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CTL – Inclusive & Equitable Teaching Video Transcript00:03Hello! I’m Kirsten Helmer and I’m the Director of Programming for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion with the Center for Teaching and Learning. Welcome to this video on Cultivating a Sense of Belonging.00:20Students learn better when they feel a sense of community and belonging in their classes. As instructors, we can create inclusive and equitable learning environments where that can happen. 00:35Do you feel puzzled about how to cultivate a blended or fully online learning environment that allows for relationship building, bonding, a sense of community and collaboration? 00:49The good news is that many of the things you’ve already been doing in your face-to-face classes can be adapted to online and blended learning environments. With a little creativity. And with the intentional use of digital technology tools. Let’s look at a few examples.01:09Students benefit from high-quality relationships with their instructors. One way is to connect with students through live class sessions and Zoom office hours. But building relationships can also happen offline.01:21What is your first point of interaction with your students? Your syllabus, right? You can begin building a relationship with your students by personalizing your syllabus. Include a photo of yourself, add a section where you introduce yourself and say a bit about your background, interests, passions, and even hobbies). Let your students know about your teaching philosophy in a ‘My Hopes and Vision for the Course’ section. 01:59Expand on this by creating a brief welcome video. Research shows that students experience an online class more positively with even just a few personal videos or audiocasts. Consider asking your students to create a brief intro video of themselves as their first assignment.02:23A brief survey at the beginning of the semester is a great way to find out what your students bring to the class. Knowing about their interests, needs, strengths, prior knowledge, relevant experiences, and skills, will help you design learning experiences that support and challenge your students. Consider including a couple of fun questions. Check out the EXPLORE section for more ideas on survey questions.02:55Welcoming and getting to know your students lays the foundation for creating a learning community in your classes. Digital technology tools can support community building in face-to-face, blended and fully online classes. Even for larger enrollment courses, you can use digital technology to make them feel smaller and more intimate.03:22Learning communities work best when members agree on how to engage with each other. The development of class participation agreements or a so-called netiquette allows students to actively choose the qualities of engagement that are important to them. The agreements can then be encouraged and “lived into” by the class. 03:44Rather than just placing the agreements in your syllabus, consider developing them collaboratively with your students. This empowers your students and encourages buy-in. The EXPLORE section offers ideas on the process and norms of engagement that others have found helpful. TIP: Use a collaborative online document to engage students with this. 04:14Online forums are a great way to promote a sense of community asynchronously. Often online discussion forums are used for students to engage with each other around course content. But how about also creating a ‘Café’ or ‘Watercooler’ forum for non-course-related informal chats? Or, a Q & A style Does Anyone Know’ forum for students to ask each other course-related questions?04:46Icebreaker activities are fun, create bonds between you and your students, capture the attention of the class, and brighten the mood. Some ideas are: Which animal represents you best? How so? What are 1(2,3) things about yourself that others can’t tell by simply looking at you?Or, if you had a time machine, to what point in time what you travel? Why?TIP: Ask students to type into the chat during live class sessions, or use a digital tool, such as VoiceThread, for asynchronous engagement.05:32Students carry many anxieties into our classes, which may inhibit their capacity to learn. Rather than jumping right into the content, begin class sessions with consistent opening and personal check-in activities and close with a brief reflection or feedback activity. 05:56Use synchronous and asynchronous course delivery flexibly by offering various modes of engagement. TIP: Online learning environments provide great opportunities for students to participate silently without having to speak up in class. Teach your students to use the chat in Zoom, use an online whiteboard to brainstorm a topic, use a collaborative online for students to work on specific tasks, or use a tool like Perusall for interactive and collaborative reading experiences.06:37Students want to feel that you care about them, their well-being and their success. 06:41It can be as simple as telling your students: “I’m here for you when you need my help. Simply ask and I’ll be there.” Or, “How can I best support you right now?”06:58Include an Inclusive Learning and Disability Accommodation Statement in your syllabus to signal to your students that you acknowledge that all students learn differently and that you are willing to provide needed supports so that they can success. 07:22For a deeper dive into syllabus design, check out our “Six Principles of an Inclusive Syllabus” webinar. You can find the link in the EXPLORE section. This recorded webinar is structured around six intersecting principles that serve as a scaffolding framework for the (re)design of course syllabi through the lens of inclusiveness with corresponding examples. 07:50Guide your students through the course by adding Orientation Sections to your Moodle/Blackboard, such as:?General Orientation to the CourseOnline Learning Tips?Available SupportsTutorials for the digital technology tools you use08:15Students are more engaged and perform better when learning is relevant for them. Offer opportunities for students to share their experiences and perspectives. Connect course topics and materials to real-world issues. 08:34Bring in guest speakers, either remotely through pre-recorded videos or podcasts in which you interview the speaker or for a live discussion. Use TED talks, YouTube or Vimeo videos, podcasts and content from educational online sites to share high-interest content and to provide multiple perspectives on a topic.?09:01Students feel included when there are different ways of engaging and participating. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) offers a research-based framework for course design. It offers a two-pronged approach by reducing barriers to learning and providing rich supports. At the heart of UDL is taking a multimodal approach to learning that offers options and choices for learners. You can use UDL principles as you plan for all areas of instruction, including content presentation, student engagement, assessment, and technology resources. 09:47We hope that you’ll implement some of the ideas offered in this video. To summarize, instructors can enhance a sense of belonging by a) fostering high-quality relationships with students, b) cultivating a learning community, c) demonstrating caring and interest in students’ success, d) making learning relevant for students, and e) designing for learner variability.10:16Flexibly designing your courses can be exciting as you can offer opportunities for engagement in many different ways.10:27Please see the EXPLORE section to find more ideas and resources and to take a deeper dive. Then complete the last section on Inclusive & Equitable Teaching in the Flexible Course Planner.10:43And be in touch if you have any questions. We’d love to talk with you about your course design. You’ll find our contact information on our CTL website. ................
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