2️⃣Floor 2 - Fostering belonging to boost engagement

Student Names

Learning and including students' names can go a long way towards fostering that sense of belonging with students. Obviously some of these strategies lend themselves to the on campus teaching environment, while others can be used online. 

Strategies

On Campus

• Have students interview and introduce each other at the start of class. They can write something about themselves first with a prompt that you give them, share that with a partner, and then have the partners introduce themselves to small groups. 
• Use name tents. A name tent is a piece of paper folded in half with the student's name written clearly and displayed near the student. Creating name tents can be a first day activity. Name tents can be collected/distributed each class until names have been learned.
• Always use your student's name when giving them feedback.
• Here are additional Tips for Learning Students' Names Links to an external site. in an on campus class

Online

• Ask students to upload their photo to their Canvas profile to assist you with learning their names. 
• Have students record a video introduction. This will also allow you to hear the pronunciation of their name. 
• Include student names in Canvas course announcements to recognize their valuable contributions to this week's discussion. 
• Always write the student's name when giving them feedback in Canvas.

Community Agreements

A community agreement is a collaboratively created set of community norms or agreements that everyone in the class commits to following. 

• Use a "Creating the Culture" discussion board activity where students discuss norms to add to a proposed list that will be followed throughout the semester. Here's the "Creating the Culture" community agreement discussion activity used in our MOST cohorts
• This "Developing Community Agreements" Links to an external site. page from the National Equity Project outlines the steps in this consensus-driven process. 
• This "Using Community Agreements to Start the Year Strong" Links to an external site. article from Edutopia highlights the power of "yet" that exists in community agreements. 

Mesa's Shared Space Agreement

In various spaces around campus, you'll see our Mesa Shared Space Agreement posters on the wall. That might be used a launching point for your class discussion. You could share that with your students, and in groups they could consider the following questions:

• What will Mesa's Shared Space Agreement look like in our classroom?
• How can we demonstrate kindness, communicate openly, and celebrate diversity with each other while learning together?
• What can we add to the Shared Space Agreement so that we feel comfortable adopting it together as a class?

Shared Space Agreement: In our San Diego Mesa College community, we frequently share common physical and virtual spaces with other individuals or entities. We champion the following approaches in order to create an inclusive and respectful environment. 1. Demonstration of kindness to self and others. 2. Open communication, empathy, and accountability. 3. Celebration of diversity and inclusion. We aim to build a stronger, more connected and thriving community for all by embracing these practices and adhering to our space guidelines. Thank you for being part of the Mesa College community. 

Small Groups

Some students are less comfortable participating with the whole class discussion. Breaking up into pairs and small group activities can help. Students can share ideas, give feedback, offer solutions, and respond to your prompt with each other first. And then the discussion can go to the large group for further share out if there's time. 

• Create a class list of ground rules for groups. This can be created in groups by having members fill out two columns: "Helpful" and "Not Helpful" in order to have a list of productive and non-productive behaviors that the group can use to help them guide their work together. 
• Use Canvas Groups to create Canvas spaces available to only the group members. This can help students get to know each other in large class settings. 

Tell a Story

Stories connect us. Sharing stories from our own personal life with students will help them to see us as real people. By sharing personal stories, you can make complex concepts easier to understand and a lot more interesting. Storytelling helps build a sense of community, sparks curiosity, and gets students actively involved in their learning. When students are invited to share their stories, they feel valued and heard, knowing that their voice matters.

• Kick off your lesson/module with a personal anecdote demonstrating why what they are about to learn is important in real life. 
• Allow students to share their own stories:
  • Tell us a story about a time when you stepped out of your comfort zone. What did you do, and what was the result? 
  • Tell us about a moment when you felt proud of an accomplishment. What did you achieve, and why was it meaningful to you?
  • Tell us about an influential person in your life. How did they impact you, and what have you learned from them?
  • Tell us about the importance of your name. Who named you? Are you named after someone? Do you like your name? Do you use a nickname? 

Resources

• Amplifying Student Stories as an Equity-Minded Practice Links to an external site. (video recording of @ONE Webinar)

Conditions for Community

Community online doesn't just happen. And if you aren't intentional about fostering community online, it likely won't happen. Each of you will find your own way to cultivate community with your students. Just as there is no community switch to enable, there is no perfect formula for getting it right every time. As teachers we are unique, and we'll have unique ways to build community that will evolve over time. Where to start? Start by looking at how you can generate trust with your students. Welcoming humanized home pages that clearly gets students started, and a friendly welcome video that shows yourself as a real person to your students - these are just a couple of things to set the stage for community-building. 

Icebreakers

The goal of an icebreaker discussion is to provide a friendly entry point for getting started in the course. It also allows students the opportunity to get to know each other in a low-stakes interaction. Be sure to not scare away your learners with the icebreaker. Not everyone will feel comfortable sharing their photo or video with strangers in a new online course. That's understandable. Allow them to share about themselves in a way that is comfortable for them. Once they feel safe doing so, and if you keep giving them the support and opportunity, they'll decide when they are ready to share more about themselves personally.

From Mesa's Buddies on Interaction

• Donna D. (ENGL): Robust Discussion on Canvas Links to an external site.
• Mary Gwin (PHIL): Ways to Encourage Robust Participation in Discussions Links to an external site.
• Tasha F. (CISC): Using Perusall for Collaborative Reading Links to an external site.
• Michael H. (SPAN): Using Pronto and Video for Student Communicative Pair Activities in Canvas Links to an external site.
• See Buddies Blast-Off archives

Community-Building Activities from Equity Unbound

There are several good ideas here for allowing students to get to know each other online. Check out the Equity Unbound website.  Links to an external site.

"Meet Your Instructor"

See how Tasha uses a "Meet Your Instructor" assignment for her online classes to open up the lines of communication early with her online CISC students. 

Here are a few more resources to get you digging further into this idea of connection with our online students.

Building the Foundation for Learner Partnerships

In her book, Culturally Responsive Teaching & the Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students Links to an external site., Zaretta Hammond shares how we can use Trust Generators Links to an external site. to Build Rapport with our students. 

The Anatomy of Learning: Sending Cues of Trust and Belonging From the First Click

Building community in your online class begins early! Watch the webinar archive from @ONE (Online Network of Educators)  Links to an external site.to learn strategies for cultivating care early! 

Connectedness and Connectivity

In his blog post, "Fostering Care and Community at a Distance," Links to an external site. Sean Michael Morris shares how he connects with his online students. He introduces the difference between connectedness and connectivity and how he "relied on his own sense of connectedness rather than the administrative idea of quality" when it came to interacting with his online students.