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Teaching Through Trauma: Insights on Trauma-Informed Pedagogy in Online Learning from University of Michigan’s Leading Educators

When the Covid-19 global pandemic began, so did a more frequent conversation about the collective trauma endured during this time, from healthcare to housing to education. As time has passed, specifically within the educational sphere, discussions about trauma-informed pedagogy, once commonplace in the scope of the pandemic, seem to have receded. However, understanding the impact of trauma in the classroom continues to be essential for student success.

What is trauma-informed pedagogy? Sarah Le Pichon and Steve Lundy, 2023, share that “…trauma-informed pedagogy does not seek to provide a “cure” for students’ personal or social histories of trauma. But a trauma-informed pedagogy…entails that there are measures educators can adopt that do not exacerbate and may even mitigate trauma in the course of learning”. The CDC states that “[a]dopting a trauma-informed approach is not accomplished through any single particular technique or checklist. It requires constant attention, caring awareness, sensitivity, and possibly a cultural change at an organizational level”.  

Trauma itself isn’t always tied to a dramatic event or story. Roger Fallot and Maxine Harris, commonly attributed with developing trauma-informed care principles in 2009, note that “Trauma is pervasive. National community-based surveys find that between 55 and 90% of us have experienced at least one traumatic event. Individuals report, on average, that they have experienced nearly five traumatic events in their lifetimes. The experience of trauma is simply not the rare exception we once considered it. It is part and parcel of our social reality.”

In considering how to conceptualize trauma-informed pedagogy in the current context of higher education, specifically online, we spoke with four education innovators at University of Michigan to gain insight into their expertise of how to best understand and practically apply this concept.

Who is Trauma-Informed Pedagogy For? 

Trauma-informed pedagogy is for everyone. Dr. Kyra Shahid, Director of the Trotter Multicultural Center, shares that it’s not only for everyone, but specifically for “those invested in education being a pathway towards healing, restoration, innovation and change”. She continues, “We’d be remiss to not pay attention to how global, national, and local trauma impacts the way students see the world who have seen vast changes in how we teach online.” Shahid feels that this work is relevant to the world we live in now and helps learners to avoid cognitive dissonance during a time when the world is vastly changing. Due to this, she feels that one must disrupt the “normal” and teach in a way that is responsive to what this generation has lived through, from racial terror to mass shootings.

Dr. Rebeccah Sokol, Assistant Professor of Social Work, adds that Trauma-Informed Pedagogy is beneficial to both her, as instructor, and to her students. It’s simply put, a “compassionate teaching style”.  She feels that open communication about her students and their lives is really beneficial & helps her students and her be more authentic in the process, which opens the door to being able to learn and receive information. Sokol shares that because of Trauma-Informed teaching practices, she comes to every classroom setting with the understanding that students are coming to the learning experience with a lot of lived experiences. She recognizes and honors their diversity of experience which enriches the depth of learning for the entire community.

“Trauma-informed pedagogy is a learner-centered approach that focuses on the needs of students first and foremost. Since the pandemic, I think we have seen an overall shift toward putting the experience of students first, even if it means making adjustments to expectations and timelines for course delivery”, says Dr. Rebecca Quintana, Director of Blended and Online Learning Design at The Center for Academic Innovation. She also shares that these ideas can also be applied to instructors. “Instructors need to give themselves grace as they seek to provide grace to their students. For instructors, it can be challenging to know how much visibility to give students into challenges they are facing personally, so it is important to thoughtfully navigate each situation on a case by case basis.”

Dr. M. Remi Yergeau, Associate Director of the Digital Studies Institute, notes that there are misconceptions, or bias, when it comes to trauma-informed pedagogy. They note that before one can do the work of learning, one does not need to resolve their trauma. “There is a common misconception, more of a bias, around trauma as well as disability…that people who are in the throws of lived experience, like people experiencing the traumatic impact of a life event, people who are going through a medical event, disabled folks…there is a presumption that you shouldn’t be here”. They add that there is a presumption that you need to get your life in order before you can do the work of learning, which is harmful and presumptuous that experience is not valuable.  Yergeau also feels that it’s important to remember that trauma isn’t just one thing; it can be in the community, a lived experience, social structure, identity, or even one’s body.  Shahid also shared that we need to reframe our thinking that trauma-informed pedagogy is therapy: “…[Trauma-Informed Pedagogy] is not focused on individual needs but on the collective needs of the entire classroom, instructor included”. Sokol shares it could be as simple as a mindset shift to “…come to teaching with understanding that people have a diversity of experiences and backgrounds and being mindful of that diversity when teaching and interacting with students.” Overall, they emphasize that a student’s life experience is valuable within the learning environment.

Trauma-Informed Pedagogy for Online Learning

When we asked Shahid about practical ways to incorporate Trauma-Informed Pedagogy into their online teaching, she suggested that instructors build in time to reflect and time to incorporate the body. “Don’t fall into the practice of education just being an exchange of intellectualism,” she warns. “[We need to acknowledge] the ways that our body is impacted by what we learn, how we learn, where we learn.” If content is particularly challenging–whether due to the nature of the topic or technical difficulty–students can benefit from pausing and allowing the tension of that stress to move through them. Online learning environments can feel somewhat disembodied, relegating student representation to posts on a discussion forum or a small box on a video meeting screen. Technology can engender cognitive dissonance, Shahid says, and establishing ways to remember students as part of a learning group—and as part of their bodies—can support learning. 

Shahid points out that most of human communication is actually nonverbal. “It’s not the words we use, it’s our body language, it’s the eye contact, it’s the energy that we share when we come into a room,” she explains. “It’s those things that really influence how we experience, what we learn, and what triggers in our body that we’re safe or we’re not safe.” Since online learning tends to be absent of many of these cues, this can be particularly challenging for learners with a history of trauma, or for anyone living through unpredictable times. At the same time, she says, technology can bridge gaps, and bring in forms of engagement less common in a classroom. Yergeau notes that instructors don’t have to limit their online teaching to tools like Zoom or Canvas. Platforms like Discord, for example, may have a steep learning curve, but can also allow for students to signal ways they would like to engage, and more layered conversation. No tool is perfect, and Yergeau suggests “pulling in students to do the critical work of assessing those technologies themselves.” They ask, “how are these technologies imagining their users?” Similarly, how are we as instructors imagining learners as we make decisions about how we teach?

While technology presents incredible opportunities for online teaching and learning, Shahid points out that educators aren’t always trained in how to fully utilize it in ways that are continuously accessible to students. Yergeau also notes that it is important to consider how the tech we use ultimately uses the data of our learners, with or without their consent.

Trauma-Informed Pedagogy and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

The principles of trauma-informed teaching—for example caring awareness, transparency, and empowerment—can support all learners. They also provide a framework for instructors to be human too, sharing our pedagogical decisions with students so that they can be improved. Because of its focus on trustworthiness, collaboration, and voice, trauma-informed approaches can be the glue that supports diversity, equity, and inclusion not only in the classroom, but on campus as well. Shahid points out that trauma-informed pedagogy, DEI, and other forms of healing centered practices are interrelated. “For me, [trauma-informed pedagogy] is what allows us to apply the good work of DEI that we have been doing for so many years in ways that are responsive to the students we are working with in the moment.” Whether we are talking about DEI or trauma-informed pedagogy, Yergeau says, “we’re talking about ways of viewing and approaching the world.” They note that it can be easy to imagine how individual trauma intersects with disability, but that it can also intersect with class, intergenerational trauma, legacies of colonialism, racism, and war – the ways in which our country is structured around violence and disempowering folks. We can provide learning experiences that support people where they’re at, Yergeau says, but we can also come at it thinking in terms of providing learning experiences that support social and educational transformation.

Practical Tips

Looking for concrete ways to incorporate trauma-informed pedagogy into your online classroom? Check out these tips below, synthesized from our conversations with faculty.

  1. Environment: Think about the kind of learning environment you want to create.
  • If you have synchronous meetings, plan the way you kick off each session. Are there ways to cultivate an atmosphere that gets students feeling welcome and ready to learn? Some instructors make use of icebreakers, check-ins, Zoom surveys or chat prompts, or music.
  • If your course is asynchronous, are there regular announcements that can be sent, or can periodic introductory pages be embedded in a course site? These can be ways to create rich regular touch points that use clear expectations, reminders, or gifs to build a cohesive community that helps learners to orient themselves and prepare.
  • Work with class participants to develop a group agreement. Sometimes called community guidelines or ground rules, activities like this can make transparent expectations and requests of one another as a class.

2. Time: Slow down and take stock of the moment.

  • Build in time for the class to pause and reflect, such as mindful moments before and after engaging learning activities. This can help students to prepare, shift gears, or reflect and synthesize. 
  • When traumatic events or experiences occur in the world or lives of individuals it can be feel dissonant to go about business as usual. If you are aware of something that may be weighing on students’ minds or bodies, consider creating moments to shift outside of routine. This can mean journaling, an unplanned discussion, or taking the opportunity to connect what is going on with course content so students can see how what they are learning is relevant.

3. Bodies: teach to the whole person.

  • Think about ways to acknowledge how the body is impacted by how and what we learn. If you teach online, recall that sitting for long periods can cause physical discomfort or present challenges to concentrating. Consider taking breaks for movement, or incorporating the body into the learning process. If course content is emotionally difficult, movement can be an ally to work through the material and any tension it may cause in the body.
  • Consider cultivating a learning environment that normalizes rest and restoration rather than busyness and opportunity/information overload. This could look like a segment of the course schedule that doesn’t introduce new content or assignments so that learners can focus on wellness, or regular messages that go beyond content to support student wellbeing.

4. Engagement: include yourself and students in your pedagogy.

  • Let students know why you’ve made certain decisions about class assignments or structure, and the ways in which your teaching style supports you–your passion and values, and also your own wellbeing and boundaries. Students want us to support them, but they don’t want us to burn out.
  • Invite students to be a part of class design or making decisions regarding their assessment. This can provide a sense of control, fairness, inclusion, and importance. We can do as much as possible to plan for learner success and inclusion, but nothing takes the place of students’ determining their own learning. Tools like Gameful that integrate with Canvas or other Learning Management Systems can be an effective way to support learners in individualizing their learning and assessment.
  • Learning isn’t just a two-way street between students and teachers, but also among students themselves. Invite students to share from their own knowledge and experiences, and build in time and activities to help build connections among learners. This can be particularly important in online classes, where students can sometimes feel isolated or as if they are going through class materials alone. For example, there could be regular discussion prompts that get students talking to one another about life or hobbies, and not just course material. Some instructors hold weekly synchronous drop in office hours where students can chat with the instructor about anything, or find fellow students and connect with them. It can be helpful to let students know that there is always room for conversation, connection, and disagreement.

5. Flexibility: Build in a diversity of ways to participate.

  • Online learning can rely heavily on live or recorded lectures, quizzes, and discussion forums. This can feel predictable for students–in both good ways and bad. To create a variety of ways of engaging with material, some instructors layer in use of Discord or other tools. This can provide opportunities for students to go beyond what Zoom or Canvas allow in terms of communication and relationship building (think gifs, or threaded chats, or ease of movement between multiple concurrent video discussions). Other instructors encourage opportunities for video, audio, or image responses as alternatives to writing.
  • Not all technology is equally accessible. The burden of pointing this out can fall to students whose needs aren’t being met. Before that happens, some instructors engage students in analyzing and selecting options that work best for the group or individuals.
  • Create ways for students to signal how they want to interact if they choose. For example, do they want to be reached out to outside of class for study groups, or do they like communicating by email, text, or other apps?

Additional Resources

Attributions

Educators can use generative AI to transform dense, technical material into clear, easily understandable content. This improves students’ comprehension and makes the learning experience more inclusive to a wider audience. While students are growing in their knowledge of complex academic topics, sometimes academic terminology can be a barrier. Particularly early in the course, students may not yet be familiar with the jargon and language of your subject matter. In addition, you may have learners in your course with a wide range of educational and cultural backgrounds. Some of your students may be from countries outside of the United States, and English may not be their first language. By demystifying complex concepts, jargon, and metaphors with generative AI, educators are empowered to create more equitable and effective learning environments for our diverse array of learners. 

For example, you can use the following example prompt to get started: 

“Could you please rewrite the following text to an 8-10th-grade reading level (using Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level) and clarify any complex jargon: “[Your text]” Thank you!”

In this prompt, we are asking ChatGPT to rewrite text to an 8-10th-grade reading level on the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Scale. This is the reading level recommended for a general adult lay audience. Feel free to adjust this to fit your target audience. 

Example: An Online Course on Neuroscience

Drafting

Now imagine that you are a renowned neuroscientist and a highly regarded faculty member at Michigan Medicine. You are interested in developing an online course that will bring neuroscience concepts to a lay audience. You are excited to get started, but as you begin to develop content, you quickly realize that your typical content is aimed at seasoned medical students and filled with jargon that may be daunting to those without prior knowledge. You realize that generative AI may be able to assist you in breaking down concepts into simpler terms. 

You fill in the example prompt with some of the text from one of your old in-person presentations with key concepts that you would like to include in this online course: 

“Could you please rewrite the following text to an 8-10th-grade reading level (using Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level) and clarify any complex jargon:

In our introductory exploration of neuroscience, we delve into the intricate workings of the central nervous system (CNS), focusing on the complex interplay between neurons and glial cells. We examine the fundamental principles of neuronal communication, emphasizing the role of neurotransmitters in synaptic transmission and the significance of action potentials in neural signaling. A detailed analysis of the brain’s functional anatomy is conducted, where we dissect the various lobes of the cerebral cortex, the limbic system, and the intricate circuitry of the basal ganglia, highlighting their contributions to cognitive and motor functions. Additionally, we explore the mechanisms underlying neuroplasticity, emphasizing the synaptic and non-synaptic changes that facilitate learning and memory. The course also delves into the pathophysiology of neurological disorders, exploring the etiology and progression of conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis, and discusses the latest advancements in neuropharmacology and neuroimaging techniques.

Thank you!”

In response to your input, ChatGPT gives you the following output: 

“In our first look at neuroscience, we study how the central nervous system (CNS) works. This includes understanding how neurons (brain cells) and glial cells (supporting cells) interact. We learn about how neurons talk to each other, focusing on neurotransmitters, which are chemicals that help send messages in the brain, and action potentials, which are electrical signals in neurons.

We also look closely at the brain’s structure. This includes studying the different parts of the brain, like the lobes of the cerebral cortex, the limbic system (which deals with emotions), and the basal ganglia (important for movement), and how they help us think and move.

The course also covers neuroplasticity, which is how the brain changes to help us learn and remember things. We look at both synaptic changes (changes at the connections between neurons) and non-synaptic changes (changes within the neurons themselves).

We also learn about neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis. We study what causes these diseases and how they progress. Finally, we discuss new developments in treating brain disorders and ways to look at the brain, like neuropharmacology (study of how drugs affect the brain) and neuroimaging (brain scanning techniques).”

In this example, ChatGPT keeps all of the main concepts intact while using simpler language, providing definitions of terminology used (rather than removing it entirely), and breaking the large paragraph into more digestible, smaller paragraphs or chunks. 

Refining 

As a content expert, it is important to read through the output and ensure that all key concepts remain intact. It is also up to you to determine whether the revisions are sufficient and appropriate for your audience. You may choose to ask for stylistic revisions as well. For example, ChatGPT wrote the text as though the course is currently happening. However, you plan on delivering this information at the beginning of the course to talk about what the learner will learn. This is your preference. 

You can ask ChatGPT to revise with the following: 

“The course hasn’t happened yet. Please rewrite this to account for that. For example, using the phrase “we will” throughout.”

ChatGPT will then go through and make the requested revisions to the text using the appropriate tense that you indicated in your input: 

“In our upcoming exploration of neuroscience, we will delve into how the central nervous system (CNS) functions. This will involve understanding the interaction between neurons (brain cells) and glial cells (support cells). We will learn about neuronal communication, focusing on neurotransmitters, which are chemicals that help send messages in the brain, and action potentials, the electrical signals in neurons.

We will also closely examine the brain’s structure, studying different parts such as the lobes of the cerebral cortex, the limbic system (which deals with emotions), and the basal ganglia (important for movement), and understanding how they influence our thinking and movement.

The course will cover neuroplasticity, which is how the brain changes to facilitate learning and memory. We will observe both synaptic changes (alterations at the connections between neurons) and non-synaptic changes (alterations within the neurons themselves).

Additionally, we will explore neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis. We will investigate the causes of these diseases and their progression. Finally, we will discuss the latest developments in treating brain disorders and methods for examining the brain, such as neuropharmacology (the study of how drugs affect the brain) and neuroimaging (brain scanning techniques).”

Continue to refine as needed. Consider feeding into the chat examples of your tone of voice so that the content is not only accessible for learners but also contains a human element. In addition, you can increase your expectation of language understanding as your students grow in their knowledge and your expectations of understanding increase.

Introducing Extended Reality (XR)

Extended Reality (XR) allows learners to reach beyond the classroom into another setting through 360 videos and other simulations that can be used on different platforms whether that is headsets, web browsers, or mobile devices. Creating these learning activities in XR allows learners to practice needed skills in a simulated environment.  These low-stakes practices enable students to try and fail, get feedback, and try again without the usual costs of in-person scenarios. Courses such as First Aid, electric wiring, and public speaking could be augmented with opportunities to practice the necessary skills and behaviors in a low-stakes environment. All courses could integrate XR whether in a classroom with headsets or online with mobile devices or web-based browsing. Digital accessibility considerations are not always at the forefront in design such as the visual, auditory, cognitive, and motor needs of learners. Yet they are necessary requirements to make sure all learners can participate in learning and not be left out as new technology is integrated into online classrooms. Thus questions such as these can arise amidst excitement – What are the accessibility considerations in the XR space? How accessible is XR?

There are research groups and associations such as the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and XR Access that focus their work on XR and accessibility to build collective knowledge and practice. Here at the University of Michigan, the Center of Academic Innovation has experts in XR and accessibility such as Pamela Saca, the learning experience designer for accessibility. She will provide insights into these questions along with the resources to dig into to make sure as innovation expands, so does access for all.

How XR makes learning experiences more accessible

While many immediately think of the accessibility limitations inherent in XR technology, there are accessibility benefits as well. XR promises great potential for communicating and engaging more effectively in a remote, immersive environment for many learners who may not have had the opportunity before the integration of XR. The aspects of XR allow for engagement in both technical and humanistic fields of study and in allowing practice for skills such as wiring. It is poised to impact any discipline where objects of study are spatially relevant, allow students to gain confidence in analytic skills, and increase access to things that would cost time, money, or safety (Cook and Lischer-Katz).

There are also specific tools that increase accessibility. When thinking about the 1 in 4 people in the United States with a disability (CDC), these benefits can allow students to be more active participants in the classroom while also enhancing the learning experience of content. XR features can increase accessibility by enhancing surround sound from one side of the body over the other, using a technology that allows a virtual reality headset to dynamically highlight sharp contrasts of picture quality in peripheral vision for visually impaired users and enabling walkability for those confined in a wheelchair through movements similar to walking around a boardroom table. XR tools support students to engage and change the tools so that they fit their needs and fulfill the vision of building the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviors for their course.

Accessibility challenges with the use of XR

However, there are accessibility challenges with the use of XR, that can affect all learners, even without disabilities. Students working in noisy spaces may also have challenges hearing. Some students struggle with new technologies or have motion sickness when using a headset. Some XR tools like 360 degree videos or first person perspective movement depend heavily on motion controls. The technology requires the user to manipulate their body to control their movements and placements which forces the challenges in accessibility when there are learners who have difficulties with motion controls.

Planning for Accessibility

Although Pamela Saca, the Learning Experience Designer for Accessibility at the Center for Academic Innovation, believes that extended reality could support many people in their learning, she knows nothing can be 100% accessible because one thing that “works for one person will be in direct conflict for what might work for another person.” In her work in design teams, a change made to help one type of learner and their specific accessibility needs may make it more difficult for another. Therefore, she suggests the following considerations that can help design teams and instructors make more inclusive choices.

  1. Consider accessibility from the beginning. The XR collaborative recommends planning XR experiences explicitly considering accessibility at the start of your project. It’s more efficient and less expensive than having to remediate. Think about the types of learners you may have in your course and what kind of needs they may have. This could include captioning audio or providing alternatives for physical movements. There are resources for testing accessibility whether that be through user testing before launch, XR Guidelines, or the W3C amongst others that need to be implemented throughout the design process from ideation to implementation. 
  2. Build with an audience in mind that is as inclusive as possible, or better yet, involve people with disabilities as members of the course design, managers, and testers. You may find challenges you hadn’t anticipated due to your own design bias.
  3. Test the learning activity with a diverse group of people to ensure ample feedback and to be able to build in alternative activities if it is not 100% accessible. During one set of user testing, what designers thought to be a great design instead had a lot of challenges. The XR experience had to be changed to accommodate the broad population that would be using it, even if it didn’t align with the originally planned experience.

Extended reality is a tool that can be used to enhance learning through low-stakes practice, continuous feedback, and real-life situations. It, like many other learning technologies, has limitations and introduces the possibilities for exclusion whether that be because of technological difficulties, inaccessibility, or other issues unknown to the designer. Extended reality, like many technological innovations, is exciting but should also be used for expanding learning for all.    

References

CDC: 1 in 4 US adults live with a disability | CDC Online Newsroom | CDC. (2019, April 10). https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2018/p0816-disability.html

Cook, M., & Lischer-Katz, Z. (2020). Practical steps for an effective virtual reality course integration. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 27(2–4), 210–226. https://doi.org/10.1080/10691316.2021.1923603

Additional Resources

XR Access: A community committed to making virtual, augmented, and mixed reality (XR) accessible to people with disabilities

World Wide Web Consortium: The W3C mission is to lead the World Wide Web to its full potential by developing protocols and guidelines that ensure the long-term growth of the We

NameCoach for Canvas – a tool for building community in the classroom.

NameCoach is a new tool introduced in Canvas in Fall 2021. It allows students and instructors to record their preferred way to audibly speak their name, as well as provide a phonetic pronunciation.

In Canvas, NameCoach is automatically enabled on the left-hand navigation bar. Selecting it will bring up the list of students’ names and preferred pronunciations.

Being able to call students by their name, with the correct pronunciation is a powerful tool in both the online and face-to-face classroom. Research supports that even small measures, like calling students by name, builds rapport, may increase participation, and increases students’ feelings of engagement with the class.

For more information about NameCoach, see the ITS Teaching and Learning page.

Learn more about NameCoach and all the Canvas tools offered through ITS Teaching & Learning.

How this will help:

Identify ways that you might encourage active participation in web conferencing sessions.
Know where to find resources related to creating participatory environments.

The basics

When groups including classes meet in real-time online via a video conferencing tool, it’s tempting to just use the time for a presentation or a question and answer session. However, there are ways that you can deliberately use technology in these sessions to enable meaningful participation, deeper learning, and stronger connections.

There are two basic ways to encourage participation in this environment: 

  1. Utilize activities that can be completed by everyone at the same time. For example, you could post a question or prompt in the chat feature of your videoconference tool and then ask everyone to respond at the same time (called a “chatterfall” or “chatstream” or “backchannel”). Another easy technique is asking everyone to contribute simultaneously through an annotation feature or shared workspace such as a Google doc.
  2. Break the whole group up into smaller groups. In classes larger than 5, it helps to create pairs or smaller groups using breakout rooms. Depending on the size of your class, you can also easily scaffold a series of small group conversations (e.g. first as pairs, then as groups of four, etc) by combining breakout rooms.

When planning participatory synchronous sessions, feel free to keep the technology simple: we recommend using Zoom and a tool from the Google suite (such as docs or slides). Think about activities that you’ve run in-person and then work to adapt them in order to optimize the opportunities afforded in a remote environment. Consider the essence of that activity and build out from there rather than trying to translate it directly. Although technology can often help, sometimes activities just don’t work as well in a remote environment, and that’s okay. In this way, you’ll be using technology deliberately in the service of your goals rather than using technology for its own sake. 

Accessibility is another major consideration when running participatory virtual classes or meetings. Before meeting remotely, you’ll want to get a sense of any accommodations that your students may have and work to make sure that all shared materials are accessible and easy to use. In understanding the needs of your students before a meeting, you can choose the activities and/or the technologies that will work best for that particular group. Additionally, it’s important to combine synchronous meetings with robust asynchronous tools in order to maximize the accessibility of your course. 

For specific ideas and activities that you might try, check out our Facilitation Guide: Participatory Sessions in a Virtual Environment. This guide is designed for those new to teaching or facilitating remotely and is built around using Zoom and the Google suite to encourage participation. It includes sections covering general recommendations (such as those found below in the Practical Tips), ideas leveraging specific tech features such as chat and breakout rooms, and an appendix that walks you through how to use Zoom if you need help with the technology. 

The guide also includes full instructions for a number of activities. These activities are largely centered on Liberating Structures, a suite of activities designed to encourage better collaboration and full participation by all group members. However, these activities will feel very familiar for a teaching environment. For example, 1-2-4-All is a kind of think-pair-share, Carousel Brainstorm is a series of brainstorms that build upon one another, and Shift and Share is a set of rotations for small group presentations.

Practical Tips

If you’re looking to encourage more active participation in a remote class or meeting, here are a few of the general recommendations taken from the facilitation guide to get you started: 

  • Build an agenda with ample time for activities and breaks.  

Because there is so much to process when meeting remotely, you should be prepared for activities to take longer, and Zoom fatigue is real. You’ll want to create an agenda that includes plenty of time for all activities as well as breaks for classes longer than 60 minutes. 

  • Create separate, shared workspaces for small groups that include all activity instructions. 

If you have small groups working in breakout rooms, create a dedicated workspace for each small group that includes all of the activity instructions and space for them to record notes (called a “harvest”). This workspace helps to keep small groups on track, allows you to monitor progress, and leaves documentation for everyone in the class to use—not just that small group. See the Template Slides and Template Text Collaboration Document in the Resources section below for examples of harvest spaces.  

  • Set clear expectations at the beginning. 

It helps to give students some expectations and guidelines so that you are creating a comfortable environment for participation. Some ideas include:  

  • Ask students to mute themselves unless speaking. Be clear that you’ll mute anyone who doesn’t abide by this expectation. 
  • Recommend that students configure their screens so that they can keep the chat window open during the entire class, rather than flipping back and forth. 
  • Encourage students to keep a piece of paper and writing utensil nearby.  
  • Let everyone know that video conference tools such as Zoom are strict facilitators; for instance, they will probably be whisked away from a breakout room while in the midst of a sentence. 
  • Acknowledge that a remote class will feel different than a face-to-face class, and that’s okay.
  • Enlist students to help with facilitation. 

There will be some additional responsibilities and considerations when meeting in a videoconference session, and it’s easy to become overwhelmed. To help with this, consider having 1-2 students act as “backchannel” moderators for the class. These students could be responsible for keeping track of questions, making sure all activity instructions are posted in the chat, and/or possibly summarizing the session at the end.

Resources

University of Michigan

Other resources

How this will help:

Describe the key features of an accessible course.
Identify ways to ensure a course you are teaching, is accessible for all learners.
Know where to find resources on accessible teaching at the University.

The basics

Although accessibility needs to be at the forefront of an instructor’s mind when designing a course, it is also important for instructors who are teaching a course. Even if it has not been designed to be intentional about making the learning experience accessible to all students, there are important checks and decisions an instructor should make before the first day of class as well as actions an instructor can take during a term to maximize the accessibility of a course. 

Some of these strategies will only be applicable if the instructor has autonomy to make changes to the curriculum, while others are generally applicable.

Prior to the first day

When preparing to teach an online course, creating a syllabus that demonstrates your teaching philosophy and values is one of the first steps you can make to build a connection between you and your students. Make sure that your syllabus includes language about 

  • How to obtain accommodations for disabilities (sample text available from the Services for Students with Disabilities),
  • Your willingness to hear students’ concerns about the accessibility of course content and the technology used in the course, and 
  • Clear descriptions of the kinds of assignments and assessments in the course so that students can anticipate what kinds of accommodations they may need.

Ideally, the accessibility of the course content was established by the team that designed the course, but you should review the content to make sure all readings/documents are screen reader accessible, all videos are captioned, and all visuals have audio descriptions or alt text. If you have flexibility in what readings/content to use in the curriculum, consider switching out content that is behind a paywall to open access/Creative Commons licensed resources. 

Similarly, if the technologies students are expected to use have a cost associated with them or are not accessible, identify alternative tools to use. Note that sometimes using a tool that has a cost is better than using a free application, especially when the company that owns the tools uses or sells student data in ways that students cannot opt out of.

If there is not one currently in your syllabus, adding a statement informing students that you are willing to accommodate their accessibility needs is a great first step to take. You can find a template to adapt for your course on the CRLT website. Besides the syllabus, you can also consider verbally telling your students about accommodation in the first class. Although students remain the right to not disclose their disabilities, please do remind students that the earlier they get in contact with the Services for Students with Disabilities, the earlier the accommodation can be put in place once requested. If students declare in advance of the start of the course that they will need accommodations to equitably participate in the course, make sure to connect with Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) to identify specific steps you need to take to make your course accessible. This might include setting your synchronous sessions up to be captioned or recording your synchronous sessions so students can access them later.

On the first day

The first day of an online course may or may not include a synchronous interaction; either way it is important to reinforce the messages around accessibility you put into your syllabus. If you aren’t meeting with students in the first week of the term, this might take the form of an email to students on the first day of the term or an audio or video recording of what you would say during a synchronous meeting.

Set norms, but be flexible. Create a plan that will likely need to iterate and evolve as you understand the needs of your learners better. 

  • One idea for making synchronous sessions more accessible, both to students with disabilities and to learners who aren’t using video to connect to the class session is to ask students to say their name every time they speak. For example, getting into the habit of saying “X speaking” helps everyone orient to a new voice in a videoconference call.
  • Instructors should also develop a clear plan for how students will ask questions and interact with one another, which needs to include considerations for students with hearing and/or visual impairments, who lack of access to broadband internet access, eliminating their ability to use video, and students who can’t or choose not to use video connections to synchronous sessions. 

Throughout the term

Much of what you need to do during the term is remain consistent with the values and practices you set up at the beginning of the course – enforce best practices for introducing oneself before speaking, monitoring the channels set up for discussion to make sure they are accessible to all, and being responsive when a student needs an accommodation. Other things you can try to include:

  • Using explicit verbal cues as to how to use tools to orient learners who may not be looking at a video demonstration
  • Using descriptive language to describe visuals you might be using in a presentation
  • Provide guidelines to any guest speakers about maximizing their audience’s engagement with their  lecture(s)
  • When possible, provide lecture slides and course materials in advance of a synchronous session.  This practice allows learners to adapt and process materials in a way that meets their needs, as well as providing an opportunity for learners to surface needs.
  • After synchronous sessions, post both the text transcript and recording, if possible.

Practical tips

  • First day – inform students about SSD and requesting accommodations
  • Be responsive to accommodation requests; students may encounter changes in their circumstances that impact what they need to fully participate, and their requests may not all appear at the start of the term
  • Add captions and/or transcripts to existing videos and audio from the course
  • If possible, replace scanned copies of documents with online versions of the text (library resources, online journals, etc) or versions that have been appropriately OCRed 
  • Make sure the smallest font size in your documents is at least larger than 10 pt. 12+ is preferred. 
  • Ensure high color contrast between text and the background color 
  • Offering additional office hours/student visiting hours can provide space for students to discuss accessibility issues and difficulties navigating the online learning environment

Resources

University of Michigan

Accessibility- Resources & guides

  –Access to remote instruction

ITS- Adaptive technologies

       – Instructional accessibility tips

Library- Describing visual resources toolkit

Other Resources

Center for Applied Special Technology – Information on universal design for learning (UDL)

Microsoft Office- Making word documents accessible

How this will help

Proactively incorporate accessibility into your course design and development processes.

The basics

Designing an accessible course is an achievable goal if you spend time sorting out potential barriers during the design process. Yes, designing an accessible course is not something you do after finishing the design of a course. Instead, you should proactively integrate accessibility considerations into major components of your course: content, materials, activities, assessments, and most importantly, the human beings in your course: your students and you. 

While there are widely adopted accessibility guidelines where you can learn about technical tips such as creating accessible PDFs, here in this document we would like to focus more on the big picture of course design by presenting 7 questions that instructors can ask themselves during the design process. These 7 questions cover essential aspects, i.e., content, materials, activities, assessments, and accommodations, that instructors need to pay attention to. We hope that these 7 questions could help instructors reflect on their efforts towards the design of an accessible course.

7 questions that instructors should ask themselves

1. Have you let students know that you are willing to accommodate their accessibility needs?

Please consider including a statement on your syllabus to inform students that you are willing to accommodate their accessibility needs. Such template language can be found on the CRLT website. Besides the syllabus, you can also consider verbally telling your students about accommodation in the first class. Although students remain the right to not disclose their disabilities, please do remind students that the earlier they get in contact with the Services for Students with Disabilities, the earlier the accommodation can be put in place once requested. 

2. What are the technologies that students are expected to use in your course? Are they accessible, reliable, and free?

Examples of technologies include Learning Management Systems (e.g., Canvas), video conferencing tools (e.g., Zoom, BlueJeans), engagement tools (e.g., Flipgrid). List all the technologies that students are going to use in your course and confirm the following questions: 

  • Are they accessible? Are students with disabilities able to use them? 
  • Are they reliable? Are they approved for use by the university? 
  • Are they free? If not, are there free education versions offered by the company or the university? 

Your answer to the three questions above should be Yes. Otherwise, make sure you come up with alternatives. 

3. Are there interactive activities in your course? If so, would any of those interactive activities exclude someone with a disability?

Examples of interactive activities include verbal presentations, show & tell, and field trips. When you design interactive activities, do ask yourself the following questions and modify the activities based on your answers:

  • Would I understand the activity if I could not hear or see it? 
  • Could I still participate fully in the activity If I had a mobility impairment?
  • Would I fail the course if I missed part of the activity because of my disability

4. Are there alternatives to visual content (e.g., charts, pictures) in your course materials such as slides?

Keep in mind that students with visual impairment would have difficulty read visual content such as charts and pictures. To make sure everyone has equal access to the information, especially students who use assistive technologies such as screen readers, please accompany visual information with textual alternatives such as alternative text, long description, or a detailed caption underneath the visuals. Besides textual format alternatives, please also be verbally descriptive in your lectures if you are going to explain those visuals. Not only students with visual impairment, students who have learning disabilities or anyone who has difficulty understanding complex visuals will also benefit from your description. 

5. Have you run any auto accessibility checkers as you create Word Docs, PDFs, PowerPoints and correct the errors and warnings as you work?

Word Doc, Adobe Acrobat PDF, and PowerPoints have built-in auto accessibility checkers that can help you identify the majority of accessibility issues. Please run the auto checker (simply click the button) as you create documents and follow the instructions to fix identified issues. If there are remaining issues that can not be addressed by auto-check, please reach out to professionals to ask for help.  

6. Have you created a welcoming environment for students to give you feedback? 

Please always keep an open mind to students’ feedback and create a welcoming environment for students to share their honest feedback with you. Allow students to share with you their thoughts through different channels, e.g., email, office hour, video/audio chat. Provide guidance for students on how to make the best use of various channels to communicate with you. 

7. Are you aware of the institutional resources that can support your efforts in designing an accessible course?

You are not alone in designing an accessible course. Please keep yourself informed of campus resources about accessibility. Who can help you with brainstorming about improving the accessibility of an interactive activity? Who can help you with converting your documents into accessible versions? Please do reach out when you encounter accessibility-related questions that you do have answers to. 

UDL learning guidelines

Practical tips

  • Select videos that have captions to use in your course. 
  • Select audios that have transcripts to use in your course. 
  • When it’s possible, avoid using scanned copies. If you have to, make sure they are appropriately OCRed. (OCR, Optical Character Recognition, it is a technique to recognize text inside images, such as scanned documents and photos)
  • Keep your materials (such as slides) clean and formatted by using consistent heading structures. 
  • Apply built-in layout when creating slides and word docs.
  • Make sure the smallest font size in your document is at least larger than 10 pt. 12+ is preferred. 
  • Ensure high color contrast between text and the background color.
Resources

University of Michigan

CAI – Home Recording Accessibility Considerations

Other resources

Research

CAST (2018). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved from http://udlguidelines.cast.org