In my course, I will build the course with equity in mind. The first thing that needs to be included in my syllabus is a diversity, equity, and inclusion statement. When constructing the statement, students’ ethnicity, age, gender, social status, religion, physical disability, etc. need to be considered. In addition to this, not every student in the course can participate in discussions in real-time and have sufficient internet access or adequate technological resources at all times to maximize their learning potential. Therefore, I will conduct the course in an asynchronous format in order to enhance students’ discussion skills. And take into account that in distance courses, some students are not in the same time zone as other students. I will consider modifying the attendance and participation requirements to make the time for students to submit and check the discussion content more relaxed for those who participate in the discussion skills improvement course and practice the skills. This would allow all students to participate in the discussion skills improvement exercises (Arbizo, 2020). In addition, for students with disabilities and those who are not very verbal, the online discussion sessions will help them to escape the negative perceptions of others and stimulate their learning potential. Furthermore, I will offer my help to all students who need it, including the opportunity to meet each other at the beginning of the course. Although it may be more challenging to make these connections in a virtual environment. I will set up a discussion page (2020) before the start of each week and invite students to participate by discussing simple “get to know you” tips. For example, what is your favourite animal? Why do you like this animal? Questions such as. Over the course of several weeks, students will comment on each other and answer questions to get a basic understanding of each other. This will help them to be more outgoing in their discussions.
Reference
Arbizo, A. (2020, June 15). Create an inclusive class climate online. Keep Teaching. https://keepteaching.ucdavis.edu/teach/create-inclusive-class-environment-online
Hi, stephaniem. As a platform, online courses offer continuing education opportunities for people who are willing to improve themselves, especially for disability. They can receive high-quality education no time and place restrictions. Creating a tolerant environment is key for online courses, which ensures students enjoy their learning experience.
Hi Stephanie, I’m Zhongbao Ji, and I agree that you attach great importance to fairness in asynchronous courses. It must be mentioned that the most suitable teaching approach should be established based on factors such as race, age, gender, social status, religion, and physical disabilities. The learning style of each individual student. On this basis, I would like to ask, what methods do you have for non-native English-speaking students to help them better integrate into the curriculum?
Hi Stephanie! Thank you so much for sharing your tips on how to make online courses more inclusive. I absolutely agree that creating a forum where students can introduce themselves is an excellent way to foster a sense of belonging and build a strong learning community. It’s always great to have a space where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas.
Hi Stephine, thank you for sharing your ideas about inclusive learning. You provided great points about inclusive learning in your learning design, including setting up asynchronous format and discussion content. I really like your inclusive part about the online discussion session to help students with disabilities to avoid potential negative perceptions of others, your design shows that you really think a lot about inclusive learning! Also, great choice of the reference!
Hi Stephanie,
I love that you will approach building your course with equity and making it accessible to everyone. I believe that nowadays it is very important to have the equity statement so it is clear what is appropriate within the class. I think in education today, the way that we grade and test students can still be changed. I think that some students learn better in different methods of learning and some students just take more time to understand the material.
Thanks for sharing,
Kevin S