Teaching Tips

• Project and Protect your Voice. First, make sure your voice is projected by talking from your diaphragm to avoid vocal strain or by using a mic (if available in your classroom). You should also make sure to speak only when facing students and not when turned away and writing on the board. Google Slides offers an auto caption feature for use in in-person or virtual class lectures. Next, establish a system with your students to get your attention with verbal and/or non-verbal cues if they are having difficulty hearing you or their classmates. This could be as simple as waiving their hand or using a thumbs up or down signal when asking for feedback from all students. Finally, ensure that you are receiving enough vocal rest, which can be achieved by breaking up lectures with student-student interactions such as think-pair-share (facilitate using Google Docs to allow for social distancing), which also encourages active learning!
• Virtual Maskless Meetings. Proper masks are key to prioritizing in-person learning this semester, but we can also incorporate strategic virtual opportunities to connect with students outside of class without a mask. For example, you may consider sending a short just-in-time video via Canvas announcement or email to speak to students without a mask to offer words of encouragement and/or introduce an upcoming topic. You can also offer virtual office hours for students to have a chance to check in face-to-face without having to wear a mask.
• Don’t Mask Connections. It is important not to let physical barriers such as masks impede community building and connections as student-student and student-teacher interactions are both essential to the learning process. You can start by having students introduce themselves in a written or video format via a Canvas discussion board even if your class is held in-person. We also encourage instructors to seek feedback regularly from students in the form of anonymous, informal surveys such as this one (email utlc@uncg.edu to request access to this template) to ensure that students feel heard and supported. As always, we encourage you to address any feedback that you receive in a timely manner with your students, and to request a UTLC:TIO Consultation if you have any questions about how to address student feedback.

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