Resources from the 2020 Online Teaching Institute

Question:
Why was gender ever written into our language? Is there any point to gendering language?

Answer:
This is such an interesting question because it is a “why” question (instead of a “when” or “how” question). In terms of gender being written into our language, that came with the introduction of French in 1066 with the Norman Invasion, so the French language (which has gender built into its system) merged with our Anglo-Saxon (or, “Old English”) language to become what was for a while “Middle English.” Our English language today has several hang-overs from both Anglo-Saxon and French in it, and gender is one of them. In term of the “why” and the “is there any point,” that is nor precisely known, but as I mentioned in my talk with Bishop Robert Lowth in the 1700s, several people with power in our history took different liberties to “tidy up” our language to create rules and formalities (this is how our language itself continues and perpetuates colonization), and many of these rules and formalities were to solidify the gender binary and, in doing so, work to maintain the subordination of (binary) women. For more on this, see Dale Spender’s excellent work in Man Made Language.

Question:
Tommy, I am curious how one might respond to people who do not respect the pronouns others want to be called. I am not talking about mistakes, I am talking about people feeling they have the right NOT to call others by their chosen pronoun.

Answer:
Oh, this is a great question! And one we have seen come up right in and across our Canadian Academy with several professors hitting the media for this very thing! It is a very, very simple thing to refer to someone they way that they ask you to refer to them, so when people do not respect this and specifically take these moments of marginalized people asking for respect to create a soapbox on which to stand and expound their belief in their rights not to do so, it is just absurd and speaks so many volumes about that person’s character. What I do – and what I would encourage folks to build up the courage to do as well – is to politely ask, and as Jack Halberstam says about their partner’s son, ask “without judgment,” why it is more important to them to use a pronoun/reference that confirms their visual bias of someone than to use language that affirms a marginalized person’s identity, being, and life? What do they hope to gain by this? Where is this tension, this bias, this strong and passionate desire to disrespect this marginalized person coming from? This doesn’t always open up a meaningful conversation or a teaching moment, but it can often stop the disrespect and change the temperature of the space/conversation.

Question:
To our UofA team: Will gender pronouns be introduced as a Beartracks category, so that they’re automatically displayed when students register for a class? Would this be problematic in any way? To Tommy: How is this handled at your institution, if it is, and how did/do students respond to it?

Answer:
I am guessing that Beartracks is/might be a registrarial system - ? If so, at Waterloo, I am working with our Registrar on having our in-take data forms updated so that students can list their pronouns when they register at the University of Waterloo and so that faculty members can have quick and easy access to this information. When I was at the University of Guelph in their Office of Teaching and Learning, I was also the Chair of the QUofG Network (the Queer University of Guelph Faculty and Staff Network), and we collectively had been working with Guelph’s Registrar on this as well. There is a similar initiative at NYU for Pronouns and Name Pronunciation under their Office of the Registrar’s “Registration, Records, and Graduation” and “Forms, Policies, and Procedures.” At this point, I do not know where Guelph is with this initiative, nor do we at Waterloo yet have it implemented, so I cannot, I apologize, speak at the moment to how did/do students respond to it.

Question:
You posted your “adjectives” — do you recommend this as a potential “ice breaker” with undergrad students?

Answer:
I love that this question presents that moment in my talk as adjectival, thank you! I might steal that… When I do this, I think of it as sharing/declaring and making transparent my identity markers and intersections as well as acknowledging the privileges and marginalizations that my body and identity experience. In terms of recommending this as a potential ice-break activity with Undergrad students, I would not: perhaps with upper-year Undergrads and/or even Grad students, this could work better, and then with decided care and caution (see Spade’s notes on responsibly doing a Pronoun Go-Round with students). My worry of having this be an ice-breaker activity in a first- or second-year Undergrad class would be: (1) they may not know what you mean, what they can and could share, how they can and could share this respectfully, etc., and (2) this would be a very heavy and loaded activity to break the ice with for a group of new students. It could work well, perhaps, as a mid-point or end-of-term activity – or as I said, with upper-year Undergrad and/or Grad – but this also could be, instead of an ice-breaker activity, and great way for a professor to introduce themself the first day of class and to model not only their pronouns as a signal of a pronoun awareness and cultures of respect, but other identity markers, intersections, privileges, and marginalization that your teaching body has. Acknowledging – and troubling – the authority that you have a teacher in that classroom, too, would be a great “adjective” to add, too. See bell hooks (Teaching to Transgress) on this as well as Sean Michael Morris (An Urgency of Teachers).

Question:
I am unsure when ve or ze would be used?

Answer:
The ve-series and the ze-series of pronouns would be used when someone who lives with either of those series as their pronouns tells you that that is their lived pronouns. (For example, this sentence I just wrote, respectfully, should be: “The ve-series and the ze-series of pronouns would be used when someone who lives with either of those series as vir or hirs pronouns tells you that that is vir or hirs lived pronouns.”) Another time that you would use either of these series of pronouns could be in creating a case study or question for your students to engage with it – instead of having the characters in the case study/question be binary-gender (he-series or she-series), or even gender-neutral with the they-series, you could use the ve-series or ze-series to create more diverse and representational case studies and questions.

Question:
Hi! Could you speak a bit about they/them. I often use this pronoun rather than other pronouns, but I worry that someone who actually uses this pronoun to refer to themselves may be offended that it is being used generally. OR, someone who uses another pronoun may not appreciate being referred to in this way.

Answer:
This is a great question! A best practice is, yes, to use the they-series of pronouns as the default gender-neutral pronouns – and our academic style guides do seem to have caught up to this in 2020 as well, which is helpful for teaching writing and communication as well as having these disciplinary updates to support us. I have often been asked about the worry of offending someone who uses this pronouns as well as of someone who does not use this pronoun, and so I say this is safer (not safe or safest) to use the they-series because it is more inclusive and forecloses on any assumptions – and in the case where someone may not have this as their lived pronoun (someone who, for examples, lives with the binary she-series or he-series…which is totally okay!), this can be a great teaching moment and push toward reflection for the wider instances of misgendering people with pronouns, such as the earlier “universal he” to refer to an unknown person and, yes, the misgendering of non-binary and trans people by the use of binary-gendered pronouns.

Question:
We had the conversation in my workplace (department of 100+) about the need to refer to people by the terminology they want to be referred to by as a means to show respect. The concern that arose was along the lines of, “Well, what if someone wants to be referred to by ‘queen’ or ‘king’ – we can’t possibly refer to someone that way. That’s no longer respect, etc.” Unfortunately, that’s the ideology that won out and the initiative fell flat. Any advice on how to overcome this mindset and move forward with respect and inclusion?

Answer:
Read the Spade article! And read more Dean Spade writing as well! This is so disappointing to hear that this mindset of arrogance and such sheer unacknowledged privilege won out – when folks whose lived pronouns are non-binary pronouns, they are not asking for power (as an ask for the preferred title of royalty - and gendered titles, at that! - for “king” and “queen” are) but are asking to be respectfully referred to. We are asking to be been, to be acknowledged, to be respected, and to be welcome to live, work, learn, grown, think, and exist in the same spaces where people who have never had to fear (and sometimes fear for your life) around being misgendered and being dehumanized. This “concern” as expressed (and as victorious) is an invalid, harmful, dehumanizing, and just plain gross departmental consensus. In addition to advising to read more Spade on this issue, I would also advise for anti-oppression training and some serious reflections on privilege and power.

Question: 
As pronouns are a closed case, I believe it will be harder to have novel pronouns ze/ve accepted, any advice about that?

Answer:
I apologize that I am not able to ask for clarification on this question because I am unsure what the question-asker means by “closed case” here. Sorry about my Internet issues in Southwestern Ontario! To speak to the seeming difficulty of having novel pronouns accepted, my advice is the same with any new language, new evolutions of languages, and even neologisms that we use: practice using them, and keep using them until they become unconsciously used.

Question:
I’m really apologetic about my lack of knowledge, but can you describe how the term queer relates to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender? It would really help me understand a person’s perspective if they identify themself to me as queer but maybe not another term.

Answer:
This is a BIG question…and a question that doesn’t have a consensus in the community nor across history. The way that I understand, use, and explain the term queer, especially when talking about and doing work across the LGBTQIA+ banner, is to think of queer and trans and sibling terms that together are more representative of the bodies and identities within LGBTQIA+. Queer is often considered to have to do more with sexuality, sexual orientation, and who-loves-whom (and is opposite of straight/hetero), whereas trans is often considered to have to do more with gender identity, gender expression, and not expressions of love/desire (and is opposite to cis). (This is not definitionally accurate; as I said, this is the way that I understand, use, and explain the terms.) The acronym LGBTQIA+, then, is made up of both: Lesbians, Gay people, Bi people, and Ace people are communities with identities that are often considered to have to do more with sexuality, sexual orientation, and who-loves-whom (and are opposite of straight/hetero); Trans people and Intersex people are communities with identities that are often considered to have to do more with gender identity, gender expression, and not expressions of love/desire (and are opposite to cis). And, of course, many people – such as myself, as I shared – identify with more than one letter in the acronym and so can be queer and trans at the same time (again, like me).

Question:
If we don't know a gender pronoun in a work environment, say email, is it best to refer to a person as "they"?

Answer:
Yes, absolutely, I would say so. A best practice is to use the they-series of pronouns as the default gender-neutral pronouns – and our academic style guides do seem to have caught up to this in 2020 as well. I also use the they-series in oral communication to refer to my students when I do not know their lived pronouns – if I am teaching a large class, for instance, where I haven’t done a Getting To Know You questionnaire or a Pronoun Go-Round, or if I am teaching a guest lesson in a class – and that can feel weird at the beginning to look at a student who visually-presented in a way that has us assume a binary gender and to actively and consciously use the they-pronoun, but it is much better than giving into that visual assumption and using a binary pronoun. Also, by orally using the they-pronoun, you are now orally signalling pronoun awareness and cultures of respect – and this will go a long way with your students, especially your trans and non-binary students – who absolutely will hear this from you and will feel seen and respected…even if they were not the one you were referring to in that instance! (Another great tip here, especially when you do not know pronouns of students, are in that large class, or in that guest lesson, is just to ask their NAME and then use their name to refer to them – i.e., “Great point, thank you for sharing that! And what was your name? … Thank you! As Tommy said…”

Question:
How can instructors show the hidden oppression that the LBGTQ2+ people face? How do we show society's binary way of thinking about gender and the problems that causes?

Answer:
This is a great question…and another BIG question. My response here is to make the hidden oppression unhidden – literally unhide (re: show) it in class. Use diverse examples, diverse authors; problematize binary thinking in textbooks when you see it (i.e., why are all the characters in the sample questions named John and have he-series of pronouns? Why is this John always married to a Jane, and why does this Jane always have she-series? Why isn’t Jane married to Chris who uses the they-series? Why, even, are Jane and Chris married instead?). Question everything, I say. And encourage and empower your students to question everything as well. Then find out together who is missing and is not represented – and how they could be.

Question:
Do you find that the majority of issues concerning gender pronouns/mislabelling are becoming better addressed with the progression of younger generations? Is there a generation-specific reluctancy?

Answer:
I have not yet done the research into this fully, but I will not hesitate to say that, yes, generational inclusivity is showing shifts in this with younger generations (recall the Lady Gaga 2019 concert set up to “Million Reasons”) engaging in this culture of respect much earlier on in their lives, with much more exposure and positive reinforcement from role models and public pedagogues, and with, unfortunately, older generations hanging onto, as Jen Manion said, those “grammar school lessons of 40-50 years ago” that they feel, in the way they were expressly (re: colonially) taught, preclude them from needed to unlearn and relearn.

Question:
It is very common for students to introduce themselves in new groups using their pronouns. I feel uncomfortable about requesting this of students in a new group as I don't want to put anyone in an uncomfortable or unsafe situation. I feel this is something that can come up once the space has been made to feel safe... Can you please share your thoughts?

Answer:
Excellent question! And again, check out Spade’s article on Pronoun Go-Rounds for this because he outlines wonderfully the affordances, constraints, and cautions to take with this activity. And fun fact: Jen Manion’s article that I cited actually argued against the continued practice of Pronoun Go-Rounds in teaching, and Spade’s article is a direct response article to hers that argues for the continued necessity of them in our teaching and learning spaces. A great dialogue and debate across those two articles – and in the comments on them – for sure. But from my perspective for a response directly from me, I like to do Getting To Know You questionnaires with my students that they individually complete (with the option to complete or not complete and to skip any and all questions), and I ask them BOTH “What are your lived pronouns?” as well as “How can I respectfully refer to you in the third-person in front of the class?” And I always start this activity off with a mini-lesson on pronouns and gender. Thinking about the first day – and even first days – of class, we know that our students hate ice-breakers and will warm up eventually on their own, so I think it is a great idea, too, to wait until a few weeks into the term to do a Pronoun Go-Round as well. I like this, thank you!

Question:
What are some strategies to help a student who does not identify with a term the majority of minority community uses? For example, I taught a class that included Queer Shakespearean interpretations, Queer theory, and openly identified Queer folks, but they told me personally they did not like the term "Queer." I was not sure how to accommodate them in my teaching rhetoric.

Answer:
Another great question – and see my above answer to a similar question that asks about this word queer, too. When it comes to trigger words in teaching and learning, there is a big difference between all of using a word, quoting a word, and teaching a word, and too often we as teachers don’t transparently and consciously unpack this with our students. Our students are totally allowed to not like, not identify with, not use, etc. labels and words, but it is our responsibility as teachers to create and maintain a space in our classrooms where we are having the meta-conversations around this. Etymology mini-lessons, rhetorical mini-lessons, historical mini-lessons, etc. all are great ways to mitigate this and proactively and meaningfully not just accommodate but engage our students who are hearing, feeling, understanding language and its power differently.

Question:
This is not a question and FYI. To my best knowledge, Farsi, Azeri , and possibly Turkish language do not have gender pronouns.

Answer:
Thank you so much! Great FYI – this fits with a question asked above, and I am going to add this to my notes as well. Thank you!

Question:
Can you please explain where the "ze" and "ve" series came from?

Answer:
This is my favourite question! And I knew it was/would be coming, and so you would think that I would have the answer ready, but I don’t! (And my partner is also so frustrated with me on this one because I have been asked this before and still don’t know, ha!) BUT…I am constantly and continually researching to find this. As of right now, and not from any authoritative source but from scouring the Internet and Reddit and social media and comments, these two series seem to have come from early trans movements in the 1960s and 1970s. But as I said, nothing authoritative on this, and nothing consistent either that I have found. Lots of cultural myths and origins stories, though, which are fun! And interestingly, from an etymological perspectives, the pronouns hir (from the ze-series) is the Middle-English pronoun for “they” and was also used a singular, gender-neutral third-person pronoun. But not the ze for the subject case! Still researching and still working on this, though! (…but I knew I would get asked this!)

Question: 
What about the word “folks”? Would that be considered inclusive?

Answer:
Yes, absolutely! Folks is one of the easiest ways to inclusivize our language by getting rid of saying “guys” when we refer to a group of people. There is an alternate spelling, too, that people use (“folx” – pronounced the same) that uses the x to symbolize an unknown variable as well.

Question: 
Is there a language that does not incorporate gender into their grammatical rules?

Answer:
There are many languages that do not incorporate gender into their grammatical rules, yes. I do not know them all, nor have I done research into them or into this specific topic, but there are many distinctions between “genderless languages,” “gender-neutral language,” and grammatical rules that necessitate/incorporate gender. Lots of great work and research still to do for sure!

Question: 
Tommy, I feel like I need to apologize for my first question now that I think about it in light of what you explained since I wrote the question. I understand that gender in language, how we use it to indicate ourselves, is an expression of how we see ourselves. But, as you alluded to, there are languages that express gender differently in their grammatical rules. I guess I was wondering about the history of English, why was gender written into our grammatical rules – was there ever a point? Thanks again for taking the time with us today.

Answer:
Thanks for this clarification! I think I covered some of this both in the talk and in my above response, so that is great!

Question: 
In building teams for class work do you think gender should be considered to build diverse groups? It's a question that is part of some team building software.

Answer:
I think it definitely can be considered, yes. I am unsure of the specific ins-and-outs of this team building software, but it will be important to look at where it is pulling the student data from – i.e., from registrarial records, or from students self-identifying. If pulled from registrarial records, this might not be wholly accurate or representative data because these records are usually based on government markers that are binary by default; if pulled from having your students self-identify in the system, this could be much more helpful. And as with any intention diversifying of groups and teams, it is so important that the marginalized students aren’t tokenized and tasked with doing all the emotional labour of the diversity teaching and work for the other team members.

Question: 
What strategies can we use when writing reference letters for students who have not shared their preferred pronouns?

Answer:
Ooh, I love this question! And this one has a very clear, unambiguous answer: ask the student you are writing the letter how they would like you to write about them in the third-person for the reader(s) of the letter you are writing. In this case, defaulting to a singular, gender-neutral they-series might not be the best, especially if the letter of reference is for a job (academic or otherwise) because the they-series might not be received as an inclusive universal but as a marker of gender non-binarity/transness that could be used to discriminate against the student. It is a best practice in writing letters of reference to “fact check” with the student for accuracy of name, graduation dates, course names, publications, etc., so “fact checking” on how they would like the reader of the letter of reference to see pronouns in print is also great. Also, as with the pronoun go-rounds, you may know your student’s lived pronouns, but those may not be the one they want you to use out loud in class in front of other students just yet; same with letter of reference writing…even if you know your student’s lived pronouns, check with them on how they would like themself to be presented in the third-person in your letter because they may choose a different pronoun series to avoid bias, stereotyping, and discrimination as well as outing.

Question: 
Do you have thoughts or guidance on the use of pronouns in the context of STEM conferences? Should they be included on posters with the name(s) of the author? I am organizing a student conference for 2021. As in the Pronoun Go-Round, I wouldn't want to put people at a disadvantage and outing people who would rather not. How to allow for respectful pronoun usage without forcing the issue?

Answer:
I would love to see pronouns shared more widely in the context of STEM fields and STEM conferences, and I think including presenters’ pronouns with their names on posters – like, “Tommy Mayberry (he/she/they)” – and even on conference name badges is a great way to do this and to increase pronoun awareness and signal cultures of respect. As with the Pronoun Go-Round – and as with my example of business cards that I shared – this should be encouraged and optional but not mandatory. Never mandatory. And it can be helpful, too, in terms of getting to become familiar with the practice to create/include some instructional information as well – at a Grad Conference in 2019 when I was at Guelph, we created this poster (see attached).

Question: 
Thanks for your talk Tommy! You are great! I'm wondering how to approach being (deadly) careful in the classroom, especially when the stakes are so high when it comes to traumatizing students, even with seemingly minor language mistakes around pronouns or other speech acts? How do you approach this work carefully, knowing the stakes are so high, while also trying new things or experimenting in class generally in ways that may result in your 'screwing up' at some point? I feel like I am very careful in my classes but of course I know I inevitably screw up, and I regularly lose sleep and stress over what the impacts of these mistakes may be. I try to address them as best I can but I feel like it is never good enough. How does one proceed?

Answer:
Great question here, and great, compassionate explanation/narrative around it, too. I appreciate that. And I experience this, too. For how one should proceed here, it all comes bac to, as I share as a consistent theme throughout my talk, that transparency and intentionality on our behalf as teachers in the shared space of the classroom with our learners. We are going to make mistakes, and we are going to keep making mistakes. And so will our students. How we work to foreclose on these mistakes as well as to be proactive with handling them when they happen can change everything. If we tell our students at the beginning of our courses and teaching events with them that we are working on this, that we know we are going to make mistakes, that we know the impacts matter much more than just our good intentions, etc., we can signal this culture of respect with our students and make the teaching and learning spaces more productive, more brave, and more safe for everyone. We need to be vulnerable as teachers and model this vulnerability, and we need to trouble and challenge the authority of us as teachers in teaching and learning spaces – our students have knowledges, lived experiences, valid perspectives, and expertises, too…we are not the only ones! We need to tell our students that we know the stakes are high here, that we know language can and does traumatize and re-traumatize, and that we know will “screw up” but that we are cognizant always that there are impacts even when our intentions are good.

I will encourage folks again to see bell hooks (Teaching to Transgress) on this as well as Sean Michael Morris (An Urgency of Teachers) – and some of my explanation above in response to the question about sharing our “adjectives.”

Question: 
I am aware of the power dynamic in being the professor and I do not want to appear to be "modelling" any assumption of superiority or judgment when I lead out with she/her. I am totally comfortable with using others' pronouns and statements of pronoun preference. Am I over thinking this? Or do I need to be aware of unstated privilege of stating my own comfortable pronoun that does not include "they"?

Answer:
As I mentioned in a response to an above question, it is definitely okay to use, identify with, and live with binary pronouns – this isn’t a bad thing! When we acknowledge that we are binary-gendered individuals and state our pronouns as such, this can be a powerful signal to our students that we are aware of power and privilege and the interlocked dynamics of these, and we can take this further with our students to tell them, transparently and intentionally, that we are constantly working on learning more here. I can be very powerful and meaningful to use our pronoun declarations at the outset of class to be teachable moments where we explain what pronouns are, how we ourselves identify with them, and how we are using them in class, etc. We can include additional resources for our students and spend as much time as we can in class on this. And yes, decidedly state that privilege of living with binary-gendered pronouns so you don’t leave this unstated – just as we can and should with all other statements and acknowledgements of marginalization, racism, and trauma, we need to make the impact and action clear as well as the acknowledgement.

Question: 
What can we do to support queer students who do not feel safe to be out in the space that they are living in during the pandemic?

Answer:
This is such an important question, and such a difficult one because many of the ways we can signal these cultures of respect might depend on the physical space of a campus classroom and not a virtual space where we, as instructors, don’t know who might be listening/watching our lessons on the other side of our students’ screens (i.e., parents, guardians, siblings, etc.) that might make our virtual classroom unsafe, even with our best practices. So, transparent communication with our students as well as even more inclusive instruction and curricular elements will be the lifeline here – i.e., we do need to ask our students how we can respectfully refer to them both by name and in the third-person with specific reference to their working and studying from home. Clear questions (on written rather than oral, Getting to Know You activities), such as “What name should I use when referring to you on camera/on screen?”, “What pronouns are best for you when we’re synchronous?” etc. as well as even asking on the Getting to Know You what you should know about their working and studying from home life that would be helpful – i.e., do you have private space to be online, are you in shared space with siblings/parents/guardians/etc.? And then, always, make your examples, lessons, oral communication, etc. inclusive and representative so even when a student can’t be “out” as themself due to working and studying from home, they can still see themself, as Adrienne Rich urges us to ensure, in that mirror we are holding up to them.

Question: 
Hi Tommy Thanks for the presentation. I work in a health profession program. And have been reading about the medicalisation of trans people and wondering your thoughts about creating an inclusive environment and using LGBTQ people in our case studies. In the course I teach it is about diagnosing and detecting disease, and determining appropriate referral to other health professions. So all of our cases involve some form of medical problem and diagnosis. How do we safely and appropriately include trans people in our case studies without medicalising them - particularly in a course where all case studies are diagnosing a medical condition. Thanks for any guidance!

Answer:
Great question! And another tricky, but super important, one to ask and be aware of. The important distinction with regards to health and wellness and queer/trans people is the difference between (1) the symptoms they have/experiences as human beings and human bodies who are queer/trans and (2) not conflating/confusing their identities as queer/trans as symptoms of their human being and human bodies. As I mentioned in my talk, homosexuality and transsexuality with transgender enter our language as words that we pathological diagnoses…and as ones that needed to be corrected. We are not diseases, so in case studies, the “solution”/“treatment”/“cure” for students in health studies should not be located on the queerness/transness. There are, of course, medical dimensions to trans bodies such as surgeries and social support/counselling, but much of our medical curriculum in higher ed is still so white and cishet that it needs to be overhauled, and we can start this at the classroom level.

(If you or anyone is interested in more on this intersection of teaching and learning, health and wellness, and LGBTQIA2S+, let me know – a duo of Canadian authors who is across educational development and health studies wrote a brilliant chapter on this for my forthcoming collection RuPedagogies of Realness: Essays on RuPaul’s Drag Race and Teaching and Learning: I would be more than happy to connect you!)

Making Case Studies Inclusive and Avoiding Stereotypes

Question:
I teach in a physical therapy health professional program course. We teach students to recognize medical conditions and some conditions are more prevalent in certain ethnic groups than others. How do we create an inclusive environment and incorporate diversity into our case studies without reinforcing stereotypes?

Answer:
Be sure to cover a wide variety of different cases which have diversity in your examples. You could talk about the case studies with your class where social injustices, colonization, assimilation and oppression have caused damage and there are higher predispositions to these certain conditions in certain cultural groups. It is helpful to have a colleague read over your case studies to check for problematic language. If racist or insensitive comments are made by students you should address them and not allow those comments to stand as fact. As an instructor, it is important to share with students how these types of comments are divisive and will not be tolerated. Creating communities of respect amongst learners is integral to a positive classroom environment.

Making Case Studies Inclusive and Avoiding Stereotypes

Question:
I teach in a physical therapy health professional program course. We teach students to recognize medical conditions and some conditions are more prevalent in certain ethnic groups than others. How do we create an inclusive environment and incorporate diversity into our case studies without reinforcing stereotypes?

Answer:
Be sure to cover a wide variety of different cases which have diversity in your examples. You could talk about the case studies with your class where social injustices, colonization, assimilation and oppression have caused damage and there are higher predispositions to these certain conditions in certain cultural groups. It is helpful to have a colleague read over your case studies to check for problematic language. If racist or insensitive comments are made by students you should address them and not allow those comments to stand as fact. As an instructor, it is important to share with students how these types of comments are divisive and will not be tolerated. Creating communities of respect amongst learners is integral to a positive classroom environment.

How Should I Grade Reflections?

Question:
What should be included in a rubric used to grade student reflection? I would like my students to grasp the concepts I teach as well as including their metacognition. If they are reflecting well, but not actually learning the content, how can I assess them in an accurate way?

Answer:
You might choose to include reflections as an optional activity since they can be used to get students to interact with the course content in a deeper way. However, if you are making a rubric to grade student reflection, it is recommended that you have criteria in your rubric focused on interaction with the content. This could include effective argumentation, detailed analyses, or complex synthesis of content - each of these skills is independent of the specific content. For academic reflections, we also suggest that you require citations in reflections. This way, students are expected to interact with the content throughout the class in a meaningful way.

Skills-Based Learning Outcomes

Question:
I am finding that my students don’t engage in reflections as deeply as I would like; I currently have no specific learning outcome in my syllabus that refers to metacognition or reflection. Can I add a learning outcome that is about attaining a general skill instead of necessarily learning specific content? For example, could I say, “By the end of this course students will appreciate metacognition”?

Answer:
If you are going to be adding any learning outcomes it is essential that you make sure they are measurable and specific, even if they are a general skill.
Instead of including a learning outcome that states: “Students will appreciate metacognition”
Try: “Students will metacognitively reflect on their learning throughout this course”.

This active language focuses on providing students with an idea of how their skill will be measured.

For this specific outcome, students might find it helpful if you ask them for their 'next steps' for their learning. This returns students to the planning or forethought phase of metacognitive reflection (Usher & Schunk, 2017) and connects this phase to their reflective phase. These next steps should indicate very clearly how they intend to improve their meeting of the learning outcome. Subsequent reflections should then provide some evidence that these next steps have been worked on.

Work Cited
Usher, E. & Schunk, D. (2017). Social cognitive theoretical perspective of self-regulation. In Schunk, D. & Greene, J. (Eds.) Handbook of Self-Regulation of Learning Performance (pp. 19 – 35). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315697048

Should I Grade Attendance to Synchronous Lessons?

Question:
I am teaching a large 100 level course this semester and I plan on doing two of my weekly class sessions asynchronously with recorded lecture materials, and one class session a week synchronously to discuss said materials. I want to ensure students attend this synchronous discussion period, but don’t want to rely on giving marks for attendance as to not penalize my students in varying time zones. I plan on assessing my students primarily through essays this semester. How can I encourage attendance to these discussion sessions?

Answer:
You can encourage student attendance to your discussion sessions by showing your students that there is indeed value in attending these synchronous classes. If students feel that these sessions will support their achievement of their learning goals by taking notes in these discussion classes, and can cite these discussions as sources, they might be less likely to skip their synchronous class time. We have found that students are far more likely to participate in, and enjoy, these synchronous sessions if they are able to use the knowledge they’ve acquired from these sessions to better their grade. By showing students an exemplar that utilizes class discussion as a source you can model to your class what you are looking for.

What Else Can I Use Besides Self Assessment to Measure Student Participation?

Question:
I want to assess student participation, but don’t want to overwhelm them with weekly self assessments. I feel like this semester students will be bombarded with quizzes and surveys, so how can I continuously assess student participation in a realistic way?

Answer:
Before you decide if you want to include a participation grade, we suggest deciding whether you want to assign a participation or professionalism grade. Should you choose to include a participation grade, by using breakout rooms on Zoom you can put students in smaller groups so that they are more able to contribute to conversations. You can visit various breakout rooms to check in and see who is saying what; however, keep in mind that having an instructor drop in might slow/stop conversation. Another option is to have students contribute ideas in real time on a shared Google Doc. This allows you to see who contributed what points, and when they did it. When grading participation using a participation rubric is a great way to ensure that your expectations of participation are clearly stated.

How Frequently Should I Assess My Class?

Question:
I want to ensure I am assessing my student’s learning in an accurate and authentic way. Is it better to assess my students with a smaller amount of high-stakes assessments, or a larger number of low-stakes assessments?

Answer:
With online learning, it is a good idea to issue more smaller stakes assessments instead of few high stakes assessments (e.g., assessments worth 20% or more of a student grade). This can prevent academic integrity infractions as it is harder for students to hire someone to write three papers than it is one. As well, multiple assessments allow students to check in with how they are performing throughout the course. Finally, lower stakes assessment can lower students’ stress levels. However, keep in mind the workload you are giving your students as to not burn them out with assessments.

Dealing With Students In Different Time Zones

Question:
I want to be conscious of my student’s time zones so that I don’t schedule a synchronous session in the middle of the night. I’ve heard student’s locations may be posted on Beartracks, but if not would it be an invasion of their privacy for me to ask where they are?

Answer:
To avoid asking personal questions on a student's exact location, feel free to simply ask them what time zone they are in.

Recording Lectures or Lecture Summary Videos

Question:
I am teaching a large intro course that has multiple sections. We are working with our course coordinator to standardize amongst ourselves and are debating if we should post recorded lectures or not. The lectures will include both content delivery and class discussion. Some of us feel that we should not, while others think that a ten minute summary video would suffice. What is the best approach to take in this situation?

Answer:
It is recommended that you make recordings of your course available for those students who may not be able to attend for a variety of reasons. Please note that recordings should be deleted at the end of every semester. If you record sessions with students, you do not need to formally collect consent, but it is considered best practice to notify students of the recording, where it will be housed, and for what purposes it can be used. A statement on this topic that you can use in your course is available on our page about synchronous and asynchronous teaching. Should you choose to record summary videos of your lectures and post them online for your students to watch at any time, it is recommended these are posted in advance of synchronous time. When lecture time is being used exclusively to deliver content, students prefer a recorded lecture over a live lecture so they can stop the video to take notes, watch multiple times, or ensure they are really taking in the information (Luke, 2020). By not recording summaries or entire lectures live during class time you will also avoid having to deal with privacy issues that emerge from recording your students.

Reference
Luke, K. (2020). The pause/play button actor-network: Lecture capture recordings and (re)configuring multi-spatial learning practices. Interactive Learning Environments. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2019.1706052

Do Synchronous Class Activities Need to be Graded?

Question:
I am concerned that if I post my recorded lectures that my students will binge them all at once like a Netflix series. I worry that by consuming all my course content at once that nothing will stick in my student’s minds. How can I remedy this?

Answer:
You can help students to help themselves by having them watch the lecture summary and then have them do an activity that requires them to use and understand the content of your lecture summary. Additionally, you can provide an incentive for them to keep up on the content material such as a quiz every two weeks (which might replace your traditional midterm).

Google Drive and International Students

Question:
One of the challenges we have about using Google Docs is that it won't work in China. What can I do about this?

Answer:
IST is currently looking for a solution to this problem and will pass it on once an alternative is determined.

Issues With Lecturing Synchronously

Question:
I don’t like the idea of teaching asynchronously as I would like to create a sense of regular class time for my students.

Answer:
With students learning from home they will have far more factors impacting their learning that we need to consider. With distractions like pets or children, or challenges like living in a different time zone, students might find it very difficult to be completely present for a rigid block of time. If you're trying to do any kind of knowledge transfer it's best to allow students the flexibility to learn at their own time and their own pace.

How Can I Run Breakout Rooms and Collaborative Google Docs Smoothly?

Question:
I want to put my students into breakout rooms while we have class on Zoom and have them simultaneously work on a Google Doc together. How can I ensure that this transition, from being together as a whole class to students being in smaller groups in breakout rooms, runs smoothly and efficiently?

Answer:
You can streamline the process by making Google Documents prior to your class that are named “Room 1, Room 2, Room 3, etc”, that correlate with the number of breakout rooms that you will be putting your students into. Breakout rooms on Zoom are numbered, so if a student sees that they are in “Room 4” then they know to open up the Google Doc titled “Room 4” to collaborate with the group members. You can share the link to the entire google folder with all of the documents. Students can then talk to one another on Zoom while simultaneously working on the same document. Another option is to have one person in each room be designated to share their screen and be the scribe of the group so that everyone is focused on the same section at the same time.

Using Biteable? Lite Or Pro?

Question:
There are two versions of Biteable—Light and Pro. Which one do you advise we should use?

Answer:
The Lite version is beneficial as there is a low learning curve; it’s extremely easy to figure out and use. The Pro version can do more, obviously, but the learning curve is also higher. CTL has worked with some instructors who have used the Lite version of Biteable with their students to allow them to demonstrate their learning. This has been very successful with positive feedback from the students stating it was a useful and unique way to review their own understanding of the materials. Other instructors have used these videos as an opportunity for students to peer-evaluate. As the free version of Biteable only allows videos to be saved to YouTube (for free), it’s simple to have students showcase their work, perhaps putting the weblink into eClass as part of an assignment task. For instructors who wish to purchase Biteable, CTL has a 20% discount code, available upon request.

Dealing with Different Times Zones for Class Discussion

Question:
I teach a course that has three classes a week, and I was planning on teaching asynchronously for the first two classes each week and then using the third class to unpack the content from the week together through a synchronous class discussion. I am questioning this choice now as I am concerned that using the last class of the week as our synchronous discussion period will be a challenge for international students. Would a mid-week discussion class be a more accommodating option for me to take?

Answer:
When dealing with international time zones, finding a convenient time for all your students to attend a synchronous discussion session is very challenging. If you are planning on only having one synchronous class a week it is key to be consistent with whatever day and time you choose for your synchronous class, because switching that day mid-semester, or alternating the day every week, will confuse students. A second option, which might give your students some flexibility, would be to hold two synchronous discussion classes throughout the week that students can choose between. This would obviously require more organization work from the instructor’s part, but would allow international students more options to participate in class discussions without being completely left behind. It is also wise to record class discussions (remembering to inform your participating students about the recording and its use prior to doing so) and then post them so that students who missed out can review important class discussions on their own time. Providing an alternative activity (such as a reflection or forum post) for the students who could not make the synchronous class is also encouraged so that those students are not disadvantaged (and required if you choose to make synchronous meetings graded).

Can My Students Record My Zoom Lectures?

Question:
If I am giving a Zoom lecture and am the host of the session I would have the ability to record that session, but would my students also have the ability to record my lecture on their Zoom accounts?

Answer:
The settings for your Zoom account linked to the UofA is set so students cannot record the session. However, it is not particularly difficult for students to record the session using other software such as Screencast-O-Matic or even using a smartphone camera. It is recommended that instructors not only remind students of privacy policies at the beginning of the semester, but to also remind them routinely at the start of every Zoom session. You can include this reminder for them not to record sessions on a presentation slide. Note that if a student has recorded any portion of your class or a fellow student, they can be held to the policy that is in the calendar under Academic Regulations in Evaluation Procedures and Grading System. This statement must be included in all U of A course syllabi and states, “Audio or video recording, digital or otherwise, of lectures, labs, seminars or any other teaching environment by students is allowed only with the prior written consent of the instructor or as a part of an approved accommodation plan. Student or instructor content, digital or otherwise, created and/or used within the context of the course is to be used solely for personal study, and is not to be used or distributed for any other purpose without prior written consent from the content author(s).” If a student violates this statement, the process of filing a complaint of violation is described in the Code of Student Conduct in section 30.5.2.