Dear Colleagues,
Welcome back to a new semester! I hope that you had a restful winter break, took some time away from your academic duties and now feel energized for another semester of teaching.
The early weeks of the semester are critical in shaping a positive learning culture in our classrooms. Whether we teach required courses or electives, undergraduate or graduate students, discussion-based courses or large lectures in auditoriums, a positive and warm learning environment can have a powerful effect on students’ engagement. We can spend hours preparing presentations, assignments, and assessments, but without an intentional effort to build an environment that is inviting and welcoming, students are likely to disengage when the mid-semester doldrums hit.
In his book titled What the Best College Teachers Do, Ken Bain cites several examples of very successful teachers from many different universities and backgrounds [1]. Among the various measures by which he gauges the success of these teachers are: How do the best college teachers conduct class and how do they treat their students? The following are some of the broad suggestions that emerged from this study and are particularly useful as we design our learning spaces: (i) Start with the students rather than the discipline, (ii) Get their attention and keep it, (iii) Create diverse learning experiences, (iv) Use warm language, and (v) Foster a relationship centered on trust.
Here are some teaching techniques we can implement to put these principles into practice:
- Start every lecture with an activity or ritual. This could be a 2-minute review of the previous week, or an icebreaker activity to bring the community together. Rituals provide comfort, foster a sense of safety and belonging, and the shared experience can help students to feel connected to each other and consequently more engaged and motivated.
- Learn students’ names and learn to pronounce them correctly. Request students to use NameCoach (a Canvas app) to record their names. Call students by their names whenever appropriate. Encourage students to learn each other’s names.
- Break up your lecture into smaller chunks. This serves to alter the rhythm of the lecture and piques the student’s interest.
- Begin with a warm welcome. This is one of the golden rules of hospitality and can be achieved in several ways such as greeting students as they cross the threshold into our classroom, making eye contact with students across the entire classroom before starting class, and mingling with the students in the first few minutes of class to get to know them better. This is especially true in the first few weeks of the semester.
- Extend welcoming learning spaces beyond the classroom. Office hours also serve as opportunities to build a connection based on trust. Offering students alternate ways of approaching a problem through individualized instruction demonstrates caring and willingness to invest in them. I have found that having a ready supply of snacks in my office creates a welcoming space for students to gather.
- Exchange ideas with your colleagues. Talk with other instructors and learn what techniques they’re using, or ask to observe a class from someone who has fostered belonging in their learning spaces. Events like Texas Teach-Up are a great opportunity to do this (more information below!).
As we all work together to create rewarding and exciting learning experiences for our students, it would be very helpful to crowdsource ideas we can all benefit from. If you would like to share a favorite strategy that has really worked, please share in this Google doc. Sincerely,
