Tips for Being More Inclusive in Online Teaching

“As you lead a class discussion or a meeting on Zoom, it’s all too easy to lose people in the process. But the principles of inclusive teaching can help you reach students in a virtual classroom, just as in a physical one,” said Kelly A. Hogan, associate dean of instructional innovation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a STEM teaching professor in biology, and Viji Sathy, an administrator in the office of undergraduate education at Chapel Hill and a teaching associate professor of psychology and neuroscience, in a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

In the article, Hogan and Sathy give tips to instructors for making their Zoom classes more inclusive. The tips include inviting students to edit how their name is displayed on Zoom or how they will be addressed; establishing rules of engagement for each Zoom meetup; using different ways for students to “speak up”; providing opportunities for asynchronous learning; and acknowledging that you’re all learning the technology together.

Check out the article for a full list of tips and a link to “A Students’ Guide to Zoom,” which is also penned by Hogan and Sathy.