Teaching Tips of the Week: Fostering Connections 

As you continue to prepare your course for winter term 2021, please refer to the complete list of Teaching Recommendations that has been developed by the Virtual Learning Task Force. You may consider making some of these minor changes to your course to help address common challenges identified by students and instructors.  

Teaching Tips of the Week #3: Fostering Connections

Students and instructors reported feeling disconnected from one another, and students shared that they felt isolated in their learning. 

• Incorporate informal, collaborative learning (e.g., signup sheet for students to form study groups) 
• Shorten time spent on lectures and increase time spent building relationships with and between students (e.g., through discussions, team-based projects, hosting open office hours, organizing and managing collaborative learning groups) 
• Provide opportunities for structured collaboration between students (e.g., group assignments during synchronous class time that students can “opt-out” of as required) 
• Provide synchronous and/or asynchronous avenues for building a sense of community (e.g., ice breakers, introduction posts, course café forum) 
• Hold consistent, regular office (or “student”) hours throughout the semester, and when possible, during protected time for course as indicated in Mosaic. 
• Include informal spaces for students to reach out for support. If creating a “Course Café” discussion forum, consider making it possible for students to post anonymously if they are feeling more vulnerable about what they are sharing. 
• Encourage students to share stories and strategies that have proven helpful. 
• Ask students to “raise hand” in virtual calls to prevent cross-talk and overload during synchronous classes. 

Looking for additional resources?

• Students and instructors who participate in and debrief mid-course student feedback processes often feel more connected to one another through the process. Consider using the MacPherson Institute’s “Collecting Midterm Student Feedback” resource which includes survey templates that can be easily integrated into a course from the Avenue Learning Object Repository.  

• If you’re wondering what the Learning Object Repository is, check out the Avenue Knowledge base – or find out how you can import content from, or add to, this collection of helpful resources – many of which can help foster connections in your teaching!