Creating a Positive Classroom Climate

Scholars have identified a number of strategies that are especially effective in engaging and supporting learning in students from a wide range of backgrounds. Check out the following links for information about each strategy and how to best implement them in your classroom. 

Teaching methods that encourage active and collaborative learning improve student engagement and learning for all students. In fact, a major meta-analysis of hundreds of studies in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has demonstrated the effectiveness of active learning methods in college mathematics, science, and engineering courses.  

Strategies such as cooperative small group learning, problem-based learning,  increased course structure (e.g., guided-reading questions, preparatory homework, and in-class activities), student centered teaching, peer-led supplemental discussions or workshops, and Universal Design have proven especially helpful in fostering student learning and in supporting the success of first-generation students and student groups that have historically been underrepresented in higher education. 

These approaches work because they shrink large classes to smaller groups in the same space, reduce academic isolation, and encourage a sense of student community and social support. They enhance critical thinking, improve student preparation and accountability, and transform students into active learners. They also increase access and support for specific groups of students (e.g., students with disabilities) but benefit all learners. 

One way to create a learning environment that centers respect for all members of the KU community is by centering belonging. In fact, scholars have long noted the significant impact a sense of belonging has on student engagement, academic performance, retention, matriculation, and self-efficacy. Inversely, other scholars have found that students who feel out of place, unsupported, and isolated are at a high risk of dropping out of college, particularly in their first two years. 

The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning argues that we can capitalize on the rich array of experiences, backgrounds, and skills that faculty and students bring to the classroom. Here are some strategies for student-centered teaching that we can adopt to promote a sense of belonging, validation, and mutual respect in our classrooms: 

• Increase your students’ exposure to a wide range of human experiences. Choose content and examples that address and model a multiplicity of perspectives. Regardless of discipline, scholars should consider how different frames of reference and cultural assumptions affect the accumulation of knowledge.
• Use images of people that represent various ethnicities, races, and genders of your students, and use a broad range of analogies and examples. Reach underrepresented students by discussing the contributions of scholars and role models from a wide range of cultures, experiences and identities.  
• Create groups or learning teams that reflect multiple perspectives and experiences. When using instructor-formed groups or learning teams, avoid (when possible) creating groups that either isolate underrepresented students or create homogenous groups of students. Students who feel isolated within their team may lose the benefits of collaborative learning, and may have an amplified feeling of marginalization at the university. For more information how to utilize student groups, visit our page on Active Learning.
• Reduce stereotype threat.  Coined by Steele and Aronson  in 1995, “stereotype threat” describes how the academic performance of students whose identity groups are negatively stereotyped suffers when those stereotypes are activated or emphasized in the learning environment. 

Strategies such as reframing a task and highlighting role models from those idenitty groups can help to counteract stereotype threat. 

• Include diversity and disabilities statements in your syllabus. Such statements communicate a commitment to centering student belonging from the beginning of the semester. They also provide an opportunity to set ground rules or a code of conduct for respectful and appropriate behavior in your classroom.
• Reflect on your own background and experiences. Consider how your own background and cultural influences might affect how you have designed your course. Does the material provide an accurate representation of various perspectives? The Center for Research on Learning and Teaching at the University of Michigan provides reflective strategies for faculty to examine the impact of social identity on teaching.
• Respect your students' names and personal pronouns.
• Create an environment where all students feel they belong by using language throughtfully and carefully. (For example, consider the identity implications in a history class of using the term “slave” as opposed to the term “enslaved.”) 

Resource: Rocca, Kella A. (2010). Student participation in the college classroom: an extended multidisciplinary literature review. Communication Education 59:2 (April): 185-213. 

Tips for Teaching All Students: 

Encourage all students to participate by considering the following methods:

• Assigning roles (recorder, presenter, time-keeper, etc.) during group work to ensure that each student is actively engaged with the activity.
• Offering multiple avenues for participation (e.g., in-class writing responses, surveys, partner work) enables quieter/shyer students to participate without being in the spotlight.

Take time to establish class ground rules:

• Ask your students to participate in identifying class ground rules. This not only encourages engagement,  it also promotes student investment in the course. Encourage all students to participate by assigning roles, or providing multiple avenues for participation (e.g., through writing or discussion).
• Remind your students about the agreed-upon rules throughout the semester but especially during any class period you know may be especially challenging. 

Treat students as individuals with unique ideas and perspectives:

• Do not ask a student to speak for the whole of one of their identity groups.
• Do allow students to voluntarily draw on their own lives and experiences when appropriate; when students find course content has personal relevance to their lives, meaningful learning is occurring. 

Acknowledge and center others’ perspectives and encourage your students to do the same:

• Consider beginning by acknowledging your own identities and how they impact how you are perceived. Perhaps include a positionality statement in your syllabus.
• Choose content and examples that address and model a multiplicity of perspectives. 

Get in touch with struggling students and point them to campus resources when necessary.

Further Reading and Resources 

• Angelo, T. A. (1993, April). A “Teacher’s Dozen”: Fourteen general, research-based principles for improving higher learning in our classrooms (pdf). AAHE Bulletin, 45(8), 3-13.
• Bain, K. (2004). What the Best College Teachers Do. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Burmila, E. M. (2010). Graduate students as independent instructors: Seven things to know about teaching your own course while in graduate school. PS: Political Science & Politics, 44, 557-560.
• Conditionally Accepted. A site devoted to information, personal stories, and resources for those “at the margins of academia.”
• Inclusive Teaching Strategies, from the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching at the University of Michigan.
• Responding to Difficult Moments, from the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching at the University of Michigan.
• Sociological Images. A blog that offers a sociological critique of imagery, events, and discourse of all types.
• Winship, J. An approach for teaching diversity: A dozen suggestions for enhancing student learning. 

Facilitating Difficult Class Discussions 

As instructors, we can create a positive climate for critical, intellectual discourse by setting guidelines for class participation that anticipate difficult discussions, and managing contentious interactions when they arise. Here are a few suggestions: 

Establish Class Ground Rules -- Collaborate with your students early in the semester to create a set of ground rules or classroom norms that clarify classroom expectations in terms of behavior, student interaction, challenging discussions, conflict, etc. 

Manage contentious interactions – When an offensive remark is made, or when a student points out an offensive remark you may have missed, there are several things you can do to turn that contentious interaction into a “teachable moment.” Teachable moments are spontaneous and unexpected learning opportunities, usually in response to some event or situation, where students are particularly receptive to learning and teachers are powerfully situated to positively impact their students’ learning. When a contentious interaction occurs, do the following: 

• Take a deep breath and collect yourself.
• Take a second to set aside your personal response
• Take a moment to address and amend any personal attacks
• Address the hot moment as soon as you can by asking students to stop and reflect on or write out how the contentious interaction made them feel and what it made them think. Then open the floor for discussion. If you don’t feel equipped to effectively facilitate the discussion, address the hot moment and tell students that you will return to it during the next class period. 

Treat students as individuals – Each of your students have unique ideas and perspectives, and they deserve to be seen by you. Therefore, it is important that you do not ask a student to speak for the whole of one of their identity groups. However, you should allow students to voluntarily draw on their own lives and experiences when appropriate; when students find course content has personal relevance to their lives, meaningful learning is occurring. 

The instructor considers this classroom to be a place where you will be treated with respect as a human being – regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, political beliefs, age, or ability. Additionally, diversity of thought is appreciated and encouraged, provided you can agree to disagree. It is the instructor’s expectation that ALL students experience this classroom as an environment that supports their learning.

The University of Kansas supports an inclusive learning environment in which diversity and individual differences are understood, respected, and appreciated. We believe that all students benefit from training and experiences that will help them to learn, lead, and serve in an increasingly diverse society. All members of our campus community must accept the responsibility to demonstrate respect for the dignity of others. Expressions or actions that disparage a person’s or group’s race, ethnicity, nationality, culture, gender, gender identity / expression, religion, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, or disability are contrary to the mission of the University. We expect that KU students, faculty, and staff will promote an atmosphere of respect for all members of our KU community.

It is likely you may not agree with everything that is said or discussed in the classroom. Courteous behavior and responses are expected at all times. When you disagree with someone, be sure that you make a distinction between criticizing an idea and criticizing the person. Expressions or actions that disparage a person’s or race, ethnicity, nationality, culture, gender, gender identity/expression, religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, or marital, parental, or veteran status are contrary to the mission of this course and will not be tolerated.