A diverse classroom in which instructors and students come from different backgrounds is a wonderful opportunity for building interpersonal relationships with different people, and for developing cross-cultural understanding.
However, it also places responsibility on instructors to make extra effort to ensure that the classroom is a welcoming place for everyone.
Getting this right at the beginning of the semester sets up the course not only for academic success (happy students learn better) but also to be a social and cultural development opportunity.
Here are my top five simple tips for creating a welcoming, inclusive classroom this new semester:
1. Use a pre-course survey or online forum to get to know your students
One of the reasons I love teaching at the university level in China is that students really want to connect with their instructors. Personally, I am also really keen to get to know my students because it helps me understand where they are coming from and why they might approach questions or challenges in a particular way.
However, like all instructors, I face the problem of having too many students to reasonably remember every conversation or classroom self-introduction! The solution: a pre-course survery or introduction forum.
Ask students to provide a written or video self-introduction before the course begins, with key information such as their major, academic interests, and some personal details (for example, their hometown) that you can use to connect.
Having this information recorded in survey/forum format means you can review it repeatedly later instead of trying (and likely failing) to remember every name and in-class self-introduction.
2. Learn students’ names by making name cards
If you’re anything like me, remembering names is challenging, especially in the first weeks of a course. But, it’s a crucial part of making your students feel welcome and connected.
Namecards are an extremely simple way to learn students names fast. Just ask them to fold over a piece of paper and write their name in marker pen, and put it on the desk in front of them each class.
(And don’t forget to make a namecard for yourself so that students can remember your name and know whether you prefer to be called “Professor X, Teacher, or less-formally by your given name).
After a few classes, hopefully you’ll all know each other and won’t need the name cards any more.
3. “Humanize yourself” by sharing your own challenges and struggles
When I was a student, I thought (1) I had to get straight As and have my whole life figured out or I would be a failure; (2) my professors were superhumans who had become leaders in their frields by never getting anything wrong or suffering setbacks.
Beliefs like these put unnecessary pressure on students, discourage intellectual and personal exploration due to fear of failure, and impede genuine connections betwene students and their instructor.
Sharing some of your own struggles and challenges takes the pressure to be perfect away from students. (You don’t need to give your entire life story – personally I like to share (1) in my first ever university assignment I got a C; (2) the process of getting my papers rejected from prestigious academic journals; and (3) that I entered graduate school and academia late, after quitting a different career path that wasn’t right for me). These details help students to see me as a person and understand that it’s okay if their own pathway is similarly imperfect).
4. Provide social opportunities by mixing up students in group activities
University is a social experience as well as an academic one. However, without help to mix things up from the instructor, students tend to naturally gravitate towards their existing friends and/or students from a similar background for group activities, and so miss out on opportunities to interact with different people.
(In fact, my students tell me they really want to meet new classmates, but feel awkward doing so, and so really value instructors faciliating this).
For longer-term group projects, use the information you gain from the pre-class introduction survey to put students in diverse groups (for example, put students from different hometowns or countries together, and mix genders and ages).
Likewise, in short in-class activities, mix up tables by giving students 30 seconds to get up and find a new seat for each activity (they may grumble at first, but movement is really helpful not only for interacting with different people, but also in bringing energy to the classroom).
5. Allow multiple participation channels for different strengths and abilities
Participation is a important part of formative assessment. However, unless implemented thoughtfully and inclusively, it may be biased towards more confident students and/or students from backgrounds in which speaking up in class is encouraged.
Some students thrive in in-class discussions, while others are much more confident in writing. Likewise, while some love large groups, others are more comfortable one-to-one.
It’s impossible for an instructor to optimize every activity and assignment for every student in the class, but by providing multiple channels for participation you can provide every student with an opportunity to engage in a way that’s comfortable for them sometimes, while pushing them out of their comfort zone and building new skills at other times.
I suggest including a balance of the following channels for participation and formative assessment throughout the course:
1. Whole class discussions / debates;
2. Pair / small group discussions;
3. Written online forums, blog posts, or diaries;
4. Office hours for one-to-one contact.
Conclusion
Students are more likely to thrive intellectually when they feel welcome and included in the classroom. By following the tips above, instructors can create a supportive course community in which diverse groups of students forge genuine connections, both with each other and with the instructor.
Would this article be helpful for someone you know? Click the links below to share ⬇
Check out more tips for academic success by following Discovery Hub on social media ⬇
Add Discovery Hub’s Official Account and Pippa on WeChat ⬇
Copyright @ 2024 Discovery Hub Educational Consulting (Suzhou) Ltd 探索枢纽教育咨询(苏州)有限公司