Our Shared Humanity
Why Is Our Humanity Important?
Yes, "Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster." And yes, remembering our shared humanity seems hokey. However, it is always important to acknowledge our shared humanity with our students, and not only acknowledge it, but demonstrate it.
Checklist
- Set up (or update) your profile in Canvas, including your photo and gender pronouns (optional but encouraged).
- Prepare and send a welcome email or video to your students.
- Create the outline for (or even write/record) a text or video introduction to the first week of the class.
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Make a plan for how you can "practice paradox" - being clear and firm, but allowing flexibility for students who need it. Look at the Four Connections web site for ideas.
What Does Being Humane Look Like?
In order to connect with our students and for our students to want to connect with us and our classes, we need to be humane.
As Flower Darby describes in Small Teaching Online, imagine a student showing up to the first day of class only to find the classroom door locked and the lights off. And then imagine the student finding a pile of paper by the classroom door, only to realize that it's the syllabus for the class. What might that student feel? What questions would that student have? Would that student even attempt to complete the class?
This is what it can feel like to students who are working in an online environment. They may know that their class is on Canvas or Zoom, but they may not be able to log in. And if they log in, they might find that there's nothing in the class except the syllabus. And that's it. We should ask the same questions. What might that student feel? What questions would that student have? Would that student even attempt to complete the class?
Being humane with our students requires us to put ourselves in their shoes. It involves being flexible, sympathetic, and culturally responsive.
Demonstrating humanity
For online and hybrid courses especially, the lack of real-time face-to-face communication means we have to be strategic about how we create a welcoming course and start building a supportive relationship with our students. Borrowing from the The 4 Connections Links to an external site., here are some simple ways that you can demonstrate humanity in your course. One thing to remember - this is quarter-long endeavor, not just something for Week 1. Pace yourself, and try out different strategies.
Introduce yourself! Your profile, with a picture, helps students get to know you. Add a two- or three- minute video introducing yourself and the class helps your students connect. Start with that, and an email to students before the quarter starts. That goes a long way to alleviating fears.
- How do I edit my profile in my user account as an instructor?
- How do I select personal pronouns in my user account as an instructor?
- Creating a Course Introduction/Course Tour
- Launch - Sending a Pre-Course Letter
Greet the class! Each day, great each student as they enter your Zoom room. If you're teaching online, greet your students by name when you email or respond to activities in the class.
Do a little research. Print out your roster. Yes, old school printout. Go through the student profiles, or their bios if you did an introductory discussion thread. Make notes, and refer back when you're sending messages to students.
Provide a weekly newsletter, email, or video introduction of the week to come. Acknowledge all the great things that students have already accomplished in your class, and encourage them to keep doing great work. The more you can include student work from the previous week, the more it will engage your students.
Check in with individual students. Canvas gradebook makes it easy to email students Links to an external site. who have not turned in an activity or who have not achieved a specific grade on an assessment. You can let those students know that you are there for them and want them to succeed. Invite them to contact you or to attend your office hours.
Judiciously share parts of your life. Let students see that you're a real person, too. If you're bummed out that you can't go to the Seafair Pirates landing because we're all stuck at home, share that. Thrilled that you've kept a plant alive for more than three weeks? Post that! Pose a question in a discussion for students to share their most frustrating thing during the quarter and the things that have brought them the most happiness during the quarter. Don't forget to participate with them!
Practice paradox. Set very clear expectations, but then be flexible with students. Instructors are stressed, too. We give ourselves a day to breathe sometimes, and maybe our students need that day, too. If someone is struggling to turn in an assessment, ask them what they need in order to complete it. Show that you can work with them and the barriers they're facing, and then follow through!