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3.10 Exploring Sense of Belonging in the Classroom(Required to earn certificate)
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Posted by CUNY Mindset Initiative on March 11, 2024 at 10:56 amCreating an Intentional Welcome to the Semester
Part 1: Record the Audio (Required to Earn Certificate)
- We are asking that you record a 2-to-3-minute introductory audio note for your students. The purpose is for you to explore your own voice and consider its cadence as well as what it may communicate to others. (You will not be asked to share your audio.)
- This is an opportunity for your students to get to know you before they’ve even met you. It would most likely be included in a welcome message or posted on a course website at the start of the semester. In creating your audio recording, we encourage you to take a moment to consider the following:
- What would help your students feel like they belong even before they meet you or the rest of the class?
- What would you want them to know about you and the course before ever meeting you or reading a syllabus?
Part 2: Reflection on Your Experience (Required to Earn Certificate)
- Describe the process you went through to create your audio welcome.
- What did you find difficult and why?
- What did you find easy to do and why?
- Take some time away from your audio note. Then, return and listen to it.
- What do you notice about your voice and its inflection? Did you know that before?
- Would you want to share this with your students? Why or why not?
- Please share your experience recording and listening to the audio introduction to the Discussion Forum thread here by replying to this post.
Part 3: Responding to Peers (Not Required to Earn Certificate)
- After submitting your reflection take a moment to respond to one of your peers.
Kindness Reminder:
- Let’s remember this module is about a sense of belonging, how can you be kind and welcoming to yourself AND your peers in this experience?
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As support staff, I have an introductory video students are required to watch as part of our “orientation”. In this video, I acknowledge how challenging the students immigrant experience is in NYC as a college student. I encourage them to seek me out for any type of support throughout the semester and reinforce “there are no stupid questions!!”.
My biggest challenge in creating my video is ensuring that I am not talking too fast since we work primarily with ESL students. I notice my non-verbal communication is welcoming and informal. I try to make jokes that reflect my humanity and present myself as non-judegment and approachable.-
Carrie,
It is so wonderful to hear that you are thinking about your English language learners and that you are using a tone that is welcoming and informal. I recommend using subtitles in your video. You can do that through a Zoom recording for free or on other platforms. Some platforms will even translate to different languages for you.
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@carriegheith @deborahgreenblatt Yes and some platforms can also generate a transcript. I use Loom and it has this feature but I think it’s part of the paid subscription. (I ended up paying for it because had ran out of videos.) I wonder if there are other free ones that generate transcripts.
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Your approach to creating an introductory video that acknowledges the unique challenges faced by immigrant students in NYC is both thoughtful and necessary. Your awareness of the potential language barrier and your efforts to ensure clear communication are commendable. Incorporating humor and presenting yourself as approachable and non-judgmental are excellent strategies for building rapport with students from diverse backgrounds.
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1-2 minute introductory video help students ease their stress they get to know better. I don’t see any difficulty to record audio for my students. I love to introduce my self so they are not stressed on their first day. I had to record twice to make sure I am clear enough for students to understand .
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Your practice of asking students to record a concise introductory video to ease student stress is a great example of using digital tools to foster a welcoming classroom environment. Your diligence in ensuring clarity and understandability in his recordings sets a valuable precedent for creating educational materials that cater to the needs of all students, particularly those for whom English is a second language.
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Introductory video helps students with the sense of belonging. They see professor as a normal “human” with the problems and experiences similar to their life experiences. I had to overcome stress speaking in front of the camera, so I understand if my students are not willing to participate in the group discussions sometimes. I allow students to avoid group activities and use my office hours to discuss individually… I find that my sense of humor helps my students tremendously to learn better.
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Your insights on the power of introductory videos to foster a sense of belonging and humanize the instructor are particularly poignant. Your flexibility in allowing students to opt-out of group activities in favor of individual discussions shows a commendable sensitivity to the diverse comfort levels and learning preferences of your students. Incorporating humor as a teaching tool can be highly effective, provided it is used thoughtfully and inclusively.
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Since I was in this course a few years ago, I have been looking for ways to bump things up a notch and to share some digital platforms my students can use for their own projects.
I am going to use https://app.bookcreator.com/ to introduce myself in the future and have students do the same. Granted, I teach future elementary school teachers, but it is also great to have intro students in core subjects create a children’s book as an assessment.-
Hi Deborah, that’s a great idea for introductions. And the thought about having students create a children’s book as a means of assessment sounds like a fun project.
When classes were remote throughout the pandemic, I used https://flip.com (formerly called Flipgrid) to introduce myself and had my students record a 1-2 minute introduction video of themselves responding to some basic get-to-know-you prompts.
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I’ve recently been using Loom. There is now a built-in AI feature that creates a summary of your video and provides a transcript. However, I don’t think it has the same capability of allowing students to easily respond in kind as Flip does.
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I use Loom too! Yes I don’t think it has a way for students to respond with videos. They can respond with emoji reactions during the video and with comments but I believe that is about it. I’ve been considering flipgrid. Any pros/cons?
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Dear Deborah,
I love that idea. I use it for another project, which is having my students create a children’s book.
I think this is one that could work with the collaborate feature, which I have not tried yet.
Best,
Liz
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I like this idea! I am teaching a hybrid course in the fall, and this would be valuable until we meet for our first class. I found it easy to create, and I always let the students know I was once a student like them. I always try to be empathetic with student concerns. I will implement this introductory video on my course site.
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Your plan to implement an introductory video in your hybrid course reflects an understanding of the importance of establishing a personal connection with students, even before the first face-to-face meeting. Your emphasis on empathy and relatability, by sharing your own experiences as a former student, is a powerful way to build trust and encourage open communication.
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The discussions on creating an intentional welcome for students at the beginning of the semester highlight thoughtful and innovative approaches to fostering a sense of belonging and easing student anxiety. Each of these practices not only makes students feel welcomed and valued but also significantly contributes to creating a classroom environment where students are comfortable expressing themselves and engaging fully. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and strategies.
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This was extremely challenging for me as I am “shy” and self-conscious in hearing my own voice. I tried to record it and kept redoing it. I took time to pause and take deep breaths as I often talk very fast. I let students know that I am a real person, and that our class will allow for a safe environment where we are encouraged to ask, learn and use the platinum rule of communication
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Hi Victoria, I’ll insert some growth mindset here and say that I’m sure your recording improved with practice! It is interesting through this exercise to listen to our own voices as a student might experience them.
And I have to ask: what do you define as the platinum rule of communication?
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The most difficult part was to decide how much and what to say in such a short audio to convey the best message to the students to create the first connection with them
What did you find easy to do and why?
The easiest part for me was to record the message since I have a background in mass media communication.
What do you notice about your voice and its inflection? Did you know that before?
Since I have a background in mass media communication I trained to work with my inflections, so that was not a problem.
I would share this audio with students, since I believe that it can be nice to hear a few words before the first class to create a connection or even curiosity to meet in the classroom.
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Yes, I too found it difficult to decide what to say! The first time I created a welcome video for my students (similar to this audio note assignment), I wrote out a script and reviewed it to make sure it contained all the GPS elements – growth mindset, purpose and relevance, and a sense of belonging. This might be a good framework to determine is most important to share with your students.
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The process: I have been recording introduction videos for some semesters now, since taking the “Motivating Learners” course. This was different because I didn’t prepare a script and it was just audio. I improvised based on the previous ones I made but tried to make it a bit more personal since that was something I often left out.
Difficulties: I find it difficult to talk about myself and am not quite sure how much to share.
Easy: Providing some key questions we will explore in the course and trying to frame them in a way that could be meaningful for them.
Things I noticed: The cadence and volume vary a lot. Maybe that is normal, but I want to be more aware of it and use it to emphasize the key parts of the message.
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It wasn’t difficult to record myself, but I struggled when listening to the recording because I really dislike the sound of my recorded voice. To me, my voice sounded had an unusually nasal sound and the inflection sounded unnatural. At first, I thought of writing a few notes to use during the recording to keep myself focused, but then I decided to just speak from the heart. As I was recording, I found myself trying to sound like other podcasters that I have heard. I never like how I sound, but I particularly didn’t like the fake-sounding “hello” that I used to begin my recording. I welcomed the students to our course, but I didn’t know what else I could do to make the students feel like they belonged. I introduced myself and encouraged students to introduce themselves in writing or via video or audio. After telling students about the course, I let them know that they should feel free to take ownership in the course by asking questions, suggesting resources, volunteering to lead discussions, finding case studies to discuss, and so on. I kept wanting the recording to be perfect. Each time I paused too long or stumbled over a word, I stopped the recording and started again. I probably wouldn’t share this recording with my students, but I would record a more polished version of it to use for my class.
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Most faculty aren’t professional actors and don’t have training in recording audio/video. So we have to cut ourselves some slack. (Full disclosure: that WAS my background, so the online transition was an easy one for me. I began it well before the pandemic.) That being said, we do “perform” in the classroom. And just like studies have shown that having cameras on increases belonging and student success (in addition to being good training for the job interviews, etc. they’ll be doing online), our online presence helps our students succeed. And that presence doesn’t need to be perfect.
Whenever I taught voiceover audition technique to kids or adults, the first thing I usually said was “yes, that’s what you sound like; it’s nice; let’s move on.” Our students aren’t perfect, and we don’t have to be, either. (I think a professional ad should be, but have you seen some of the ads today?) We all look how we look and sound how we sound. I think students appreciate our quirks and the mistakes we might make in our videos. And I think it’s totally OK to acknowledge those errors and move on. Fancy editing is great if you have the time, but that’s not your job. Camera-off classes and meetings have been shown to be less effective, and I’ve never respected actors who “don’t like to watch themselves.” I disagreed with the designers of this program in allowing this section to be audio-only instead of audio with video. We don’t hide in the in-person classroom, and modality is not supposed to make a difference. I believe our students need to know who we are just as much as they need to know who their classmates are in order to know that they belong in the classroom.
I don’t want this to be interpreted as being harsh. You are not alone in “not liking how you sound.” But you are probably your harshest critic. You belong here. And I hope you share your recording with your students.
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It is very important in an asynchronous course to project a sense of warmth and receptiveness. I also believe that approachability is key. I did the exercise and broke most of the rules, using Snagit and making a video instead of an audio and going over the time limit (to 4 minutes). I mentioned a few things within the context of the overview that let them know that I value choice, creativity and that I want to hear their thoughts on the content right away.
What I found most difficult:
– Talking about my professional and personal self. I did not know how to fit it in the 2 min. timeline, so I reverted to talking about the course overview. I also have somewhat of a hard time talking about why I want to teach the course in 2 min. I did say what I envisioned for the course, but not my real vision for the course or for what they can do with the learning itself.
– Finding a quiet place to record. I have jealous and vocal parrot.
– Not repeating things. I tend to do that because of my role.What I found easy:
– My voice and expressiveness, use of humor and thinking on my feet. I used to have a podcast, so I’m comfortable with audio.
– Thinking about speaking slowly and articulating well. On the second try I don’t think I had any ummm’s in the speech. I also had a beginning, middle and end.
– I purposely chose Snag-it because I used it last summer and for some reason, I was a little afraid of using it. I’m glad that I did.Will I post it? I posted it already. It was way better than the one I did in May, although after writing this reflection it needs some improvement. If I had to do it over (and got Calypso to be quiet), I would talk much more about my professional and personal self.I’d save the overview for another clip.
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I created an audio video welcome for students, which was a new experience for me. It was quite challenging to strike the right tone in my delivery. I aimed to be enthusiastic while ensuring that the welcome came across as genuine and not overly polished. The time constraint of 2-3 minutes added to the challenge, as I wanted to provide a snapshot of the course while emphasizing its key points. On the other hand, expressing my passion and dedication to the nursing profession, a passion I hope to share came naturally to me.
After reviewing the video, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my voice inflection was well-suited for my intended message. In the past, I had reservations about creating audio content for students, doubting whether my voice or accent would be easily understood. Before sharing the video with the students, I plan to adjust. I missed highlighting some essential aspects of the course and think sharing some personal background would help establish a stronger connection with the students. -
In the past, I have made introductory/welcoming videos in which I introduce myself to students, tell them what they will learn in the course, and just end with saying that I look forward to meeting them. After going through the modules, I wanted to add to my typical introduction the fact that in addition to getting help from me over the course of the semester that they can look forward to being a part of a campus community that is interested in supporting their academic achievement. I also wanted to highlight some of these resources (such as the tutoring center and other learning resources/study tips I put on Brightspace). After listening to my first video, I thought I should write out a script so that I can give all the information without it being too long or coming off as if I’m rambling. However, when I prepared a script, I think I sounded too formal. For me, I think I will have to practice to get the right balance between being too casual vs too formal/unnatural by following a script.
What I did find easy was speaking clearly and audibly and dealing with the file and knowing how to upload it into Brightspace. After teaching remote courses during the pandemic, my ability to make and remake videos has improved tremendously. Before the pandemic, I never made videos of myself, but now it is very easy for me to make one, revise it, and then remake one until I’m happy with it.
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I had to learn how to record on my phone, though when I do this for my courses, I’ll have to use Brightspace, of course. I didn’t find the content difficult because a few years ago I made the decision to be extremely affectionate and friendly on the first day of class. This really elevated the positivity in my classes! I say I am very proud to teach at BMCC and that I find them interesting people. I say I believe teaching is a privilege and I am fortunate. The recording itself, how my voice sounds was a little challenging, there was more “uh” in it than I’d like. I could share this with my students, it’s good enough, and I think very kind and friendly, but it’s not as smooth as it could be, so I believe I can do better.
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Since there were times during the pandemic when I recorded introductory videos — and even short lectures — I am used to making these kinds of things and not too uncomfortable with it. In an intro video, I want to keep a fairly informal affect (though I tend to introduce myself to students as Professor and using my surname, not my first name) and highlight what I like about the course we are about to begin, why I like teaching it and hope they will get out of it. Like many others, I am sometimes frustrated if I find I am interjected “umm” or “uhs” or otherwise misspeaking, so I tend to write up what I’m going to say and use my screen like a teleprompter while I record. It can also be hard to remember to look at the camera in order to make [virtual] eye contact with students watching the video. But in the end, occasionally going off script can convey enthusiasm, spontaneity, warmth.
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As a result of teaching online during some part of the last few years – posting a video and written message before the first day of class, does help students feel “welcome”. Giving them an overview of where to find the course materials in the LMS (visually) has also proven to be helpful in case they do miss the first day of class. Like others have mentioned, a “script” was useful in getting the message across clearly.
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[Apologies for this quite late post: I planned on writing it before the start of the Fall 2024 semester, but the preparation for that semester turned out to be more time-consuming than expected, and the semester itself was quite a challenge timewise.]
I am a Computer and Information Science lecturer at Brooklyn College. I recorded a 2-minute audio message back in August for one of the classes I teach, Intro to Computer Applications, and then listened to it. Here is my feedback on the process and on my impression after listening to the recording:- The most significant challenge was to decide what content to include in those few minutes of the recorded message: do I want to briefly introduce the topics studied in the class, list the objectives of the course, or talk about the nature of the course in terms of how to prepare for it (e.g., what tools or applications students need to have installed on their devices?) Usually, the first lecture of the course is dedicated to going over the syllabus, so all these points are anyway discussed during that lecture. Eventually, I decided to include the following ingredients in the recording:
- A word of welcome (= “Dear everyone, I would like to cordially welcome you to the Intro to Computer Applications course of Brooklyn College: CISC 1050”),
- An intro of the instructor of the course (= “My name is Miriam Briskman; I am a Lecturer at the Computer and Information Science department; I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Mathematics here at Brooklyn College, and my Master’s in Computer Science at Brooklyn College, too. Currently, I am a Ph.D. student in Computer Science at the Graduate Center.”)
- A super-quick description of the course and purpose (= “This course will teach about Microsoft Office apps and provide you with the opportunity to extensively practice using them. These apps, and the manner of using them, will keep serving you long after you complete your college studies, and even if you will use other office utility applications down the road, the general principles you’ll learn in this course will still majorly apply to other office apps, so that’s a win-win!”), and
- An outro and information about how to contact me in case of questions (= “During the course, if you have any questions, or if you find a topic we covered challenging and needing further elaboration/explanation, you are always welcome and encouraged to reach out! You can email me at [I mentioned my college email here]: I will reply to your emails within 24-48 hours on weekdays. Alternatively, you can visit our class’s office hours on [I mentioned the days/times of the week when office hours are offered that semester]. I will be more than glad to assist with any course or academic questions you have! Thank you so much for your attention, and looking forward to meeting with you all soon! Stay safe!”)
- The easiest part was the decision of what recording app to use: I’ve been previously recording video lectures for the async version of the Intro to Computer Applications course and used a particular app for it: ActivePresenter for Windows, which has a free version. This version doesn’t include certain advanced video-editing tools, but for the sake of the recording I make, this version is sufficient. After the video is recorded, one can save it either as a video file or an audio file, so I selected to save it as an audio file.
- However, although the decision of what app to use was made quite fast, the quality of the recording turned out to be quite bad (despite me confirming that the recording is saved in the highest quality available by the application) either because of some hidden setting in the app that I didn’t notice, or because I kept my computer’s camera unopened (I needed to ‘plug’ the camera out at the top of my desktop computer out of the computer’s screen, and the microphone is installed near the camera. Maybe the quality was bad because the microphone was ‘inside’ the computer’s screen, thus not recording me well.) In any case, doing a ‘pre-recording’ and testing the hardware to check whether the voice and quality are good before actually recording the message are never a bad idea.
- About my voice during the video: after I relistened to the recording, I noticed some monotonicity and shakiness in my voice, especially in the middle of the recording. This could be due to the fact that I haven’t ‘rehearsed’ the text that I was saying for the recording (and, in fact, didn’t write it anywhere before starting to record the message.) The shakiness is most likely due to the fact that I hadn’t thought before starting the recording of when and how I wanted to change the tone of my voice during the recording. This made this recording seem kind of trite. During in-person and sync lectures, I do my best to speak with as much enthusiasm and energy as I can (since, otherwise, students will fall asleep 🙂 ,) but apparently, I didn’t devote as much energy as usual for the recording.
- Because of this ‘lack of liveliness’ in my voice, I understood quite fast, even during the first listening of the recording, that this recording isn’t good enough for posting: some additional thought and preparation are needed before recording the audio message again and, maybe, that next recording would then be quality enough to be postable.
- The most significant challenge was to decide what content to include in those few minutes of the recorded message: do I want to briefly introduce the topics studied in the class, list the objectives of the course, or talk about the nature of the course in terms of how to prepare for it (e.g., what tools or applications students need to have installed on their devices?) Usually, the first lecture of the course is dedicated to going over the syllabus, so all these points are anyway discussed during that lecture. Eventually, I decided to include the following ingredients in the recording:
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The first word I tell my students in a welcome video, email, or in-person meeting is ‘Welcome’ in Spanish and English. I want them to feel welcome in my class. In addition to my name, I tell them I am Colombian, from Barranquilla, and have worked for a long time at QCC. That is the easy part. I find it challenging to choose what I want to say in 3 minutes, not to give any impression that it will be a “difficult” class.
I noticed that I spoke very fast and lengthened some words’ pronunciation.
I would not share this audio with my students. I would record another one that I would feel more comfortable with. Of course, I don’t expect it to be perfect, but at least speaking slower.
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To create the audio, I began by writing down a few key points I wanted to convey–a brief intro to myself, and encouragement for students to engage and ask questions. I then practiced speaking through the outline a couple of times before recording. I chose to write only an outline because when delivered, it maintains a more natural tone. From earlier response, I also learned that it is important to include some personal notes about why I’m interested in teaching this course. Adding these notes will provide students a better sense of connection.
I found it difficult to sound natural at first, as I was a bit self-conscious about being recorded and the need to listen to my own voice later. But after a few practices, it gets easier.
After taking a break and listening to the recording later, I noticed that my voice was more flat than I had expected. I hadn’t been fully aware of how that came across–maybe it was because I was nervous or it’s just the way I speak–but it made me realize that I need to put more emphasis in some words and inflections to make sure the key message is well delivered.
I think hearing a voice helps establish some personal connection early on with students. I think I may need more practice before sending audios out.
Recording and reflecting on the audio intro was an interesting experience–it made me more aware of how tone and delivery shape first impressions in the learning spaces.
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Oh, this is an awful experience. I have an awkward cadence and a vocal timbre that just doesn’t feel welcoming (I have long felt this way and doing recording after recording has not changed this). I have a diction that always tends to sound overly formal. Thank goodness I didn’t have to do it in video where my Resting Jay Face (as my partner kindly calls it) compounds the effect. I had a professor in college who had a similar presentation, who was visibly uncomfortable, but who would open up the moment he started teaching and getting students to engage with poetry or drama. In that context, he was clever and playful, warm and inviting.
In fact, this is one of the reasons that I prefer teaching in person. Responding to individuals, being able to joke or express interest or answer a question or a concern or just make fun of my weirder qualities offsets the more awkward parts of my presentation.
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