As members of the SEHD Digital Teaching and Learning (DTL) Committee, we want to use this space to share and to invite others to share promising practices for teaching and learning. In this blog post, we offer practices for welcoming students and colleagues to a new semester. These practices help us get to know our students, while fostering community and belonging in our classrooms. As you begin the semester, whether your format is remote or in-person, we invite you to give these a try. And if you do, please let us know how it went. Wishing everyone a great start to the semester!
Your Name is a Song shared by Lori Elliott
Each semester, I have the privilege of teaching students who hail from across the globe in my undergraduate Children’s Literature course. I joke with them that I speak Appalachian English since I am from the deep south, which presents linguistic challenges for me as I try to pronounce family surnames originating from the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and other regions of the world. We open our semester by discussing how important a person’s name is to their identity and why I am committed to pronouncing their names as accurately as I possibly can. As we start the semester I encourage them to add their names to the “Namecoach Roster” in our Canvas space so I can listen to and practice saying their names. I then read the children’s book Your Name Is A Song by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, and we watch the 3 minute video of the author pronouncing each name.
Next, I invite students to share the origin story of their name. I share that my mother was planning to name me April Dawn because she thought it was such a beautiful name. However, she changed her mind a few weeks before I was born when she mentioned the name to her co-worker who replied “why don’t you just name her spring morning and be done with it!” Ouch! My maternal grandmother said “I wish you would name her Lori because that is my favorite name” (plus I was born in October, not April anyway). While I was a bit nervous that my students might think this was silly, I have been moved by their heartfelt responses and their willingness to share their personal histories with me and each other. Many of them have made comments like, “I have never had a professor ask me how to pronounce my name. I usually just tell them an American name I’ve picked because it is easier.” I emphasize that our course is all about stories, beginning with their own family stories that have shaped their identities. I encourage you to try this with your students – or just share the link to the book when you invite your students to add their names to the Namecoach Roster in Canvas. Students can share the origin story of their name in class – or through a Flipgrid video if the class is online. These experiences have been helpful in breaking down barriers and establishing trust and engagement.
This is ME! Intro videos shared by Lisa Forbes
My students are training to become mental health therapists, therefore, I expect a great deal of vulnerability and risk taking through role plays and self-reflection. Thus, feeling a sense of comfort in community is vital to establishing an environment that's conducive to vulnerability and risking “failure.” Before the first class meeting, through Canvas, I invite students to explain who they are on a deeper human level – not necessarily as a learner. I’m a believer that an essential element and precursor to inviting students’ vulnerability is to model openness myself, therefore, I also share a more vulnerable video introducing who I am as a human – not necessarily as a professor.
After they watch my video, I invite them to post a video or photos and text to show their true selves. I invite them to comment on others’ posts and I make sure I also view everyone’s video/photos and provide a warm comment and welcome. Students (and faculty!) are typically anxious about starting a new course with a new instructor and peers but I have found this genuine and human introduction opportunity is a fast-track to connection and belonging in my courses as it quickly cuts through the superficial. When you learn about another’s humanity, you instantly have a greater sense of empathy, trust, and connection. Why don’t we do this more with our students?
What promising practices are you using to start the semester?
Perhaps you have other practices that you find meaningful – we would love to hear about them! Whatever you do, consider the value of affirming students’ identities, forming community, and creating a sense of belonging from the very first week of your course. While it might be tempting to devalue icebreakers and dive right into the course expectations, syllabus, or content, the moments we spend cultivating a learning community strengthens and enhances our ability to teach effectively and our students' engagement in the learning process. Then, go a step further and don’t let those connection-formers stop after the first week of your course! Their meaning and power gain momentum as they’re used frequently. Although life has been incredibly stressful lately, we can make our learning spaces warm, safe, and humanistic environments.