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What is this connection?

Schedule required one-on-one meetings. During the course of the quarter, schedule required one-on-one meetings with students.

Outcomes:

After exploring resources in this module participants will be able to:

Explain how a one-on-one meeting builds connections with students
Summarize ideas for effectively scheduling meetings - when and where
Give examples of topics for one-on-one meetings

Let's read!

Why this connection works:

The purpose of requiring short meetings is to de-stigmatize meetings with faculty. Students who most need help are often those who do not seek help.

Many students will never use your office hours or the extra time you provide before and after class or online for questions. Others are intimidated or think you will judge them for struggling. While none of these concerns may be true, they are real for many students. Building in one-on-one meetings as a requirement breaks down stigma and fear.

For minoritized and students of color in general, as well as for men of color specifically, there are contributing factors leading to reticence to seek help. Stereotype threat often leads students of color to avoid seeking help, choosing instead to struggle rather than to confirm feelings that "I don't belong here". And for men of color, male gender role conformity manifests itself as "men don't ask for help". (Harris & Wood, 2020; Harris, 2018).

Harris also cites federal data revealing 20% of male students of color who do not have out-of-class contact with instructors will complete or transfer within 6 years; 64.2% of those who do so often will complete their goals in the same time frame.

Schedule Required One-on-One Meetings.

Regardless of how you schedule one-on-one meetings, here are four points to help you plan and implement them:

Each student should have a required, short meeting (does not need to be face-to-face; see below) at some point in the quarter. Every student has a meeting, so that no one falls through the cracks.
The heart of a one-on-one meeting is that the student has your undivided attention as an individual. In other words, they feel like the only person in the room/virtual space.
The meeting is in no way punitive.
The meeting need only last 10 minutes or less and has a clear focus. See examples below.

Meeting Topic Ideas

Relationship-based topics:

Breaking the ice - just getting students into the office for the first time (“What’s it going to be like?” “Oh, it’s not as scary as I thought.”)
Learn about the student's academic goals, career goals, and life aspirations
Have student share things about their personal life (to their comfort) such as where do they work and things about their family, favorite book, cultural hero, movie, music artists, hobbies, activities, special talents and so forth

Course/curriculum related topics:

Project process: Build in a meeting as part of a project. This could be a planning meeting to help students get started if they have never done a project like this before. It could be a status report midway or a final review of a draft.
A review session prior to an exam – student brings questions
Post-Exam review: You could meet with each student and review the exam questions that they answered incorrectly. Ask them to read through the prompt/question and describe how they understood it. You may discover that their answer was correct for how they understood the question. Practice Paradox (another of the 4 Connections) and add a point to their score (and revise the question to be more clear in the future). When they reveal their thinking process and it is incorrect, use the time to help them understand the topic.
Checking in on coursework - find out where the student is at, what questions they have
Lake Washington’s English faculty have their meetings right after the first paper. They mention this makes it easier to grade subsequent papers, and that students see the benefit of getting 1-on-1 feedback right off the bat.
Have meetings with a particular theme (“This week, come and talk about XYZ.")
Q&A Forum: For each meeting (e.g., beginning, mid, and/or end of quarter), provide students in advance with the short list of questions you will ask during the meeting. Provide space for them to jot down notes. Also, ask them to write down at least one question they want to ask you. Have them bring the form to their meeting and follow it as needed.

For Online Courses

For asynchronous courses, the nature of the course is that it is schedule-flexible, and location-independent. Therefore, when setting up required meetings, it's important to plan a range of times and days for these to happen that the student can choose from, and it should be by Zoom or phone. A face to face meeting is fine if it works for the student and is their preference (and again, if they get to choose the time).

Ideas for Scheduling Meetings

Faculty members use a variety of approaches for scheduling one-on-one meetings. Meetings need not be face to face. They could be by Zoom, by phone, synchronous texting, synchronous emailing (like texting - set up one hour blocks of time where you are available to respond to emails in real time) Google Hangouts, or by other means. Remember, the key is to simply find time when the student has your individual attention.

One instructor has two mandatory meetings - and mentions those who 'drag their feet' about coming to the first one or think they didn't need it, sign up in droves for the second conference.

Finally, consider re-branding your office hours as 'student hours' or another title of your choosing.

Signing up for meetings:

Canvas page (editable by teacher and students) List the time slots available and have students add their name next to the time that works best for them
Google Doc
Microsoft Bookings
Other existing tools you use for office hours signups

Ideas for When:

While other students are in breakout rooms (no signup needed)
Online after scheduled Zoom sessions
Office hours: Full-time faculty frequently use their office hours as the time designated for one-on-one meetings. Use of office hours can pose challenges for students who are only on campus during class time.
Several Highline instructors during the course of the quarter changes up modality for one week...instead of lecture, it’s “meetings week”. Students have time to work with all the areas they may not normally be able to, such as office hours, peer groups in the classroom, writing center, library reference desk, etc.
Class Conferences: One option is to use regular class time for individual meetings with students. This might look like holding class for all students for the first hour or so of a scheduled period and then following with conferences.
Lab Hours: Some faculty members have tightened up their lab documents, creating stronger guides that students can go through mostly on their own/with peers. During lab time, faculty members meet with individual students, taking breaks between meetings to check back in with the larger group.
Live chat, using a tool like Microsoft Teams (or other tool you and your students are familiar with)

Ideas for Where:

One of our Highline instructors has an assignment (worth 10 points) for students to meeting with the instructor within the first 3 weeks of the class, in person, by zoom, scheduled with “you can book me”, or by phone.

Sign-up forms for one-on-one meetings can be printed and posted in your classroom. You could also create a Canvas page that is editable by students and you. List the time slots available and have students add their name next to the time that works best for them

Use of Technology: Whether your class meets face-to-face, hybrid, or online, use online tools for your meetings.

Finding the right balance for you and your students can be challenging. Remember the oxygen mask analogy - find the method that will work best for you, as there is a time investment from you in bringing this connection alive. You might find an idea/mode that works for you from above and stick with it. Other instructors have found providing a variety of options for their students works for them.

Reference:

Harris III, F., & Wood, L. (2020, March 27). Employing equity-minded & culturally-affirming teaching practices in virtual learning communities [Webinar]. CORA Learning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMrf_MC5COk&t=19s

Harris III, F. (2018, October 4). Black minds matter: A focus on black boys and men in education [Video file]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IcOoqm7AE4&t=2563s

Introducing Faculty Office Hours: Arizona State University (ASU)

A professor at ASU created a clever video to help his students get over the 'fear of meeting one-on-one with my professor' (02:21)

Meaningful learning through one-on-one conferences

In one-on-one meetings, it’s possible to provide students with timely, actionable, and user-friendly feedback, and ultimately, to deepen and enrich the entire learning experience (Von Bergen, 2017).

Three important lessons on mindful communication

To perform at our best in crucial conversations, marrying mindful intentions with mindful actions helps to ensure that you can make good on your good intentions (Powell, 2016).