Syllabus Practices: Relational
These practices focus on building relationships, encouraging student belonging, and inclusive communication while instructors are building their syllabus
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Click on the strategies to explore more resources and information about them.
Establish and reinforce ground rules for interaction between people in the class
Set up processes or surveys to get feedback on the climate – not necessarily relying on the school’s assessment choice, like the OMETs
Increase opportunities for contact with students - Seek opportunities to encounter and engage in positive interactions with students, particularly those who are underrepresented or within a minoritized group
Invite students to meet with you to discuss disability-related accommodations and other learning needs – Review this in class multiple times to reinforce it as well
Try not to fill every class with so many different activities that students are not able to process through them. Overfilling the class could also prevent in-depth discussions, whether on topic or not, from occurring during class.
Promote empathy – Demonstrate empathy to your students and throughout the semester and lead as an example for your class to follow
Create a classroom where failure is just diagnostic and not necessarily grade-oriented - You can encourage and offer the chance to revise, improve and redo things to encourage improvement