Amplifying student voices: a summary of the OTL’s student-led panels

During the winter 2022 semester, the OTL hosted a series of panels on amplifying student voices to acknowledge the varying and intersecting ways that students arrive at our campus and the diversity of identities that exist within the Wayne State community. We wanted to create a space for instructors and staff to hear first-hand experiences of students, ask questions, and learn from each other to cultivate a campus environment where all students can thrive. We are grateful to our panelists who shared their personal inspirational and emotional stories. Some of their experiences centered on the ways that they have felt supported at WSU, while other accounts highlighted how we, as a community, can improve the living and learning experiences of students.

The underlying themes across all the panels will serve as the inspiration for the remaining issues of Teaching@Wayne this semester. With each of the upcoming topics, we will explore them through the lens of creating flexibility in your course, which was the most common feedback from our students. Our next issues will therefore explore the following:

• Communicating effectively with students
• Creating accessible course content and authentic assessment
• Teaching in a continuing mental health crisis
• Adding flexibility in course design
• Incorporating empathy and kindness into your teaching
• Promoting cultural identities in the classroom

Stay tuned for these upcoming issues! If you’ve missed a previous Teaching@Wayne issue, you can visit the Teaching@Wayne Archive in the OTL’s Virtual Resource Hub.

We love creating spaces for dialogue that center student experiences and will continue this series on Amplifying Student Voices with more panels coming later this semester!

Teaching tidbit: polling your students

Polling your students can provide you with immediate student feedback and assess their learning in the course. Polls can also help spark discussion and increase student engagement and course participation. If you would like to use polls with your students, either in-person or online in a synchronous or asynchronous format, consider one of the following options:

• Zoom Polls – great for live synchronous sessions with your students online in Zoom. Offers multiple choice, matching and rank order question formats.
• MS Forms – can be used live in class or as an asynchronous activity. Offers more question types and can work as an add-on within MS Teams.
• Mentimeter – works well both synchronously and asynchronously. Offers additional question types and has a presentation mode for viewing the results live as they come in. Mentimeter has both free and paid account options.
• iClicker – can be used in-person or in online synchronous formats and can be great for engaging students in large-lecture style courses.

If you want to read more about the pedagogy of designing polling questions, visit the VRH page on Using Polling in Your Teaching.

Self-care corner: staying well throughout the semester

A new semester can be both exciting and stressful for everyone. Wayne State’s Wellness Warriors Program offers resources for instructors and staff that range from mental health and personal growth counseling to nutritional and financial wellness.

Up next in the OTL   

Click the title of each session to register:

EdTech Thursday sessions:

Record, Edit, and Host Videos with Zoom and Echo 360: 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 8

Create a Virtual Meeting Space with Flip: 3 - 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8

Faculty and Graduate Student Writing Retreat: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9

For more sessions, check out the OTL events page.