2.8 Discussion Board III: Relationships (Required to earn certificate)

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  Posted by CUNY Mindset Initiative on March 11, 2024 at 10:57 am

  💬 Discussion:

  In your course(s), how do you get to know your students? Share an activity you use, or plan to use, to learn about students’ personal information, interests, &/or goals.

• Faiza Peetz

  Participant

  April 11, 2024 at 12:50 pm

  Irene, the effort you put into establishing a respectful and inclusive classroom environment from the outset is commendable. Allowing students to contribute to the class norms and taking regular “pauses” for human connection can significantly enhance the learning experience. What have been some of the most impactful ideas or practices that students have contributed to class engagement?
  Faiza Peetz

  Participant

  April 11, 2024 at 12:52 pm

  Jean-Yves, your icebreaker activity sounds like a fantastic way to build community and familiarity among your students from day one. It’s impressive how you manage to memorize each student’s name and something unique about them. I hope I will achieve that one day; this undoubtedly makes students feel valued and seen. How do you maintain this sense of individual attention and community as the semester progresses, especially with new students who may join the class late? How many students do you have in your class? I have 100.
  Faiza Peetz

  Participant

  April 11, 2024 at 12:53 pm

  Lyubov, asking students to share their biographies and how their life experiences relate to the class is a thoughtful approach to make learning more relevant and personalized. By sharing your own experiences throughout the semester, you’re modeling vulnerability and openness. How do you ensure that all students feel comfortable and safe sharing aspects of their personal lives in a classroom setting?
  Faiza Peetz

  Participant

  April 11, 2024 at 12:54 pm

  Deborah, your use of organizers and creative tools like Book Creator and “Genius Boards” to get to know your students sounds incredibly engaging, I will definitelly look into them, thank you for sharing the links. These tools not only allow for a fun introduction but also support ongoing engagement and creativity in learning. How do you integrate these personal insights and creative expressions into the broader curriculum or specific learning outcomes?
  Faiza Peetz

  Participant

  April 11, 2024 at 12:55 pm

  Catherine, sharing your own career path and encouraging students to do the same is a great way to foster relatability and mentorship within the classroom. Using a blackboard for introductions and fun facts is a simple yet effective way to break the ice. In your experience, how have these personal exchanges influenced the dynamics and learning outcomes of your program? Did you notice a difference between introverts and extroverts?
  Danesh

  Participant

  April 15, 2024 at 3:08 pm

  I feel that my critical thinking class lends itself well to getting to know students, at least in the sense of learning what students think about many things. Throughout the course, I have students discuss a number of questions about various everyday topics, including topics related to school and education, modern life, and ethics. T0 discuss these topics, I will often put students into groups and give them a statement that can either agree or disagree with. They are then asked to give a reason in favor of the statement. The activity has a two-fold purpose: the first is to get them to say more about what they think. The second is to practice making arguments, which is a big component of the class.
  Kevin Kolack, Ph.D.

  Member

  April 16, 2024 at 2:38 pm

  It’s great that there’s so many opportunities for you to hear your students’ thoughts on various topics throughout the semester, Danesh. In my chemistry classes, other than discussion boards, after the first day of class discussion, I’m not so lucky!
  When students are in groups, is there a group leader who shares with the class at the end? I’m wondering how YOU are able to learn the thoughts/opinions of individual students as the classroom facilitator.
  Denise Sands Baez (she/her)

  Member

  April 22, 2024 at 8:52 pm

  I teach a general education interdisciplinary course on American musical theater with the context of American history–how society and art reflect and shape each other, and how revivals/revisals reflect changes going on in the larger society over time.  The specific theme examined is the definition of a “real American” and its meaning in the context of social privilege.  The course is one topic out of a multitude of other topics.  Some students choose it because they love musicals while others choose it as a palatable (or not so palatable) option that fits other priorities like scheduling and enabling them to take enough credits to be full-time for the semester.

  I start the course by acknowledging that not everyone is necessarily happy to be there and express the hope that those who are dreading the semester will find the course to not as unpleasant as they fear.  Maybe a few of them will be coverts–although that’s not necessary to pass the course.  I then discuss my own experience in relation to the topic and ask students to share their own.  There’s usually at least one brave soul who “confesses” to not liking musicals; I use that as a springboard to discuss that this is a course designed to help them examine their own definitions of “real” Americanism and their own relationship to it.  (Not all of my students are U.S. citizens.  Sometimes we get to discuss how one gets to be defined as a “real” _____, depending on what students want to share over the course of the semester.)
  Seth Lehman

  Member

  May 1, 2024 at 12:53 pm

  Sounds like a great way to bring together your course content with students’ identities and experiences! Do you use any other activities in the classroom to get to know students on a personal level?
  Faiza Peetz

  Participant

  May 3, 2024 at 2:45 pm

  This thread offers a treasure trove of innovative methods to connect with students personally and academically, fostering a deeper understanding of their backgrounds, interests, and aspirations. Narendra’s approach of sharing personal life experiences and inviting students to do the same creates an open and reciprocal learning environment, which is essential for building trust and engagement. The specific inquiry about how these exchanges are facilitated is critical, as the medium can significantly influence the level of student participation.

   

  Each of these strategies, from personal storytelling to creative technological integration, illustrates a robust commitment to understanding and valuing the individual journeys of students. This approach not only enhances academic engagement but also fosters a supportive and dynamic educational environment.
  Victoria (She/Her)

  Member

  May 15, 2024 at 11:25 am

  I like to start with the “2 word check in”- which allows students to choose 2 words to describe how they are feeling. Then I like to have students work in pairs to “interview one another” for active listening and present on their partner- facts about them 😉 another fun way to get to know students is playing a guessing game (using a “hangman type game”- where students try to guess another’s “favorite food, activity, etc)
  Markela Khosrowshahi (she/he/hers)

  Member

  May 23, 2024 at 10:02 am

  When I host workshops, I ask for the participation of the students. Usually, after talking about the workshop’s topic, I ask if anyone would like to participate and share how they relate their experiences with the topic I am presenting. For example, if the topic is time management, I ask for volunteers to share their experiences with time management. Therefore, an opportunity to interact with the students is initiated, and I direct the interaction with questions about time management with the volunteers, and sometimes evolve into inquiries from the students.
  Seth Lehman

  Member

  May 29, 2024 at 9:14 am

  This is great! One technique that I have found to increase everyone’s participation with a discussion prompt like this is a “Think-Pair-Share”. Participants will silently think about their response to the topic, then pair up and share their thoughts with a partner, then a few people can share with the whole group what they discussed in their pair/small group. This way everyone gets an opportunity to participate in the conversation.
  Seth Lehman

  Member

  May 29, 2024 at 9:16 am

  These ideas sound great for both allowing you to connect with your students and helping them build relationships with one another! Do you have a template or a word list that you would be willing to share for the “two word check-in”?
  Casandra Silva Sibilin (she/her/hers)

  Member

  June 4, 2024 at 6:37 am

  I use a blend of activities garnered from advice from colleagues and various CUNY CITA initiatives (thank you Transformative Learning in the Humanities & SoTL!). In recent semesters my main activities have been:

  

  1) Icebreaker padlet available 2 weeks before class, where students add their pictures and share some details about themselves (sometimes this is paired with a guessing game – e.g. not sharing a hobby directly but hints about a hobby and peers guess in the padlet or in person).

  2) Asking students to write me an introductory letter answering several questions about their academic journey and any concerns about the course

  3) In-class hopes & expectations activity where students answer several questions and then we discuss them together and pick out some main themes to form class agreements for the semester (sample).