“…strategies must constantly be changed, invented, reconceptualized to address each new teaching experience” (hooks 1994: 10–11). “…there must be a setting for folks to voice fears, to talk about what they are doing, how they are doing it, and why” (hooks 1994: 38). We hope that the practices outlined in Continue Reading >>
When crises erupt in the broader social context, students can experience anxiety or trauma–even if they are not personally impacted. Perhaps because of this, students prefer for their instructors to acknowledge social crises (see Vanderbilt University’s resource on Teaching in Times of Crisis for further discussion). We recommend using the Continue Reading >>
Trauma is an “event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or life threatening and that has lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and…wellbeing (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 2024). Communities, as well as individuals, can Continue Reading >>
The following subsections describe practical steps for Implementing Trauma-Informed Pedagogy and Responding to Social Crises in section/studio/lab.
Even when GSIs set clear expectations, incorporate marginalized scholars into their lesson plans, and foster inclusive classroom interactions, they cannot be sure of their success without asking their students for feedback. We encourage GSIs to conduct midterm evaluations of their teaching and use regular “Classroom Assessment Techniques” (Angelo and Cross 1993; Continue Reading >>
Given that students often hesitate to seek support, normalizing the use of campus resources for all students—while also making individual referrals based on students’ pre-course survey responses and office hours conversations—can foster inclusion in impactful ways. One way to promote the use of campus resources is to include a list Continue Reading >>
Office hours can provide students many kinds of meaningful support by bringing them into direct conversation with their instructors. Students who attend office hours benefit from individualized feedback, clarification of the instructor’s expectations, academic and professional mentoring, and the relationship-building that contributes to strong letters of recommendation (see Guerrero and Continue Reading >>
In addition to the pre-course survey, which opens an avenue for all students to disclose individual-level barriers to engagement, GSIs can apply Universal Design for Learning to make their lesson plans accessible and engaging for all students. Please see Module 3 of the GSI Center’s Professional Standards and Ethics Course Continue Reading >>
We encourage GSIs to use a Google Form to get a preliminary sense of students’ needs at the beginning of the semester. While GSIs should take care not to require students to share personal information on this “pre-course survey” (for example, by asking if students have childcare duties), they might Continue Reading >>
The following subsections describe steps GSIs can take to minimize exclusion at the individual level, while recognizing that the issues discussed are deeply interrelated with those that operate at the classroom level and in the broader social context. GSIs can foster inclusion at the individual (student) level by Conducting a Continue Reading >>