Online Learning

Build Community

Create a sense of belonging, community, and support.

Practices

A major part of our college mission is to deliver access to quality education in a collaborative culture of diversity, equity and inclusion. Instructors are advocates for a just and inclusive college climate, regardless of individual differences, beliefs, or identities. A major step toward supporting this goal is to create a sense of belonging, community, and support. Here are the essential practices for this category.

Essential Practices
  • Create a welcoming, engaging learning environment where students feel a sense of connection to the instructor, other students, and the course.
  • Implement classroom discussion guidelines for civil discourse that respects the diversity of the group.
  • Apply strategies to promote diversity, equity and inclusion as well as culturally responsive teaching.
  • Show instructor presence in discussions and other collaborative activities through participation or feedback, and monitor discussion activities in regards to tone, relevance and appropriateness.
High-Impact Practices for Continuous Improvement
  • Evaluate culturally responsive teaching strategies for effectiveness and relevance. Make changes to courses accordingly.
  • Encourage course participation through engagement in course related resources on campus or in the community.
  • Encourage student collaboration on projects and assignments where appropriate.
  • Encourage students to use images, audio, video, or other media in discussions or projects.

Examples

  • Model respect for social, cultural and linguistic differences.
  • Adapt your communication style accordingly to provide a safe and supportive learning environment.
  • Be culturally sensitive when using humor or idioms in the course.
  • Develop a community agreement on student interactions, for example having students create a set of Ground Rules together.
  • Facilitate study groups through discussions, Zoom, Google docs, Jamboards, etc.
  • Offer opportunities for students to provide additional resources to further the learning objectives.
  • Provide announcements and share resources offered to students by the college to connect students back to the larger campus community they are part of.
  • Use a video introduction to personalize your presence in the course.
  • Provide positive feedback to where students are encouraged to learn and challenge different perspectives.
  • Summarize student responses from assignments or discussions to reflect the diverse thoughts of the classroom community.
  • Consider embedding a tutor or librarian within your online class.
  • Personalize your course shell.

Resources