pronounced the “Shoo-lee-kill”). You’re clearly at the Art Museum — a large banner proclaims, “Art Splash,” and the pillars and entryway seem familiar from Google Images — but you’re no closer to finding the boxer of 80s legend or your new client. You start to worry, with a vague sense of gloom, that this new job may not be in the cards for you.

As silly as this scenario may be, it’s not entirely unlike what a brand new college student may feel, to greater or lesser extremes. Walking into a classroom, most students know from twelve-plus years of experience where to sit, who to talk to, and where the professor will likely be standing. But everything else about college may be utterly bewildering (not to mention an online course!). So how do we get our students to feel capable, excited, and welcomed in our learning spaces — instead of lost, confused, and checked-out?

We know from the research (Strayhorn 2018) that belonging matters a great deal when it comes to student engagement and success. By intentionally structuring your Canvas course, you can promote clarity, inclusivity, and motivation—all of which contribute to students feeling they belong. Here are some practical strategies to help you use Canvas effectively to support belonging in your courses.

1. Design for Clarity and Accessibility

A well-organized course structure makes it easier for students to navigate your content and understand expectations. This reduces anxiety and sets the stage for deeper engagement.

Organize content and activities into Modules: In Canvas, Modules are more than just the primary way to organize course content into structured units: they contribute to a sense of belonging for students by providing a clear path through the material, promoting consistency, and creating a feeling of being part of a cohesive learning journey.
Organize your modules in a linear progression: As Michelle Miller emphasizes in Minds Online, “Structure is the enemy of procrastination” (2014, p. 214). Arrange your modules chronologically, such as by week or topic, and ensure each includes all required content, activities, and assignments with clear due dates.
Provide a Tour of Your Course: A short video tour of your Canvas course can familiarize students with the layout, assignments, deadlines, and resources. This simple step reduces confusion and helps students navigate your course effectively.
Provide clear instructions: Break down tasks into manageable steps and use descriptive headings so students can easily find what they need.
Ensure accessibility: Use Canvas’s accessibility checker to ensure your course materials are usable by all students, including those with disabilities. Consider font size, color contrast, and the use of alt text for images.

2. Personalize Your Presence

Students feel more connected when they see their instructor as an approachable, real person. Canvas offers several tools to help you build rapport:

Welcome video: Kick off the course with a short video introducing yourself, your teaching philosophy, and what excites you about the course. Videos you record in Panopto will automatically generate captions and can be easily embedded in Canvas. The CAT’s Ready, Set, Panopto! self-enroll course lets you learn about Panopto at your own pace.
Announcements: Use announcements not only for logistics but to celebrate student achievements, offer encouragement, or share relevant opportunities and current events. You can even use the availability dates to pre-populate your course with timely announcements, such as a weekly announcement that students can expect to appear every Monday at 9am outlining how the content for this week builds upon that of last week’s.
Discussion board participation: Engage with students in Canvas Discussions by responding to their posts, posing follow-up questions, and connecting their ideas to course concepts or other students’ ideas. If the number of students in your sections makes this impossible, message a smaller number of students directly each week, offering thoughts and feedback on their contributions, ensuring every student receives at least one such message each semester. Consider writing a final post to the discussion bringing together common threads, highlighting points of divergence, and posing further questions that can be taken up in class.
Multimedia comments: Use Canvas’s built-in media recorders in SpeedGrader to provide feedback in audio or video form to add a personal touch. Captions are also now auto-generated for video comments in SpeedGrader.

3. Foster Peer-to-Peer Connections

Belonging doesn’t come just from student-instructor relationships; peer interactions matter too. Use Canvas to facilitate collaboration and community building.

Introduce icebreaker activities: In the first week, create a discussion prompt that allows students to share something about themselves—their academic interests, hobbies, or goals.
Leverage group work: Use Canvas Groups to facilitate collaborative projects or study groups. Assign roles to ensure everyone contributes and feels valued.
Create a Q&A board: Set up a forum where students can ask and answer questions, fostering a sense of shared responsibility and support.

4. Connect Course Content to Student Goals

Students are more likely to engage when they see how the material connects to their personal and professional aspirations. Canvas can help you make these connections explicit.

Preview learning outcomes: At the start of each module, include a brief overview of what students will learn and why it matters.
Reflect on relevance: Encourage students to reflect on how course topics relate to their experiences, interests, or career goals. Use discussion boards or short journal assignments for this purpose. Consider embedding a question that prompts reflection on relevance into quizzes and exams.
Alternate Content with Assessments & Activities: Layer content delivery with activities. After each new segment of content, provide opportunities for students to apply their knowledge through discussions, quizzes, or collaborative projects. This multimodal approach will deepen learning.

5. Support Student Progress

A supportive course structure keeps students on track and engaged.

Schedule a Clear, Reasonable, and Consistent Workload with Due Dates: Plan assignments and activities that align with the course’s credit hours, and provide sufficient time for students to complete their work. Set consistent deadlines—e.g., initial discussion posts due Tuesdays at 9 PM and replies due Fridays at 9 PM—to help students develop routines.
Guide Students Sequentially through Modules: When you want students to progress sequentially through Modules, consider using Requirements within the module to require students to complete one activity or task before moving on to the next. This will help keep students on track and scaffold their learning.
Check in with Your Students: Offer mid-course surveys to gather feedback and monitor student progress using Canvas Analytics. These tools allow you to track login frequency, page views, and assignment submissions. Early interventions, such as personalized emails, can help struggling students re-engage.
Offer multiple ways to engage: Provide content in various formats—videos, readings, and interactive elements—to appeal to different learning preferences.

By thoughtfully using Canvas to structure your course, personalize your presence, and build connections, you can create a learning environment where students feel they belong. Supporting students with clear structures, regular check-ins, and inclusive practices fosters motivation and success. Start with small changes, and watch how your students’ engagement grows!

References

Strayhorn, T.L. (2018). College Students’ Sense of Belonging: A Key to Educational Success for All Students (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315297293

Elizabeth White Vidarte, Ph.D., is Online Learning Specialist at Temple University’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching.

Jonah Chambers, M.A., is Senior Educational Technology Specialist at Temple University’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching.

Annual Conference recap

by Jeff Rients and Emily Barber

On January 8th and 9th over 250 faculty members from Temple and surrounding schools gathered at the Howard Gittis Student Center for the 23rd Annual Faculty Conference on Teaching Excellence, hosted by the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and co-sponsored by Temple Libraries, Information Technology Services, the General Education Program and the Office of Digital Education.

Our keynote address was provided by Dr. Thomas J. Tobin, one of the founders of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Teaching, Learning, and Mentoring, and an internationally recognized scholar, author, and speaker on technology-mediated education. Dr. Tobin’s presentation was “Three Fabulous Design and Teaching Ideas that Take Work off Your Plate” and focused on issues of access to materials, assessment plans, and engagement strategies.

One of the Wednesday workshop sessions was “From Engagement to Empowerment: Designing Courses That Inspire Lifelong Learning”, facilitated by Rebecca Petre Sullivan and Victor Rizzo from the Lewis Katz School of Medicine.

Here Kristina DeVoe from University Libraries and Laura Zaylea from Media Studies and Production discuss their poster, Faculty-Librarian Collaboration in Designing Student-Centric Assignments. Kristina and Laura went on to receive the second place award in the poster competition, as voted by the conference attendees. Jessica Babcock in Math took third place with her poster, Did the Pandemic Change the Way We Teach? Yes- but not for the reasons you might think! and the overall winner was Rebecca Rivard from Villanova University with Creating of Digital Escape Games in Powerpoint.

Jingwei Wu from the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics led a hands-on workshop titled “Beyond the Lecture: Techniques for Energizing Student Engagement through Thoughtful Interactions in the Classroom”.

Day two of the conference began with John Fry, Temple’s new President, offering some kind and encouraging remarks for faculty. Thank you, President Fry!

The plenary session was led by Dr. José Antonio Bowen, one of the real superstars of teaching and learning in higher education. Dr. Bowen’s presentation was called “Teaching Change with a New 3Rs” and focused on the role of relationships, resilience, and reflection in the classroom.

The final event of the conference was the Lightning Talks session. Here Sezgin Ciftci from the College of Public Health quickly explains his intriguing concept “Playful Mistakes: Teaching Through Failure and Stupidity to Increase Engagement.”

We want to thank the many, many people who contributed to the success of the conference: the keynote and plenary speakers, the co-sponsors, the workshop and breakout session facilitators, the poster exhibitors, the lightning round presenters, the Student Center event staff, the caterers, and the CAT staff. And a special thank you to all the faculty who took 2 days out of their busy schedules to sharpen their pedagogical skills and thinking before the start of the semester. We hope to see you again next year!

And if you’ve never been to our Annual Faculty Conference on Teaching Excellence, please consider joining us in 2026. Temple faculty can register for free!

Jeff Rients is Associate Director of Teaching and Learning at Temple University’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching.

Emily Barber is Graphic and Digital Design Coordinator at Temple’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching.

Crafting Space for Student Belonging, a CAT Series, Part I: Designing Courses to Promote Belonging

by Stephanie Laggini Fiore, Ph.D

Anyone who has spent time with me has heard me say that I’m bionic. I had my knees replaced in 2018 and now have titanium in my body that sets off alarms at the airport. I’ll take it! The TSA can pat me down anytime they want if it means I can live without the chronic pain I experienced for decades. During that painful time, especially in the latter stages of my condition when climbing stairs was particularly difficult, curb cuts in sidewalks were a lifesaver. As was intended when they were created post-WWII to provide a more accessible environment for people with disabilities, curb cuts allowed me to maintain mobility, making it easier to cross streets while walking around town. But here’s the thing: I still use curb cuts and I’ll bet you do too. As Angela Glover Blackwell explains: “Then a magnificent and unexpected thing happened. When the wall of exclusion came down, everybody benefited—not only people in wheelchairs. Parents pushing strollers headed straight for curb cuts. So did workers pushing heavy carts, business travelers wheeling luggage, even runners and skateboarders.” Blackwell is describing universal design, which allows better access to people with a range of abilities and needs. Similarly, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an educational framework that provides better access to learning for people with a wide variety of abilities and needs. For 40 years, CAST has been working to educate faculty on the power of UDL to create more inclusive learning environments, ones where courses are designed to value every learner, thereby catalyzing student belonging.

Why is belonging important? Studies report a variety of benefits that a sense of belonging provides for students, including academic engagement and motivation, academic achievement, retention, and positive effects on well-being, among others. Our pedagogical practices play a very real role in improving student belonging, which is why we have created Crafting Space for Student Belonging: A CAT Series. We have chosen UDL to begin this series because belonging starts with course design. By eschewing a one-size-fits-all approach and instead following UDL principles in designing your course, you will lower barriers to learning, allow students to have greater agency in their learning, and increase students’ sense of belonging.

The UDL 3.0 guidelines encourage us to design our courses by considering how we can provide multiple means of engagement, representation and action & expression. Much as with UDL in the built environment, a UDL-designed course will provide support to students with a range of abilities and needs. For instance, many consider captions of video content to be a necessity for students with hearing impairments. But other students may use captions to move through a video more quickly or slow down, repeat, and listen again. And some may use captions because they are watching the video in a space that is not private, where they cannot turn on the sound. I’m guessing you’ve used captions when you watch TV for greater clarity of dialogue. (For me, the Scottish English in Shetland is hard to decipher, but I love that show – so captions it is!) Here are a few ideas for beginning to design a course according to UDL principles:

Multiple Means of Engagement— the “why” of learning

Welcoming Interests & Identities:

Allow choice and autonomy wherever possible. Let students choose a research topic that connects with their interests or permit them to choose the mode of delivery that is most motivating for them.
Incorporate storytelling that allows students’ creativity and lived experiences to connect to content in the class.

Sustaining Effort & Persistence

Intentionally embed activities in your class that help students to connect with each other and form mutually-supportive networks.
Provide specific feedback that both recognizes the positive aspects of a student’s work and areas that need improvement.
Message your belief that they can reach standards set for the course.

Emotional Capacity

Allow space for individual and group activities that encourage reflection.
Elevate the assets students bring to the class.
Develop classroom agreements on appropriate interactions in the classroom.

Multiple Means of Representation—the “what” of learning

Perception

Ensure that the materials for your course follow accessibility standards.
Review the materials and examples you use in your course to provide a more diverse representation of identities in them.

Language & Symbols

Use a variety of media beyond text for student access to content.
Clarify unfamiliar terms, vocabulary or references. Don’t assume that everyone in the class has the same background.

Building Knowledge

Have students use concept mapping to visualize connections among ideas in the course.
Point out key concepts in your course, or have students reflect on the key concepts they believe they have learned and provide feedback.

Multiple Means of Action and Expression—the “how” of learning

Interaction

Use the accessibility checker in Canvas to ensure that your course materials are accessible.
Design course requirements to allow for flexibility, wherever possible.

Expression & Communication

Scaffold major assignments, gradually releasing scaffolds as skill develops.
Allow students to use a variety of media in order to demonstrate what they have learned.

Strategy Development

Clarify course and assignment goals.
Provide opportunities for students to reflect on their progress and learning.

If you click through the UDL 3.0 Guidelines, you will find so many more ideas. It can feel a bit overwhelming! So here’s an approach I recommend. Review the guidelines and conduct a self-assessment of your teaching practices. Where are you already enacting some of these principles? Where might you want to improve your practices? Then commit to one way in which you will improve your course design using UDL principles. Once you have successfully implemented that change, choose another, and so on. Incremental change is fine – the important thing is to get started!

Remember that we at the CAT are here for you if you need assistance in how to implement practices that improve belonging.

Coming up next in the Crafting Space for Student Belonging series:

This spring series on belonging will provide blogs and videos that describe practical ways for you to enact practices that lead to student belonging. Here’s what coming up this month:

January 21, 2025: CAT Tip video: Introducing the new UDL Guidelines
January 27, 2025: EdVice Exchange: Canvas design that encourages belonging
February 4, 2025: CAT Tip video: Using modules to organize your content in Canvas

Stephanie Laggini Fiore, Ph.D., is Associate Vice Provost and Senior Direct of Temple University’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching.

Post-Election Resources for Faculty

As human beings, ongoing global and national events—such as elections, wars, and political conflict—can significantly impact our emotions. Even if you do not teach a course directly related to current events, you may find that your students are discussing these issues with each other and want you to acknowledge what is happening and its impact on them and their communities. Whatever the outcome of this election, it will be on everyone’s minds, so preparing ourselves and our students for any moments of conflict and emotional intensity that may arise is helpful.

The CAT has created a collection of election resources to assist you in planning for election day and the days following. Also available to you is the CAT Tip Video Series, Teaching in Tumultuous Times, which was created to provide concrete steps and strategies for preparing ourselves and our students for challenging conversations and hot moments. These include:

Begin the semester by setting the tone for your classroom. Dana walks you through some suggestions for doing just this.

Linda offers suggestions to help us think about how we might prepare ourselves for challenging conversations in the classroom by using the Hopes, Fears and Agreements activity to build community and set guidelines for interactions within our courses.

Knowing your triggers and what to do about them is important and so is building a community of support for yourself. Jeff outlines shat happens when we feel triggered and some things you might consider doing to work learn to recognize and handle those triggers.

Elizabeth summarizes and represents three ways one might slow things down when a conversation begins to get heated.

We all know that hot moments can happen in the classroom. In this video, Stephanie offers some tips for how to manage them and how to get your class back on track.

While we recommend taking a little time to review the resources above, we’ve also created a quick-start guide to managing hot moments: The Five Rs: Remind, Reflect, Regroup, Recess, Refer. Please take a moment to review these ideas. A few moments of preparation can make a difference in your class. As part of that preparation, make sure to have the Dean of Students Post-Election Resources webpage handy to provide resources to students who may need them.

Remember too that self-care is important at this time. We encourage you to find a community of people you can go to for support and perspective, as these events can impact your own well-being. The CAT will be hosting Drop-In Water Cooler sessions to provide space for open discussion and community with CAT consultants and your colleagues on the following dates (no registration required):

Thursday, November 7: 11:00-12:30 (Zoom)
Friday, November 8 12:30-1:30 (TECH 107)
Monday, November 11: 11:00am-1:00pm (TECH 107)

As always, we invite you to connect with us at the CAT, where we are here to support you in person and online through 1-1 consults, open lab hours, and workshops.

As always, we invite you to connect with us at the the CAT, where we are here to support you in person and online through 1-1 consults, open lab hours, and workshops.