10 Class Climate
Chapter Intro
Classroom dynamics often privilege the students for whom educational experiences have typically been designed. Being attentive to class climate and inclusion/exclusion is an important part of providing a learning experience that benefits all of your learners. An inclusive class session is one in which all students feel that their contributions and participation are valued, that they have equitable opportunities to participate in and to benefit from the class session, and that the language and resources used in the class are respectful of all students.
Activity Zero
Prep Ahead
For each week or module of your course, consider what might make for a good Activity Zero. This should be a brief activity that students complete at the very start of the week or module and the results of which can shape your teaching during the module. For example, you might ask students to respond to a question like “what is a take-away from last module/last week that you’d like to continue exploring in this module?” or “when looking at the topic for this week, what are you excited about and what are you concerned about?” You can ask students to share ideas for topics to dig deeper into or to connect to the week’s explorations, such as “We’ll be talking about social media this week. What social media might you want us to explore more deeply?”
Write down what each Activity Zero will be and how you will use the results in the subsequent module or week. Write instructions for each activity.
Ingredients
- Ideas for Activity Zeros
- An online tool to collect students’ responses (e.g., Google Forms)
Step by Step Instructions
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- Identify your learning goal(s). Some examples:
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- Encourage students to reflect on their learning
- Foster connections between students’ experiences and their learning
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- Set up the Activity Zero.
- Identify your learning goal(s). Some examples:
An online form, such as a Google Form, works well for this, but you could also set up an ungraded activity in Canvas. Create the form, add the questions, add some instructions, and create a link to the form (if using Google Forms, that link is created by clicking the Send button at the top of the page and clicking the Send via Link button).
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- Share Activity Zeros with students. If you plan to post weekly/modular announcements with framing or contexts for the week, this would be a good place to include your analysis of the input students shared in Activity Zero. If the activity surfaces new issues or opportunities, you could record an video to address them.
EXAMPLE
We used an Activity Zero in a workshop about Preparing to Teach Hyflex classes. We created a Google Form with three questions and sent the form to faculty who signed up for the workshop. At the start of the workshop, we shared some findings from Activity Zero to provide some context and to help attendees connect with what they and others shared.
Additional Resources
- Slides from DLINQ’s Preparing to Teach Hyflex Classes workshop
CATs (Classroom Assessment Techniques)
Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) are a kind of formative assessment, that is, assessments that are designed to shape and improve student learning by providing them with a chance to reflect and receive feedback on their learning. CATs are typically brief activities that students complete, often at the end of a class session or module, to demonstrate their understanding of class topics and/or to reflect on their learning. CATs are not usually graded but they are submitted to the professor so that the professor can gain insights on what students are learning and where they are struggling to learn.
In online courses, we can incorporate CATs into weekly or modularly wrap-up work. Use CATs to help shape your feedback to students, as CATs might show you where students need support or redirection, what are they doing well, and what topics/conversations might need to be revisited in future modules/weeks. There are many technologies that can support CATs–such as forms, shared documents, collaborative whiteboards (such as Jamboard or Padlet), and more. Select the technology that best suits your goals for that week/module’s CAT.
Prep Ahead
Research different kinds of CATs and select a few that you would like to try in your class and think about how you will use the results of CATs to shape your course and your interactions with students. You will also want to think about what technology(ies) will best support the CATs.
Ingredients
- Ideas for CATs you want to use
- Online tools to collect students’ responses (e.g., Google Forms, Canvas assignment, Padlet)
Step by Step Instructions
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- Identify your learning goal(s). Some examples:
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- Encourage students to reflect on their learning
- Provide feedback to students on their learning and/or on topics that are still challenging
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- Identify your learning goal(s). Some examples:
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- Identify what CAT you will use. There are examples below and links in the Notes that direct you to additional examples of CATs.
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- Identify the technology you’ll need and set up your CAT. Depending on your goals and selected CAT, there are several technologies that might be helpful. Consider whether you’ll want to give feedback to students individually or as a group; this may also impact your tool selection (for example, if you want to give feedback individually, you’ll want to choose a tool that will allow you to identify students and what they submitted).
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- Assign the CAT and provide clear instructions and information about its purpose. Help students to understand that this is not busy work; it’s a formative assessment that will help them and you adjust teaching and learning strategies. Let them know what they can expect from you in terms of feedback.
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- Provide feedback on the CAT. You may provide this feedback individually or to the full class, depending on how you’ve structured the activity. Feedback is an important part of this process as students will need/want your feedback to adjust what they are doing.
EXAMPLES
Minute paper: Create an ungraded assignment in Canvas for students to share their minute papers. Instruct students to set a timer and write for one minute about what they learned that week.
Muddiest point: Create a collaborative whiteboard and add two labels “crystal clear” and “muddiest point.” Ask students to add one virtual sticky note under each label, noting what is the most clear thing they’ve taken away from the module/week and what is still “muddy” (unclear/challenging/confusing) for them.
3-2-1: Create a Google Form that invites each student to share 3 ideas they have taken away from the week/module, 2 uses/applications/examples that speak to what they’ve learned, and 1 topic that is still muddy or uncertain.
Additional Resources
