For Students: Help Create Welcoming Peer-Learning Environments
What makes a learning 花季视频 feel welcoming to all? When have you felt truly included in a class, group project, workshop, or other learning setting – and what were the qualities that helped you feel that way? Have you ever had a conversation with somebody else about their feelings of belonging in a learning setting?
Belonging is the feeling that the space (physical or virtual) is shared by you and every other person in that 花季视频. We know that this feeling of belonging in students' experiences and outcomes in college. To break this down, a sense of belonging can mean
- Believing that other people value your presence in the 花季视频
- Comfort in being yourself in the 花季视频, without feeling you need to adjust significantly to match others’ expectations
- Seeing your own values and experiences reflected, at least to some degree, in the content of the learning materials, class discussion, and other course activities
- Knowing that others in the 花季视频 want to support you in doing your best
Your role as a student
Instructors set the stage, but students themselves also contribute to shaping the experiences of others in the classroom.
Whether you are in a formal leadership position (peer tutor, peer mentor, group leader, etc.) or are a participant (class member, project group member, etc.) in a learning space, your contribution matters. Your words and actions make a difference for your fellow students, and you serve as a model for others. The best way to develop your inclusive leadership skills is to reflect on and notice the assumptions you might make, and the actions that might follow. Some suggestions:
- Recognize that we don’t all come into college with the same level of “insider knowledge” of how a university operates. The so-called — the set of unspoken rules that allows you to smoothly navigate a university system — is “hidden” because it’s not automatically visible to everybody in the community. For instance, a student with close relatives who have graduate degrees is likely to enter college already understanding how to work effectively with an advisor, how faculty office hours work, how to communicate their needs to instructors, and so forth. For students who have not yet had that kind of exposure, it might take a while to figure these things out.
- Give others the grace you would appreciate. It's easy to make assumptions: A student who arrives late for your group-project meeting, seems tired, and doesn’t participate much may have been sick, up late with a family crisis, or dealing with health concerns. Likewise, a student in your study group who seems "lost" may not have had as much previous background exposure as others have had, and may be racing to catch up. Try to approach these situations with empathy, whether by giving people a little more time, gently inquiring into how they are doing, or offering support where you can.
- Look for the strengths others bring. It’s not just the person with the greatest technical expertise in a group who contributes value. In fact, can help teams function more effectively. The person who asks thoughtful questions that get the group to think, or who brings in alternative viewpoints that expand the group’s perspective — these individuals will benefit the group’s processes and outcomes in ways that can be hard to measure but which can improve a group’s outcomes significantly.
- Help ensure everyone has air time. Paying attention to small interactions, such as who speaks and who or in physical space, can help you make space for everyone to participate. Consider: Do you tend to listen more actively when particular people speak? Why is that? Whose perspectives might you be missing out on?