Culture and connection<\/h2>\n
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Accounting for students’ lived experiences does not mean making assumptions about them. It requires inviting them to contribute in meaningful ways and creating a learning environment that makes them feel welcome to do so. It means asking them questions, getting to know them and learning from them. It means using what they shared and incorporating it into the course in meaningful ways.<\/p>\n
Zaretta Hammond defines culturally responsive teaching as<\/a>:<\/p>\n An educator\u2019s ability to recognize students\u2019 cultural displays of learning and meaning making and respond positively and constructively with teaching moves that use cultural knowledge as a scaffold to connect what the student knows to new concepts and content in order to promote effective information processing. All the while, the educator understands the importance of being in a relationship and having a social-emotional connection to the student in order to create a safe space for learning.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The key concepts to keep in mind from this while selecting and implementing AI are:<\/p>\n To apply culturally responsive teaching to your courses:<\/p>\n Rockford Aguilar-Valdez (2015) developed a\u00a0Rubric for Culturally Responsive Lessons\/Assignments<\/a> that serves as a guide to assessing an assignment on a few key dimensions of culturally responsive pedagogy. The instrument includes criteria for voice, differentiation, access, connection, higher-order thinking, social justice, and equity\/decolonization.<\/p>\n As the Tyton Partners occasional Listening to Learners survey<\/a> showed in 2024, some critical areas where students\u2019 needs aren\u2019t being fully met include:<\/span><\/p>\n Faculty might respond to these student needs by assuming that support services across campus will handle them. But the students sitting in your course may not be aware of or using those resources.<\/p>\n Every Learner Everywhere\u00ae and its partners have published many practical resources on this subject, including:<\/p>\n Engaging students using a variety of methods to attract their interest doesn\u2019t mean you are taking on the work of learning for them or somehow cheapening your material.<\/p>\n Instead, it is an invitation \u2014 to take the initiative, to apply effort, to risk the daunting possibility of failure.<\/p>\n Engage students using a variety of methods to attract their interest and to excite them.<\/span><\/p>\n As some students struggle with access to basic technology, they are simultaneously faced with unprecedented digital advancements with the integration of generative AI tools into higher education. This has surged since ChatGPT was released, impacting policies, changing pedagogy, and shifting perceptions of academic integrity. We’ve also heard from students an overwhelming concern for clarity on AI policies.<\/p>\n As generative AI becomes embedded in education and the workplace, institutions must adapt to increase the value of students\u2019 education. Administrators and instructors must balance the innovative potential of AI tools with the ethical, pedagogical, and practical challenges they present. Developing clear and inclusive policies, providing robust training programs for instructors and students, and fostering expanded access to the tools themselves will be crucial for harnessing the benefits of AI while maintaining academic integrity and quality of education.<\/p>\n One helpful tool is an AI-Assisted Learning Template<\/a> developed by Mark Watkins, which guides students in evaluating their own AI use on a particular assignment. As he explains in an essay on Making AI Part of the Assignment<\/a>, the template asks them to consider and evaluate:<\/p>\n At Every Learner we’ve written<\/a> that when it comes to AI and education \u2014 indeed, about all digital learning \u2014 some things remain evergreen whatever technology emerges. For example, \u201cWe will always want students to know how to use their voice and how to evaluate.\u201d<\/p>\n Culturally relevant pedagogy and centering students are key parts of incorporating AI. These principles are how educators connect academic work to students\u2019 lives, which increasingly are carried out in digital spaces.<\/p>\n Editor’s note: This article is excerpted from a presentation at the WCET Annual Meeting on October 9, 2024<\/a> by Emilie Cook, Manager, Digital Marketing and Communications, and Norma Hollebeke, Senior Manager, Network Programs and Services.<\/em><\/p>\nBrowse our services page to learn about programs on culturally responsive teaching, student-centered pedagogy, and digital learning<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n
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Teaching inclusively means embracing student diversity in all kinds of personal characteristics \u2014 race, ethnicity, gender, disability, socioeconomic background, ideology, and even personality traits like introversion \u2014 as assets. It means designing and teaching courses in ways that foster talent in all students, but especially those who come from groups traditionally excluded in higher education.<\/p>\n\n
Caring for the whole student<\/h2>\n
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Students today face major challenges that compound as they traverse their degree programs toward an uncertain tomorrow. Not only do they have to learn how to navigate life as new adults and manage competing deadlines without the level of support offered throughout high school. They also must think about major global issues, including climate change, and about stagnating wages combined with rising costs. This often leads to heightened stress and anxiety.<\/p>\n\n
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For example, another survey from Tyton Partners in 2023<\/a> showed a 60 percent gap in the awareness of campus resources between faculty and students, with the former far more likely to say that resources were available on their campus.\u00a0There is a clear disconnect, so what can faculty do to humanize the college experience for their students who may be struggling with significant needs?<\/p>\n\n
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A college course is a group of human beings working together for up to 15 weeks on a mutual enterprise.\u00a0Establishing a sense of community in the classroom helps predict whether your students will participate in class discussions, have high or low levels of anxiety, and even have better grades:<\/p>\n\n
Humanizing the AI experience for students<\/h2>\n
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According to the 2024 Tyton Time for Class report<\/a>, 59 percent of students are regular users (monthly or more) compared to around 40 percent of instructors and administrators. It argues that administrators and instructors must align on academic integrity policies and expanding access to generative AI tools and training to balance their innovative potential to improve learning outcomes with the ethical, pedagogical, and practical challenges they present.<\/p>\n\n