Difference between revisions of "Get to know students personally"

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A key aspect in creating an inclusive classroom is providing opportunities to get to know students on a personal level. By providing accessibility, students become more comfortable in interacting with their instructor, and instructors can begin to understand how they are perceived by their students, as well as how to meet students needs through differentiated instruction.
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Our students are wonderfully diverse in their personalities, perspectives, experiences, and dreams. Getting to know students as individuals enriches the classroom, creating an environment that is more enjoyable and productive for students and instructors alike.  
  
A way in which instructors can begin to get to know students personally is by correctly pronouncing students names...
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==How to create a more welcoming environment==
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*Work to use correct pronunciation and pronouns for each student. Often times instructors use wrong pronouns or repeatedly mispronounce names without realizing the impact upon the student. Names and pronouns have personal, cultural, and emotional significance and are part of individuals' identities.
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**Ask each student if they have a preferred name that you should use in class, and work outside of class to learn correct pronunciations. Mispronunciation is most often not intentional. Invite your students to train you after class. Effort, or lack thereof, signals that you care, or don't.
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**Similarly, learn which pronouns each student uses. Volunteer which pronouns you use if you feel comfortable. Offer a general invitation to students to share theirs.[https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=6126#page=1]
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**Give students the option to record their pronouns and names in a database that is accessible to instructors. This technology can aid instructors in the pronunciation of students' names while also making students feel more comfortable in the classroom. Preferred name policies accommodate the needs of transgender students and others. [http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/09/18/colleges-adopt-new-policies-accommodate-transgender-students]
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[[File:Officehours.jpg|right|300px]]
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*Instructors can encourage students to meet with them during office hours. Office hours provide instructors the opportunity to learn students needs and to make sure underrepresented students are comfortable in the classroom. There are a number of strategies that instructors can use in order to increase the number of students attending office hours.
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**Early in the semester require students to come to office hours once.
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**Have "special topics" office hours to discuss topics of particular interest to you and the students.
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**Check with students to find the most convenient times to have office hours.
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**Clearly explain to students the purpose of office hours.
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**Use office hours as a way to obtain feedback. Discover how comfortable underrepresented students feel in class.
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*[https://www.chronicle.com/article/How-to-Create-a-Welcoming/245101 How to Create a Welcoming Culture for Autistic Students]
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{{hidden|Sources|
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Center for Excellence in Teaching. (1999). Teaching Nuggets.
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Los Angeles:  University of Southern California
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Davis, Barbara Gross. (1993). Tools for Teaching. 
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San Francisco:  Jossey-Bass
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UCLA Office of Instructional Development. (1997). The TA Handbook 1997-98.
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Los Angeles:  University of California
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"Teaching In Racially Diverse College Classrooms." Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning. Harvard University, 2002. Web. 24 May 2011. <http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/html/icb.topic58474/TFTrace.html>.}}

Latest revision as of 08:45, 11 September 2019

Our students are wonderfully diverse in their personalities, perspectives, experiences, and dreams. Getting to know students as individuals enriches the classroom, creating an environment that is more enjoyable and productive for students and instructors alike.

How to create a more welcoming environment

  • Work to use correct pronunciation and pronouns for each student. Often times instructors use wrong pronouns or repeatedly mispronounce names without realizing the impact upon the student. Names and pronouns have personal, cultural, and emotional significance and are part of individuals' identities.
    • Ask each student if they have a preferred name that you should use in class, and work outside of class to learn correct pronunciations. Mispronunciation is most often not intentional. Invite your students to train you after class. Effort, or lack thereof, signals that you care, or don't.
    • Similarly, learn which pronouns each student uses. Volunteer which pronouns you use if you feel comfortable. Offer a general invitation to students to share theirs.[1]
    • Give students the option to record their pronouns and names in a database that is accessible to instructors. This technology can aid instructors in the pronunciation of students' names while also making students feel more comfortable in the classroom. Preferred name policies accommodate the needs of transgender students and others. [2]
Officehours.jpg
  • Instructors can encourage students to meet with them during office hours. Office hours provide instructors the opportunity to learn students needs and to make sure underrepresented students are comfortable in the classroom. There are a number of strategies that instructors can use in order to increase the number of students attending office hours.
    • Early in the semester require students to come to office hours once.
    • Have "special topics" office hours to discuss topics of particular interest to you and the students.
    • Check with students to find the most convenient times to have office hours.
    • Clearly explain to students the purpose of office hours.
    • Use office hours as a way to obtain feedback. Discover how comfortable underrepresented students feel in class.