Build Connections

Among Students

Take the time within the first weeks of class to build the class learning community. This can be done through active learning strategies, live polling, group discussions, or shared online activities.

Use collaborative notetaking, shared document or graphic organizer completion, live annotation, or virtual whiteboard activities to encourage students to interact during asynchronous time.

Remind students of their contribution to the creation of their community code of conduct, and the expectations set within. Students who feel comfortable and supported by their peers will more likely take academic risk through active participation.

Encourage students to actively consider how their behaviour, purposeful or otherwise, may impact their peers and the classroom community in a positive or negative way. This includes body language, in/attentive behaviours, and active listening.

Create a class “back channel” chat through an open discussion board or a Teams channel, to encourage students to ask questions and even offer answers during asynchronous time.

Communication Expectations

Be specific about how you want students to use the conferencing platform chat during synchronous time, as well as inappropriate use.

Set expectations around the use of appropriate and considerate language to establish an inclusive learning community, such as removing cultural and religious references, considerate use of personal pronouns, and avoiding the use of slang and colloquialisms.

Between Students and Faculty

Send a sunshine email to the students ahead of the start of class to welcome each of them. Tell the students a bit about you, provide your contact information and office hours, and how best to reach you, what the conferencing platform being used is (ex. Zoom, MS Teams) and outline the “need to haves” and “nice to haves” for them to be successful in the class.

Personalize announcements and feedback in DC Connect by using the {FirstName} replacement string. Each student will see their own name when viewing the message, which creates an immediate connection. For more information on how to do this, please visit the CTL Monthly Event calendar to find the next Supporting Student Success session, or email dcconnect@durhamcollege.ca.

Get to know your students and reach out to each of them on a routine basis. Schedule 1:1 conferences with each student or send a personal email at different points throughout the semester to check-in on their progress and needs.

Establish set times for open student communication by setting virtual office hours. Create a meeting for students to join, or a Teams channel, where students can join an office hours call or reach out through a message. If students require 1:1 support or have something to discuss with only you, take them into a breakout room to have a confidential meeting.

Communication Expectations

Be specific about how you want students to communicate with you during synchronous and asynchronous time. Do you want them to use email, or will you accept a Teams chat message or video call during specific time periods?

Provide an example of an email to encourage professional communication from students.