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The Universal Design for Learning (or UDL) framework is based on research on how students learn. In this episode, Tom Tobin, Lillian Nave, and Jennifer Pusateri join us to discuss the most recent evolution of the UDL guidelines.

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What single factor makes for an excellent undergraduate education? As it turns out, it's pretty simple: human relationships. Decades of research demonstrate the transformative potential and the lasting legacies of a relationship-rich college experience. Critics suggest that to build connections with peers, faculty, staff, and other mentors is expensive and only an option at elite institutions where instructors have the luxury of time with students. But in this revelatory book brimming with the voices of students, faculty, and staff from across the country, Peter Felten and Leo M. Lambert argue that relationship-rich environments can and should exist for all students at all types of institutions.

In Relationship-Rich Education, Felten and Lambert demonstrate that for relationships to be central in undergraduate education, colleges and universities do not require immense resources, privileged students, or specially qualified faculty and staff. All students learn best in an environment characterized by high expectation and high support, and all faculty and staff can learn to teach and work in ways that enable relationship-based education. Emphasizing the centrality of the classroom experience to fostering quality relationships, Felten and Lambert focus on students' influence in shaping the learning environment for their peers, as well as the key difference a single, well-timed conversation can make in a student's life. They also stress that relationship-rich education is particularly important for first-generation college students, who bring significant capacities to college but often face long-standing inequities and barriers to attaining their educational aspirations.

Drawing on nearly 400 interviews with students, faculty, and staff at 29 higher education institutions across the country, Relationship-Rich Education provides readers with practical advice on how they can develop and sustain powerful relationship-based learning in their own contexts. Ultimately, the book is an invitation-and a challenge-for faculty, administrators, and student life staff to move relationships from the periphery to the center of undergraduate education.

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Relationship-Rich Education - Center for Engaged Learning

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What single factor makes for an excellent undergraduate education? As it turns out, it's pretty simple: human relationships. Decades of research demonstrate the transformative potential and the lasting legacies of a relationship-rich college experience. Critics suggest that to build connections with peers, faculty, staff, and other mentors is expensive and only an option at elite institutions where instructors have the luxury of time with students.

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Making relationship-rich experiences the heart of higher education – Teaching@Sydney

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Students crave personal connections with their teachers and with each other. Even with shifts to more online and blended delivery of content, it is…

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With over 500 students, lecturing shared among 5 co-coordinators, and 24 tutorials run by 10 tutors, reaching out to particular students in a first-year course like Introduction to Sociology (SCLG1001) can be quite an administrative headache. Many students can easily slip through the cracks unless there is diligence in keeping in touch. The Student Relationship Engagement System (SRES) though - through quick collection, analysis, and use of current student data - can help to ensure continuing contact with particular student cohorts.
This article was contributed by Alex Page and Dinesh Wadiwel, Sociology and Social Policy, FASS
In Semester 1, 2018, both Dinesh Wadiwel (Unit Coordinator) and I (Head Tutor) successfully used SRES to keep in contact with specific sections of the SCLG1001 cohort, with aims to:

1. Increase the retention rate and engagement of students in SCLG1001 through to Semester 2 (SCLG1002);

2. Support students who needed extra support throughout the unit; and,

3. To congratulate high achieving students for their stellar efforts and encourage them to take up sociology as a major.

So how did we use SRES?

We used the SRES to send specifically tailored emails to students relative to grades, the piece of assessment, and how far they were through the semester, including:

1. Different grade bands of students requiring congratulations, further consultation, assistance, and extra support services after the release of marking feedback:

1. Non-passing - 49% and below, advised to seek a consultation;

2. Passing, but needing further assistance - 50-59%, provided extra writing resources, along with an opportunity for a one-on-one consultation;

3. High achievers - 80%+ and over, congratulated and encouraged to continue in SCLG1002, and a sociology major;

4. Improvers - those who increased their grades by 10%+ between Essay 1 and 2, as above; and,

5. Non-submitters - students who had not submitted a piece of assessment without Special Consideration, Disability Action Plan, or simple extension being recorded.

2. Reminders to check feedback for non-viewers, particularly important after formative assessment in Week 6, and Week 10;

3. Those who missed two tutorials, and were open to failing the course on account of the 90% attendance rule were advised to make contact before the Census date.

We were careful to tie in feedback to what had been taught in the course, and provided links to external support services for writing style, argumentation, how to reference, research assistance, along with a variety of resources for students in distress when needed.

What did we find?

A number of students responded to our emails directly, offering unprompted feedback, giving us four major insights into how what the SRES process meant to them throughout SCLG1001.

1. Congratulating students not only validates their efforts, it also helps students feel motivated to continue the course and the major

In a large first-year course, it sometimes can be difficult to reach high achieving students and give them praise for their efforts. SRES allowed us to overcome this issue via a 'filter' and email, for which many students were grateful, most letting us know they would be continuing in second semester:
"Thank you so much for your email! I've really been loving Sociology... I'm very glad that I've chosen it for my major and will definitely be continuing my studies in it... Thank you for all of your work so far too. I know that I'm definitely not the only one loving Sociology.""Thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement! I really appreciate it! I'm looking forward to keep enjoying this subject and learning about sociology!"
"I'd like to thank you for your email, it was very kind of you! ... I will definitely be continuing sociology next semester!"

2. When students needed extra support, many appreciated a tap on the shoulder

When students had a fail, or borderline passing grade, many appreciated a (digital) tap on the shoulder. Here we offered extra resources, such as Learning Centre and Library courses - and a significant number of students who received this notification followed up by making a consultation with a teacher in SCLG1001 to assist them understanding how to improve through a discussion of their feedback:
"Thank you for emailing me about my assignment. I've saw my grades on Canvas which is really not good - and I'm so worried about it. And I think I may need [an] appointment because I'm really don't know how to improve my writing and researching right now. Could you please help me to book [an] appointment...?""Thanks so much for this email. I was in a bit of shock for the rest of the day... After reading the feedback it all seems completely valid though... Thanks for the resources, I'm going to attend some workshops at the learning centre and will be sure to meet with someone if I am still struggling!"
3. Those who were contacted for their improving grades were extremely thankful that someone had noticed their hard effort between assessment 1 and 2

While we used a variety of feedback methods - general in the lecture, specific in the tutorials, and electronic - following the second major piece of assessment, we also wanted to congratulate those who actively took feedback on board to improve their work. So we asked the SRES team for help to create a filter congratulating and validating those who had improved their grades between assignments:

"Thank you soo (sic) much. I couldn't have done it without the amazing support and excellent resources that this course provides. I really appreciate your effort and hope to always do this amazing unit justice."

4. Contacting non-submitters gave us an opportunity to assist students in distress

Finally, students who did not submit assignments were also emailed a personalised check-in message. We largely received responses from students who were struggling, often with personal issues external to their studies and course requirements. Giving us a key opportunity to assist students, we then offered tailored one-on-one advice, directing them to resources such as Disability Services and the Special Consideration System for further assistance in their studies.

What can we recommend?

SRES is fantastic when used for specific purposes in your course context. Having key aims and objectives can help scope the massive potential of data analytics that SRES provides. It also allows you to share results/ideas with colleagues in the future and to feedforward into future iterations of the course.

This semester in SCLG1002 we'll be trying a whole host of new SRES adventures, including:

A 'nudge' in Week 3 to check-in with low Canvas usage;

A check-in before the Census Date for students who have missed 2 or more tutorials;

Improvements between assessments 1, 2 and final exam;

Rubrics tied to SRES for extremely specific feedback and support; and

Congratulations at the end of the year encouraging participation in senior sociology courses.

We hope any of our experiences assist you in your own data analytics through SRES!

For further guidance on how to use SRES in your Unit of Study, contact your school's Educational Designer, see the range of articles here at Teaching@Sydney, and get in touch with the Educational Innovation team or Kevin Samnick and Danny Liu who support the SRES at the University.

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"Thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement!": Using SRES in a large, first-year sociology course

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With over 500 students, lecturing shared among 5 co-coordinators, and 24 tutorials run by 10 tutors, reaching out to particular students in a first-year course like Introduction to Sociology (SCLG1001) can be quite an administrative headache. Many students can easily slip through the cracks unless there is diligence in keeping in touch.

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Lessons Learned- "Relationship-Rich Education How Human Connections Drive Success in College"

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How Human Connections Drive Success in College: A Conversation with Peter Felten and Leo Lambert

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Creating your Pre-Course Liquid Syllabus

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From the Authors in the West Virginia University Press Teaching & Learning Series

Pedagogies of Care

Open Resources for Student-Centered & Adaptive Strategies in the New Higher-Ed Landscape

ABOUT THE COLLECTION

The power of educational development lies in a single thread-one specific message-that runs through our entire enterprise. It is simply this:

You are not alone.

Pedagogies of Care: Open Resources for Student-Centered & Adaptive Strategies in the New Higher-Ed Landscape offers practical and engaging advice about what "next" should look like across higher education, from sixteen current and forthcoming authors in the Teaching and Learning in Higher Education book series from West Virginia University Press.

Collection editors Victoria Mondelli and Thomas J. Tobin note that the resources in Pedagogies of Care take many forms: "Our contributors created videos, audio podcasts, interviews, infographics, and articles. All are underpinned by a student-centered, evidence-based ethos."

We welcome you to use these resources in your own teaching preparations, in educational development with your faculty colleagues, in discussion groups-however they can be useful for you. Our aim is to help facilitate successful teaching and learning in a time of disruption and hardship.

Much about the future is uncertain, so let's make ready: rally toward radical hope, evolve our practices, and meet new possibilities for growth and well-being.

Together.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TEACHING

COLLABORATIVE PRACTICES

assessment

contributors

JOe Bisz

Joe Bisz is a national instructional speaker, educational games designer, creative writer, and English professor at the City University of New York.

His book The Allure of Play: The Educator's Guide to Implementing Learning Activities and Games is forthcoming from West Virginia University Press.

See joebisz.com to learn more.

WVU PRESS

All of the contibutors to the Pedagogies of Care collection are authors in the Teaching & Learning in Higher Education book series from West Virginia University Press. We are grateful to series editor James M. Lang and WVU Press Director Derek Krissoff for permission to share elements from our existing and forthcoming books in the Pedagogies of Care collection.

​

To learn more about WVU Press, discover the Teaching & Learning book series, and engage with our books and authors, please visit wvupress.com.

Oh, and please support your local and independent bookstores, y'all. Where you can, consider buying directly from the press or your local shops.

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Pedagogies of Care: Open Resources for Student-Centered and Adaptive Strategies in the New Higher Ed Landscape

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Copy of Universal Design for Learning: A Framework for Equity in the University Classroom

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Check out this Presentation designed by JoDell Heroux.

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Now available from the University of Oklahoma Press and all your favorite retailers!

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1. An Introduction to a Pedagogy of Kindness
Airdre Grant Sharon Pittaway
2. Kindness in course and curriculum design
Mieke Witsel Lachlan Forsyth
3. Kindness in assessment
Jo Munn Rachel Matthews
4. Deliberate design is kind design
Kelly Galvin
5. The realities of enacting kindness in teaching practice
Charlotte Overgaaard and Dr Jacqueline Mackaway Debra Adelaide Lauren E. Stephens Matthew Harrison
6. Storying unlearning for intended, enacted and felt kindness in online environs: Implications and opportunities for people, pedagogies and place
Abbey MacDonald
7. Kindness, creativity, productive failure, and agency: An exploration with an example from educational research
Edwin Creely
8. Black feminism: A pedagogy of radically enacted kindness
Ameena L. Payne and Dr Aris M. Clemons
9. Leading with heart, authenticity and insight: The (hard) work of enacting kindness across an institution
Tim Moss
10. Sustaining others without starving yourself: Educator wellbeing, compassion, kindness and self-care
Alan Borthwick OBE and Mark Cole Sandra Grace Jeff Janowick Samantha Chang
11. Conclusion
Airdre Grant Sharon Pittaway

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Enacting a Pedagogy of Kindness: A Guide for Practitioners in Higher Education

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Drawing from the lived experience of educators, this book explores the concept of a pedagogy of kindness through practical applications and strategies for teaching in higher education. Conversational in tone, narrative-based and rich with practical stories, ideas, and strategies, this book provides guidance to help educators shape their teaching.

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Joy-Centered Pedagogy, with Eileen Camfield – Teaching in Higher Ed

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Eileen Camfield shares about Joy-Centered Pedagogy in Higher Education on episode 566 of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast

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Joyful Connections Through Intentional Teaching Practices, with Teresa Thompson – Teaching in Higher Ed

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Teresa Thompson discusses joyful connections through intentional teaching practices on episode 539 of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast

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393. Culturally Responsive Teaching – tea for teaching