CTLT

Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology

Strategies for Equity and Inclusion in Virtual Instruction: Communicating Expectations and Limiting Detrimental Situations

Instructional Continuity

Any one of an array of events can disrupt faculty’s ability to teach courses via on-campus, in-class sessions. Cal Poly’s commitment to students includes making sure that we provide students an opportunity to complete courses despite disruptions, whenever possible. The steady advancement of communication and instructional technologies has greatly enhanced faculty’s opportunities to provide quality virtual learning experiences in these situations. With  planning, training on selected user-friendly technologies, and available mentoring on effective instruction, faculty can be better prepared to continue instruction through many forms of instructional disruptions.

Suggestions for Communicating Expectations and Limiting Detrimental Situations in the Virtual Learning Environment

Difficult situations are likely to arise in any learning environment, regardless of how well you plan ahead of time. However, there are a number of proactive steps that you can take to communicate your expectations for student behavior in the virtual environment and to limit disruptions that may be more common in a virtual learning environment. 

Provide Community Expectations 

Distribute or work with your students to co-create a set of community expectations that outline recommendations for how to enact Cal Poly’s principles of diversity, equity and inclusion, and to promote Cal Poly’s values of love, empathy, and respect in the virtual learning environment. 

  • Consider distributing Cal Poly’s Recommendations for Students in Virtual Learning Environments to all students; these recommendations are designed to help students contribute to their classroom communities, to treat their classmates and instructors with respect, and to support student success.  
  • Include a short syllabus statement outlining your expectations for how students will support the classroom community. For example, you might say: “It is my goal to make our classroom community a supportive space for all students where we strive to enact Cal Poly’s principles of diversity, equity and inclusion, and to promote Cal Poly’s values of love, empathy, and respect when interacting with each other. Please be aware that the Cal Poly Standards for Student Conduct and the Cal Poly Statement on Commitment to Community apply to virtual learning environments, just as they apply to our in-person classes. Students who do not adhere to the Cal Poly Standards for Student Conduct will be referred to the Office for Student Rights and Responsibilities. I ask that all students in this class consider Cal Poly’s Recommendations for Students in Virtual Learning Environments in their interactions in this course. Please keep in mind that we are all members of the Cal Poly community, even when we aren’t interacting face to face. When communicating in our virtual learning environment, please remember that although we may have good intentions, our words and actions may sometimes have a harmful impact. Try to adhere to the same norms you would follow in face-to-face communications. If the instructor or another student gives you feedback that you have negatively affected them, try to learn about their perspectives before responding. Finally, if you encounter a dynamic or a difficult situation with another student, please share any issues directly with me. I will do my best to support you and intervene when necessary.”
  • Let students know that they should contact you directly if a problem arises about which you may not be aware. Cal Poly’s Recommendations for Students in Virtual Learning Environments encourage students to contact their instructors if and when problematic dynamics or difficult situations arise. Let students know when and how they should contact you if a problem arises.
  • Communicate guidelines for student display names in Zoom. Student display names are important in Zoom so that instructors can confirm that the attendees are enrolled in the course. However, there are several reasons why a student may change their display name so that it reflects their preferred name. Preferred names are also known as “lived names” or names in use. Individuals may choose preferred names for many reasons, including nicknames, names that reflect cultural, religious, or familial preference/practice, names that students select for campus use because people mispronounce their given/birth names, or names that accurately reflect a person's gender identity (whether they have legally changed their name or not). Students may also choose to display their personal pronouns after their name on Zoom.  We recommend that faculty allow students to alter their display names in Zoom and to indicate their pronouns, if desired. Communicate to students that the screen name they display during a live class session should be the name they would use in an in-person class for identification purposes. If you have concerns about not recognizing students as members of your class when they use a preferred name instead of their registered name as their display name, we recommend that you ask students to contact you to let you know their preferred name they will use in Zoom—either through email or a survey. Note that Canvas users can note students’ preferred names in the Notes column of the grade book. To learn more about the importance of pronouns and preferred names visit: CTLT's Pronouns and Preferred Names Resource Page and CTLT's Pronouns and Preferred Names FAQ
  • Additional Resources. For a list of additional guidelines and considerations for writing your own guidelines in the future, see the Guidelines for Classroom Interactions from the University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Learning and Teaching. If you are designing guidelines for courses with a social justice focus, you may find Sensoy and DiAngelo’s (2014) article Respect Differences? Challenging the Common Guidelines in Social Justice Education helpful in your work. 

Monitor the Virtual Classroom Environment

In addition to letting students know that they should contact you directly if a problem arises about which you may not be aware, it is important to actively monitor the virtual classroom environment so that you can intervene quickly when difficult situations arise. Please remember that students have a First Amendment right to free speech.  While you may monitor to assess the climate and engage in discussions, do not remove or censor offensive speech.  Instead, refer the concern to the Office of Equal Opportunity.

  • Consider the areas of your course where offensive or problematic behavior may arise. For example, discussion boards, chat, Slack, etc. Make a plan for how you will monitor each of these areas of the course on a regular basis. The sooner you see an issue arise, the faster you will be able to respond appropriately. 
  • Actively engage with students in your course. Actively engaging with your students in the various virtual areas of your course not only communicates your involvement in their learning and support for their success, but also shows students that you are present and aware of their communications in the virtual environment. Engaging with students in this way does not have to be an onerous task, but can consist of simple and short responses to student comments that are parallel to those you would give in an in-person discussion. For example, you might say: “thank you for bringing that point into this discussion,” “most of your approach to this problem is on target, but you missed,” “I really appreciate that addition, Name,” “Can you tell us more about how you came to this conclusion?,” etc. 

Communicate to Students the Importance of an Inclusive Classroom Climate

Share with your students your belief in the importance of creating an inclusive classroom climate that is supportive of all students and their learning. You can do this through a syllabus statement or through an in-class conversation.  

  • Consider specifically addressing the current situation related to COVID-19 and related racist and xenophobic sentiments by saying something such as: “It is important to know that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in racist and xenophobic actions and sentiments worldwide and locally that are anti-Asian, anti-Asian American, and anti-Chinese. Racist, xenophobic, and other oppressive comments may be harmful, regardless of intent. In this course, I ask all students to be mindful of their words and to be aware that although they may not intend to hurt others, words and actions can have a harmful impact. If I or another student gives you feedback that your words are harmful, I ask that you strive to listen and understand perspectives other than your own.” You might also want to let students know how you recommend they should respond if they feel targeted or harmed by the words of another student or the instructor. For example, you might say, “If you have feedback to offer about the harmfulness of words and actions, strive to offer that feedback in a way that allows for conversation and sharing of perspectives and information.” This document contains a number of resources, such as the RAVEN framework for responding to microaggressions (Harris and Wood 2020), which may be helpful to share with students. 
  • Plan to write a full diversity, equity, and inclusion syllabus statement in the future. The CTLT’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Syllabus Statements page provides questions and links to sample statements that can help you develop a short statement. You may also want to draw from the statements that have been created in your college or department. For example, the College of Liberal Arts (CLA) provides a CLA diversity statement and sample syllabus statements for a number of topics, including one on classroom climate available at Diversity in the College of Liberal Arts. The College of Science and Mathematics Committee for Inclusion and Equity provides specific commitments to a set of values around inclusion and equity. Many other colleges and departments also have statements that can provide language for incorporating into your syllabus.

Model Inclusive Language

Students may intentionally or unintentionally use language that has a harmful impact on other students and on classroom climate. It is important to model the type of language and behaviors that you would like students to use as part of contributing to an inclusive classroom environment. 

  • Model the use of appropriate language related to COVID-19. As an instructor, consistently try to use only the terms coronavirus and COVID-19. Let students know why you choose this language—COVID-19 is the clinically correct term to describe the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Be prepared to explain why using other terminology to refer to the virus may be harmful. You can learn more about the racialization of COVID-19 and the specific historical context of anti-Asian xenophobia at Teaching Tolerance’s Speaking Up Against Racism Around the New Coronavirus.
  • In order to prepare yourself to respond to racism and xenophobia specific to the novel coronavirus pandemic, commit to learning more about “coronavirus racism”. Read the short articles at: Iowa State University Library’s Coronavirus Racism page; Speaking Up Against Racism Around the New Coronavirus from Teaching Tolerance; and How to Respond to Coronavirus Racism from Teaching Tolerance. 
  • Use Inclusive Language. Take the time to learn inclusive language, particularly in terms of understanding why individuals or identity groups refer to themselves in the way that they do. Also, be aware that language is fluid, not fixed, and be prepared to adjust language whenever you learn new terms. To learn more about inclusive language visit Cal Poly’s Pride Center Inclusive Language Guide
  • Correct yourself when you make a mistake. We all make mistakes sometimes; what is important is how we respond. Try to respond with authenticity and grace when you make a mistake, rather than with defensiveness. Sometimes this may mean coming back to something that you said or that happened in class and explaining why you wish you had acted or spoken differently. Students will appreciate you modeling how to respond and it will likely make them more comfortable to correct themselves, should they also make a mistake. If a student gives you feedback that your language or actions are harmful, see this feedback as a gift and an opportunity to support the student. Begin by thanking the student for helping you to become aware of the impact of your actions, then, if appropriate, make an open commitment about how you will seek to change your behavior in the future. 

Consider Your Use of Live Video

There are a number of difficult situations that can arise in live, synchronous sessions using Zoom or other technology that may be more challenging to address than those that would occur in an in-person environment. Consider whether live video is necessary in your course and when it is, make sure that you are ready to react if a student or outside participant shares inappropriate content.

  • Consider whether you need to see all participants during your class meetings and whether they need to see each other. It may not be pedagogically necessary to see your students’ live video displays during class, especially if you are teaching a very large course. You may have several screens of participants that you need to toggle between, making it difficult to monitor student interactions. Relatedly, you may want to consider how requiring live video may be particularly difficult for students who do not have access to the required technology or to a quiet, private space from which they can participate in your class. If a student communicates to you that the requirement to use live video will be difficult because of issues with access to technology or to a quiet, private space, we recommend that you consider ways to accommodate the student. One way that you can help students struggling with access to technology is to connect them with the available student care resources. Students concerned about meeting their basic needs should contact the Office of the Dean of Students at student-success@calpoly.edu. Students in need of technology should contact retention@calpoly.edu.
  • Make the decision about whether you will use live video ahead of time. Any safeguards you put in place to prevent unwanted behavior in the virtual classroom must be applied ahead of time and in a neutral manner. If you foresee potential issues with live video, it is important to apply your decision to all students in the class—you can turn off the video for all participants in a meeting from the start, but you cannot censor individual students during a class session.

Protect Synchronous Meetings 

Spend some time adjusting the security settings in your Zoom profile and checking them for each meeting you schedule. It is also important to always use passwords for your meetings and to be prepared to actively monitor your synchronous meetings. 

  • In situations where synchronous sessions are necessary, take care to protect your meetings using strong security settings. You can set all of the needed settings in Zoom by watching this Cal Poly-specific video with tips for Zoom security settings or by following the quick overview of tips for Zoom security settings. Read the CTLT’s page about preventing Zoombombing to learn about how to manage outside participants who may “zoombomb” your meeting.
  • Always use a password for your synchronous sessions. To learn more about setting passwords visit watching this Cal Poly-specific video with tips for Zoom security settings or follow the quick overview of tips for Zoom security settings.
  • Actively monitor your synchronous meetings. If you cannot see all participants on your screen, actively move between the views so that you can regularly see all students. 
  • Regularly check the chat feature in Zoom or disable it altogether. You will want to monitor the messages students have posted in the chat feature, or disable the chat feature if it is pedagogically unnecessary. Be aware that if the chat feature is enabled, by default, private messaging among students is also enabled. To keep students from sending private messages to others in the class, we recommend turning off this feature by following the quick overview of tips for Zoom security settings

Protect Your Privacy and Personal Information

You may have considered that students need to be mindful about protecting their privacy online; make sure to also take the necessary steps to protect your own privacy online.

  • Consider using only Cal Poly supported technology resources, particularly when communicating with your students. Cal Poly supported resources have been vetted by the University and are connected to your Cal Poly credentials. Except when necessary, avoid using other programs—particularly those connected to a personal email account—when communicating with students. 
  • We advise against sharing your personal email, address, or cell phone number with your students. Follow the same practices you use in your face-to-face classes in terms of what you share. It may be tempting to share additional personal information during this difficult time from a place of compassion; however, it is more secure to consider how you can connect with your students without revealing private contact information. Be aware that once a student has your personal contact information, they may be able to uncover additional information about you online by finding personal accounts or other internet data connected to your personal identifying information. You can safely communicate with students through your Zoom, the Cal Poly email system, through the Learning Management System (Canvas or PolyLearn), or through a variety of other Cal Poly provided technological tools. 

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