GLOBAL COMPETENCE IN THE CLASSROOM by Oery, Monika

PRONOUN LINK

mxoery — 2023-01-24 21:33:24 UTC

Include your pronouns in the signature and a quick link that explains the significance of pronouns. Students will feel more included and comfortable about their own pronouns
Example;
Joanna Smith
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers (What’s this?)

mxoery — 2023-01-24 21:39:01 UTC

A DIVERSITY STATEMENT
Include one in your syllabus/D2L and Welcome Discussions! Here is an example.

Respect for Diversity: I strive to create an inclusive environment for students from diverse backgrounds and perspectives. Students’ diversity in this class is viewed as a strength and resource. This class is created with respect for diversity of gender, sexuality, disability, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, and culture. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to make you feel more seen and heard in the curriculum and our interactions. Your suggestions are encouraged and appreciated. Because film is a shared, cultural, experience we all bring a wealth of knowledge to this course. I look forward to learning from all my students.

Class discussions

2023-02-25 03:00:54 UTC

Allow for different modes/ways of communication in class. Do not put any individual student "on the spot" to represent their culture or other identity.

CHANGE PRONOUNS IN D2L

mxoery — 2023-03-08 15:06:49 UTC

Show students how to change their pronouns in D2L.

Student go to their D2L site
Click on their name in the upper right corner
Select: Account Settings
The first area is Pronouns
Click the box that Allows other to see pronouns
Click on Use Different Pronouns
List chosen pronouns

Include diversity in curriculum, activities and assignments

mxoery — 2023-03-10 15:53:05 UTC

Allow students to see themselves or their representation in your materials and activities, which will create a feeling of belonging.

Mindful Teaching

mxoery — 2023-03-10 20:45:01 UTC

It's when teachers and students simply pay attention to the experience of learning. There are many ways to achieve that (e.g. become self-aware of your own thoughts, biases and help students practice their own self-awareness), but it definitely has to be an intentional effort.

Learning Styles

mxoery — 2023-03-31 19:52:38 UTC

Help your students figure out what their learning style is. Here is a link to a quick survey that each student can complete; http://www.educationplanner.org/students/self-assessments/learning-styles-quiz.shtml

Create a Learning Zone

mxoery — 2023-03-31 20:03:46 UTC

Developing trust and resilience.
Building anchors to your comfort zone.
Working with mentors, tutors, peers.
Using "scaffolding."
Learning socially.

Student Feedback

mxoery — 2023-03-31 20:06:03 UTC

Ask students what you should
1) Stop doing
2) Start doing
3) Continue doing

Balancing Empathy

mxoery — 2023-03-31 20:22:46 UTC

Offering students a "recovery credit" for a late or missed assignment, which puts the responsibility on a student instead of the instructor (e.g. Attending Student Seminars at the ASC)

Active Listening

mxoery — 2023-03-31 20:27:47 UTC

- Pause and give students a chance to answer your question. How about a 10 second wait?
-Summarize what a student have told you to assure clear understanding

Recognizing Visible and Invisible Elements of Diversity

mxoery — 2023-03-31 20:33:52 UTC

- Introducing icebreakers
- Privilege Walk Activity (various options exist; here is one)

https://www.uh.edu/cdi/resources/student-resources/_files/_activities/privilege-walk.pdf

Global Learning Outcomes

mxoery — 2023-03-31 20:42:00 UTC

Modifying current outcomes (e.g. Demonstrate critical thinking and reading skills) to including global learning outcomes (e.g. Demonstrate critical thinking and reading skills in multiple cultural contexts)

Teacher Feedback

mxoery — 2023-03-31 20:44:00 UTC

Providing feedback in a variety of modes (oral, written, partial feedback, peer feedback, in person or digital)

Self-Regulating Strategies

mxoery — 2023-03-31 20:46:05 UTC

Offer students strategies to help them cope with stress, assignments, school-work balance (e.g. have some quiet time (unplug), take a walk, take pictures of nature, enjoy your hobby, exercise, talk to a friend, get a good night sleep

Objective vs. Subjective Assignments

mxoery — 2023-04-03 13:56:59 UTC

Create some assignments that allow students to express their opinions and feelings

Student Questioner/Introductions

mxoery — 2023-09-22 18:47:34 UTC

Having a short questioner or an introduction post to get know students in the beginning of each semester can be very insightful to learn more about the invisible identities of each student. Knowing them more (e.g. learning styles/family situation, interests, etc.) can help us as instructors to be better at assisting and supporting each student.

End of semester reflections

mxoery — 2023-09-22 18:48:37 UTC

Have students fill out an end of semester reflection. What worked? What didn't work?

Email messages

mxoery — 2023-09-22 18:50:33 UTC

Contact a student when they miss a class or an assignment and provide them with some options (x or y) or offer assistance with other college resources.

Failing a Test or Quiz-Check in

mxoery — 2023-09-22 18:53:34 UTC

If things don't go well, check in with a student. How did the student study for it? What else is happening that might have prevented this student from mastering the material?

Opening Classes to Announcements

2024-01-23 21:34:52 UTC

Because many students celebrate different cultural holidays during the school year, at the start of classes I spend about 5 minutes allowing students to make their own announcements. Most days students don't announce anything, but some days they will announce cultural events in their lives, their birthdays, school group activities, or other events. It helps them to give voice to the important cultural moments in their lives.

OER- Open Educational Resources

2024-01-23 21:40:13 UTC

Using Open Educational Resources creates a level playing field for the entire classroom and allows instructors and students to explore, create, and collaborate with educators around the world.

Reconsidering Due Dates

2024-01-23 21:41:38 UTC

Don't have assignment due dates on holidays celebrated by minority groups.

Work on Understanding First

2024-01-23 21:44:56 UTC

Rather than admonish students for being late, try to figure out what is causing them to be late. Use a perception check that includes mentioning the behavior, offering two possible reasons for the behavior, and then request clarification.

Celebrate Diversity

2024-01-23 21:48:48 UTC

Every month post on D2L an inclusive calendar with holidays around the world. Students will be encourage to create a culture message for a specific holiday they celebrate.

Suspending Judgement

mxoery — 2025-05-01 02:49:18 UTC

Having this concept at the forefront of every interaction will help each person and myself feel comfortable and open to share.

Syllabus Inclusion

mxoery — 2025-05-01 03:04:08 UTC

Moving forward, I am going to add some language in my syllabi that speaks to some of the touch points we went over in this CoP. Specifically about communication styles and different types of learners. And be specific and give examples.

mxoery — 2025-05-01 03:04:21 UTC

When possible I connect students with virtual field trips with companies that have a diverse work force.

Groups

mxoery — 2025-05-01 03:05:17 UTC

I change the composition of the in-class groups every few weeks. By the end of the semester, every student has interacted with every other student in the class. The goal is to ensure students interact with people that have diverse perspectives, different methods of learning and communicating, and may come from different backgrounds or have goals that differ from theirs.

mxoery — 2025-05-01 03:06:03 UTC

I encourage students to stay curious about the patients they are treating. How does cultural background influence health care decisions....

Holidays

mxoery — 2025-05-01 03:06:20 UTC

I try to remember to check the calendar when scheduling tests to try and avoid major holidays.

mxoery — 2025-05-01 03:06:41 UTC

As stressors and stressful situations are inevitable, it is important that we gain awareness of our own feelings and emotions. One must remember that WE ARE ALL PEOPLE who deserve to be treated with dignity and respect regardless of our varying ideas, beliefs, or personalities.

mxoery — 2025-05-01 03:06:49 UTC

I try to choose materials that represent diverse perspectives, culture, art, & dress both visually and in print.

mxoery — 2025-05-01 03:06:58 UTC

I encourage students to work through problems in their own way using their influences - culture, religion, art, communication style - to solve the problem. I tell students they will all have different projects that solve the problem. when we are done testing the solutions then we discuss the solutions and how the student arrived at the solution.

Superdiversity

2025-11-30 11:26:42 UTC

I now use the concept of "superdiversity" to explain the influence of different types of cultural identities on individual development and psychological outcomes.

Cultural Value Dimensions

2025-11-30 11:33:16 UTC

I try to think about the different cultural value dimensions when interacting with students and colleagues from different cultural backgrounds. Specifically, I've noticed that our international students often have a different approach to education and approaching faculty with questions. I try to acknowledge my own cultural value dimensions when interacting with students and suspend judgement when students from different background than my own behave in a way that is different from my mode of interaction.

Communication Styles

2025-11-30 11:38:35 UTC

I am a high context communicator and I often use this style in my teaching. I now realize that this may be difficult for my students who are more low context communicators. I now try to present class material first in a direct fashion to accommodate the low context communicators, then I add metaphors/stories to explain the material for the high context communicators in the class. That way, I can try to cover the needs of all students :)

Cultural Conflict Styles

2025-11-30 11:54:37 UTC

These styles are fascinating! I recognize that I have a dynamic (if I'm in a position where emotions feel "safe" to express) or accommodation (if I'm in a position where I feel I cannot express my emotions) conflict style and I often struggle with those who have a discussion or engagement conflict style because they tend to be more direct and I have learned to be more indirect in my own experiences with conflict (less due to my culture and more my upbringing). In dealing with the inevitable conflicts that come up with students, I feel like I can keep this framework in mind by slowing down, managing my emotional response to those with differing conflict styles, reflecting on the other person's possible conflict style, and adapting my communication to better align with others' conflict style.

D.I.V.E.

2025-11-30 11:59:23 UTC

I LOVE this model and want to print it out to put above my desk! I think this applies to almost every student email I receive where my immediate reaction is confusion or frustration. The D.I.V.E. model can help us to avoid jumping to conclusions about student behavior, failure to complete work, etc. and can help up bridge issue that come up when students and faculty misunderstand each other.

CoP Takeaway & Next Steps-Della Topouzian

monikaoery — 2026-05-07 02:56:54 UTC

The most important thing I learned from this CoP is to be more open-minded, listen to students' needs, and take the time to learn about their cultures and backgrounds.

As a former ESL student, I know how easy it is for people to assume things that aren't true, especially in an online learning environment where we don't get to meet face-to-face. Therefore, I plan to revise some of my discussion posts to make them more inclusive and to encourage students to share more about their cultures and backgrounds rather than focus only on their writing process. I'd also like to create opportunities for students to engage with one another through group projects and activities.

Jessica Risk; CoP Reflection

monikaoery — 2026-05-07 02:58:37 UTC

One of the most important actions I can take in the classroom is to listen to my students and create an environment where they feel recognized and respected. I think this can be accomplished by simply being open to different perspectives and making space for students to share their experiences.

I have also been thinking about incorporating short writing assignments that invite students to reflect on or share aspects of their cultural backgrounds. These could take the form of low-stakes presentations or visual projects, allowing students to learn from one another in an inclusive and engaging way. A colleague recently shared a project where she asked students to explore a cultural tradition or myth and then engage in a seminar-style discussion about what their stories had in common. I really like this approach, as it encourages both personal reflection, cultural celebration, and shared understanding.

Overall, my goal is to create a classroom that values diversity and encourages students to see their own experiences as meaningful contributions to our learning community!

21st Century Skills in the Clasroom

monikaoery — 2026-05-07 03:00:00 UTC

In my opinion, keeping an open mind (cognitive flexibility) and emotional intelligence are key. As instructors we need to give students opportunities to interact so they can practice 21^st century skills. We all know this can be hard to do in an asynchronous online class. Here is one thing I do when I teach an asynchronous online course that I think helps students exercise these skills: About a third of the way through the course I pair each student with a partner that they will connect with to discuss their respective research projects. I ask them to research and find sources for their partner’s project and then connect via Zoom to share and discuss. I pair students based on:

1) Their availability schedules: Students fill out a survey indicating the days and times they are available to connect in real time.

2) Their topic: I try to pair students whose topics are different from each other’s. Perhaps one has a topic related to health & medicine and one has a topic related to society & culture).

3) Ability level (when possible, I try to pair a “strong” student with a “weaker” student.)

Students often comment in their course evaluations how helpful it was to connect one on one with another student in an online synchronous course..

monikaoery — 2026-05-07 03:00:55 UTC

I have really enjoyed taking time to really consider the topics in our CoP and how they apply to my interactions with students, which is mostly outside the classroom. Although my job as a librarian is ostensibly to provide research information and resources, more often I'm helping people find the spaces or services they need or assisting with technology. My experiences with students can be very fleeting, but often occur at times of stress when they are looking for answers. I think that one important thing I can do is put people as ease, making them feel more comfortable in an environment that may feel unaccommodating, challenging, or scary. My next steps will be to continue learning information and skills that will help me provide the best service possible to our students, including completing a student mental health crisis training.