Teaching
Search the Guide:
1. Getting to Know Students
- Benefits for Students
- Benefits for Instructors
- Strategies to get to know students at key points through term
2. Supporting Student Attendance
- The importance of student attendance
- Setting the tone for attendance
- Planning lessons and communicating the purpose of class time
- Highlighting relationality in the classroom
- Designing for flexibility
3. Designing Flexible Solutions for Short-term Student Absences
Designing for Short-term student absences
- How can I design my assessments in anticipation of short-term absences?
- How can I support students who cannot come to class?
- How can I stream or record my lectures?
- What are some strategies to help students to share notes with peers?
- How can students earn participation marks if they can’t come to class?
- How can students participate in groupwork if they cannot come to class?
- What are some ways students can make up missed tutorials or labs?
- What are some options if students cannot come to campus for a test?
- How can I mitigate presentations being impacted by student absences?
- What if students have missed multiple assessments and are struggling academically?
- What mechanisms are available to students?
4. Holding Office Hours
- Tips for Holding Office Hours
- Before the Course Begins
- On the First Day of Class
- How can I Encourage Attendance at Office Hours?
- Resources
5. Developing Productive and Respectful Classrooms
Building a Productive and Respectful Class Environment
How Can I Respond to Negative Behaviours?
6. Strategies for Student Engagement and Motivation
How Can I Engage and Motivate Learners in My Course?
- Find Ways to Share Your Authentic Self to Your Learners
- Use an Enthusiastic and Welcoming Tone in Your Course Communications
- Highlight Key Student Supports and Resources
- Set Clear Expectations and Communicate Them Frequently
- Invite Students to Introduce Themselves
- Invite Students to Reflect on their Technological Readiness for the Course
- Highlight the Relevance of Each Topic to the Overall Course and Students’ Professional Goals
- Embed Interesting, Concrete and Contemporary Examples
- Include Learning Activities that Simulate Real-World Situations
- Use Checklists to Assist Students in Tracking their Progress and Organizing their Time
- Give Students Choice
- Build in Flexibility where Possible
How Can I Promote Positive Communication and Collaboration with and between Students?
- Create and Communicate Shared Norms for Respectful Communication
- Model Respectful and Engaging Communication
- Build Opportunities for Students to Share their Knowledge, Experiences and Questions
- Infuse an Element of Fun and Creativity in Tasks
- Set Up Virtual Office Hours
- Distinguish between Appropriate Forms of Collaboration and those that May Infringe on Academic Integrity
- Leverage Group Tools to Support Social Interaction among Students
- For Significant Group Projects, Establish Check-Ins and Monitor Group Progress Consistently
- Monitor Student Activity in Your Course and Reach Out to those Who May be Struggling to Engage
7: Flexible Approaches to Teaching
Considering Flexible Approaches to Teaching
- Creating community among students
- Recording or streaming lectures, or inviting guest speakers to classes
- Inviting guest speakers
- Providing live captioning or lecture transcriptions
- Leveraging in-person and virtual groupwork
- Facilitating class discussions
- Developing strategies for diagnostic and formative feedback
8. Teaching with Zoom
How Do I Set Up Zoom for Teaching?
- Ensure You’re Signed In through Single-Sign-On (SSO)
- Configure Zoom for Teaching
- Schedule Meetings through the MyLS Integration
How Can I Manage My Zoom Classroom?
- Beginning Class
- Using Zoom Inclusively
- The Chat Window
- The Participant Window
- Security Options
- Live Captions and Transcription
- Breakout Rooms
- Student Presentations
- Whiteboards and Annotation
- Natural Writing and Drawing
- Attendance Reports in Zoom
- Polling in Zoom
- Tools for Student Collaboration
- Guest Speakers and External Participants
- Choosing to Record Synchronous Sessions
- Recording Settings, Editing, and Sharing with Students
9. Utilising Formative Feedback in Your Teaching
Why Do I Need to Gather Formative Feedback?
- The Benefits of Formative Feedback
- Building Learning Communities
- Student Engagement and Self-Directed Learning
- Timing Formative Feedback
How Can I Gather Formative Feedback in My Course?
- Creating an Environment for Formative Feedback
- Student Learning and Student Engagement
- Considering When to Gather this Information
- Selecting Relevant Formative Feedback Questions
- Using Formative Feedback
What Techniques Can I Use for Formative Feedback?
- Polling Tools as a Formative Technique
- Classroom Assessment Techniques as a Formative Technique
- Questionnaires as a Formative Technique
- Class Representation as a Formative Technique
- Circle as Pedagogy as a Formative Technique
- Resources on Formative Feedback
10. Reflecting on Your Teaching
Why Do I Need to Reflect on My Teaching?
- The Importance of Reflection
- Building Ongoing Development in Your Practice
- Leaning on the Supports around You
How Can I Reflect on My Teaching?
- Asking the Right Questions
- Finding the Right Pathway for Information
- Thinking About Teaching as an Evolution of You as an Educator
What Do I Do with My Teaching Reflections?
- Developing a Support Structure
- Feedback in the Course Redesign Cycle
- Reimagining Student Outcomes and Teaching Practices
- Thinking about Innovations
Plan, Build, Teach: A Guide for Effective Teaching, Learning and Assessment by Teaching, Learning and Development at Wilfrid Laurier University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License.