Efforts are made to create an atmosphere that is respectful of the need for safety, respect, and acceptance for all class members in both individual and group interactions, including opportunities to make and learn from mistakes (Carello, n.d.) 

Classroom Examples:  

Content Warnings 

Content warnings are meant to let students know when they may encounter sensitive, disturbing, or triggering content in some aspect of the course material. Themes that may be sensitive or triggering to students include animal abuse, child abuse, domestic violence, emotional abuse, physical violence, racism, sexism, sexual violence, self-harm, etc. This is certainly not an exhaustive list, as individual backgrounds, experiences and values will impact what is considered sensitive or triggering. 

Content warnings can be delivered via assignment instructions, in the course outline, during lecture, required reading materials, or in an email or announcement. 

If a student wishes to opt out of engaging with triggering content, it can be helpful to start by asking the student to suggest alternatives in recognition that they have the most knowledge about how to best support themselves and their learning. Options might include reading or working around the triggering content, allowing additional time to process the material, or providing an alternative assignment or reading material. 

Using “low-stakes” or dropped assignments 

It can be tempting to take for granted that students will understand assignment guidelines and will have the tools and knowledge required to complete a task on first attempt. While this may be true for some, it can be helpful to provide opportunities for students to practice the required skills and receive feedback on their work prior to formal or higher-stakes evaluation. 

Providing space for mistakes can also be implemented by ‘dropping’ the lowest grades of an assignment category. For instance, if you have 9 in-class assignments during the semester, dropping the lowest 2 and therefore only having 7 in-class assignments count towards the final grade. 

Community Agreements 

A community agreement is a set of guidelines and expectations collaboratively established by students and instructors at the onset of the course. It is meant to function as a shared understanding about the expectations, behaviours, and principles that will shape the learning environment and foster an inclusive classroom atmosphere. 

At the beginning of the semester, it can be useful to explain what a community agreement is, highlight the purpose it will serve in the class, and then ask students to brainstorm items that they would like to add to the community agreement. By participating in the creation of the community agreement, students are more likely to feel a sense of ownership for maintaining a positive learning environment and building trust in the learning space.  

Trust and transparency are enhanced by making course expectations clear and explicit, ensuring consistency in practice, minimizing misunderstandings  and maintaining appropriate boundaries (Carello, n.d.). 

Classroom Examples:  

Create a Course Calendar  

A course calendar includes basic information such as when the lectures are held and assignments are due, but it also includes details about when students can expect their grades back for each assignment and when they can expect to hear from the Instructor with announcements, for example. This is done in an effort to be predictable and consistent with students, allowing them to know what to expect and when to expect it throughout the course. This can also be done using the calendar tool in Brightspace. 

Posting Weekly Announcements 

A weekly announcement may include information about the assigned readings, date and time of lecture, relevant assignment deadlines, and where the course materials can be found for the week. The announcement also always includes an invitation to reach out with further questions or concerns. This is done to be predictable, to recognize that students have competing and multiple demands, and to thus refresh their memory of what to expect for the coming week. This can be done using the announcement tool in Brightspace. 

Providing detailed assignment instructions, rubrics, and exemplars (where possible) well in advance of submission deadline 

Evaluation of learning can be quite stressful for many students. Mystery around what exactly is expected from students and how to be successful on assignments only serves to add another layer of stress and should thus be eliminated where possible by providing timely and detailed instructions, rubrics, and exemplars (where possible). 

All class members are connected with appropriate peer and professional resources to help them succeed academically, personally, and professionally (Carello, n.d.). 

Classroom Examples: 

Sharing Available Campus Resources 

Provide a list of on and off campus resources related to academic and personal well-being. Including both on and off campus resources can be helpful in terms of both increasing access and comprehensiveness. 

At various points throughout the semester, encourage students to take advantage of the many academic supports that are available to them on campus, such as the workshops, drop-in support hours, and peer tutoring offered by Brock’s Learning Services. It is also helpful to emphasize that these resources are not just useful if a student is struggling, but can be valuable to all students. Make announcements throughout the term about events, workshops, or other timely support services that might be particularly relevant. 

Check-ins at the beginning of class. 

Check-ins first allows students to anonymously identify their mood on the particular day by relating to a popular television character, actor, or whatever person or object is meaningful to your class context. The second portion of the check-in allows students to anonymously ask questions related to assignments or other course-related concerns. This information can be used to highlight resources that may be useful to students, to review confusing instructions or material, for example. This can also be extended to check-ins during class time (not just at the beginning of the class) as a break between different activities to allow students to reflect and introspect on concepts and ideas. 

Office hours 

Conversations about office hours can start with an overview of what office hours can be used for as some first-generation students or newer students may not know the purpose of office hours. Office hours can support students not only with assessments, but also to allow for a way to check in on engagement and awareness of course concepts. Offering increased drop-in support hours leading up to assignments can also more demonstrate more support and can be offered by the Course Instructor or Teaching Assistant. 

Office hours can also be valuable for students if there are multiple formats of office hours available – including in-person, video conferencing via MS Teams, or live chat via MS Teams or Brightspace. This is done in an effort to both increase access and accommodate varying comfort levels when it comes to educator-student contact. 

Foster Support and Connection Opportunities 

Create a frequently asked questions (FAQ) document for the course. 

As you will see in the above examples, these are ‘living’ document that is intended to be added to throughout the semester by the Course Instructor or Teaching Assistant. The idea is that each time a student asks a question via email or during lecture, both the question and answer are added to this FAQ document. This is done in anticipation that others may have the same question and to allow students to keep track of responses given to their questions. 

All class members strive to act as allies as part of a collaborative approach to learning rather than adversaries (which is a more competitive approach to learning) to help ensure one another’s success. Opportunities exist for all class members to provide input, share power, and make decisions (Carello, n.d.). 

Classroom Examples: 

Community agreements 

A community agreement is a set of guidelines and expectations collaboratively established by students and instructors. It is meant to function as a shared understanding about the expectations, behaviours, and principles that wills shape the learning environment and foster a positive and inclusive classroom atmosphere. 

At the beginning of the semester, it can be useful to explain what a community agreement is, highlight the purpose it will serve in the class, and then ask students to brainstorm items that they would like to add to the community agreement. By participating in the creation of the community agreement, students are more likely to feel a sense of ownership for maintaining a positive learning environment. 

In the event of discourse around sensitive course content, conflict or issues within the classroom, the community agreement can provide a framework for addressing and resolving problems. It may include acceptable language use, procedures for conflict resolution, communication expectations, and ways to seek support. 

Collaborative Activities or Assessments 

Having opportunities for learners to either give feedback to their peers in different ways or even grade each other’s work in a formative manner can support the collective learning experience. Providing a framework for how that feedback can be shared can also echo the kinds of ideas outlines in the community agreement as well as goals and values that the course or discipline supports.  

Student feedback around due dates or assessments.  

Collaborative opportunities to create goals, objectives, assessments or review due dates together can help support learners in feeling that they are part of the learning experience of the course. This will allow them to bring in concepts that are meaningful and applicable but also allow for more conversations around pressure points for learners over the semester which may be discipline or area specific.  

All class members emphasize strengths and resilience over deficiencies and pathology, they empower one another to make choices and to develop confidence and competence (Carello, n.d.). 

Classroom Examples: 

Pre-course survey 

An example of a pre-course survey using MS Forms (shared by Dr. Ellyse Winter).

Prior to the semester beginning it can be helpful to administer an anonymous survey allowing you to get to know your students and the expectations or concerns they have related to the course. The survey helps to set the tone and demonstrate to students that you care about their voice and experiences and want to know more about them. The example we have provided is a good place to start and you can feel free to add or edit the questions depending on your course context.  

Midterm course survey 

An example of a midterm course survey in MS Forms (shared by Dr. Ellyse Winter).

This form is mostly modelled on a stop, start, continue framework where learners can give feedback on what they would like stopped in the course that is happening, what they would like to start happening in the course to support their learning, and what has been helpful in the course so far and would like to continue. Giving this survey partway through the semester where the feedback is anonymous can support the teaching team pedagogy and content of the course. This mid-semester/term check-in also provides time to revise/restructure course delivery as follow up and recognition to the students’ comments. 

Although end of term feedback is useful, it does little to address in-the-moment challenges or concerns. As such, collecting feedback and making adjustments (where possible) throughout the course is a great way to empower student voice. 

Offering multiple forms of in-class participation 

Research demonstrates that student-centred learning that involves students engaging with course material and participating in a variety of ways improves in-class focus and information retention, increases motivation, and leads to deeper and more meaningful learning. That being said, students have varying comfort levels with and preferences related to class participation and it is therefore beneficial to provide multiple means of engagement.  Having asynchronous or synchronous ways to participate through forms, a document, or even post-it notes in class can expand engagement to ways that are meaningful to them.  

Offering multiple forms of assessment opportunities 

Students can be given different opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge from a Universal Design for Learning perspective. This can mean multimodal assessments that align to learning outcomes (reports, presentations, infographics, audio or video for example). It can also mean having choice between different topics for assessments so that they can bring in resources or experiences that are meaningful to them and the course content. 

‘Life happens’ extension days 

‘Life happens’ extension days are allotted late days that students can use to submit work past the assignment deadline without question and without penalty. These extension days are intended to accommodate conflicting deadlines or other extenuating circumstances that would generally fall outside a documentable extension request (Crocker, 2021). 

‘Life happens’ extension days are also intended to be used with ‘no questions asked’ which alleviates the pressure that some students may feel to share intimate details about their life circumstances in order to gain access to an extension. 

At the beginning of the semester, the Course Instructor decides on a certain number of ‘life happens’ extension days available to each student (e.g., 5 days for the semester, which can be used separately or in blocks of 2-5), which assignments they are applicable to, and the logistics of using the extension days (e.g., whether the student need to let the Instructor or TA know in advance or do they simply indicate how    many they are using in their assignment submission). 

Individuals and groups strive to be aware of and responsive to forms of privilege and oppression in order to respect one another’s diverse experiences and identities (Carello, n.d.). Having an awareness of their own positionality as part of course discussions, resources, or content can help support an intersectional and trauma-aware framework for social justice in the course 

Classroom Examples: 

Self-reflection on unconscious bias 

Unconscious bias refers to the unintentional attitudes or stereotypes that influence our judgments and decisions about people based on their perceived social groups, such as race, gender, sexuality, class, etc. In the context of education, unconscious bias can lead to differential treatment of students, by influencing how students are evaluated or the level of support they receive. 

It is important for educators and the teaching team to reflect on their beliefs, attitudes, and preconceptions and consider how these may influence interactions with students. As such it can also be valuable to engage in professional development opportunities that focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion or to seek feedback from students or colleagues on teaching practice. 

Addressing microaggressions 

Microaggressions are messages and actions directed towards marginalized groups, that may be based on race, ability, gender, sexuality, or religion for example. 

The term ‘micro’ is meant to reflect that these are brief and pervasive occurrences but does not necessarily reflect their impact. These commonplace and everyday interactions have a cumulative impact and can be hurtful, regardless of their intent. 

Microaggressions can be addressed proactively through the creation of inclusive classrooms and can be addressed in the moment using the R.A.V.E.N. approach.  

• Redirect the conversation with the goal of preventing further harm from continuing.  

• Ask questions for clarity to the aggressor to help them understand how their comments or actions can be viewed as disrespectful, belittling, threatening, or harmful.  

• Values clarification refers to identifying the shared values of the institution and community and reminding the aggressor that their actions or statements are not aligned with the values.  

• Emphasize your own thoughts and feelings to push back on microaggressions.  

• Next steps involve the observer recommending actions to the aggressor for improving, changing or correcting their harmful behaviour to ensure it is not repeated in the future.