I really enjoyed this topic, it resonated so much with me. For me, it is such an important part of what we do as teachers, and something that has a HUGE impact on students.
For the session I read D’Olimpios, Ethics Explainer: Ethics of care, which went over the ‘Feminist Ethics or Care Ethics’ originating in the 1980s as a reaction to the traditional, male-centric, emotion void moral theories that preceded it (D’Olimpio, 2019).
Which got me thinking- thank goodness I did not grow up before the 1980s! Being creative is such an emotional endeavor, and everything we do, and ask the students to do, is full of emotion. Our students pour themselves into their projects. I cannot imagine a space void of these feelings.
It felt comforting to read that being a caring individual, who listens to different perspectives, who is open to self-reflection, who wants to understand and respond to any power imbalances, and who wants to promote inclusion for all, is valid! I often take my work home with me- worrying about students. We discussed this in our group chat and it nicely brought us round to the Patience (2018) article (which I did not read but some members of the group had) referring to forming ‘dramatic friendships’ with students. We discussed the need for affective pedagogy, but also how it is hard to draw the line and create boundaries with students. We discussed that in each of our roles as technicians and lecturers we encounter these ‘dramatic friendships’, and the different forms they take – getting to know our students and seeing them every day. We also discussed the authenticity of relationships, and how sometimes ‘social networking’ is pushed on students at university. Is tech disabling this authentic/dramatic relationship?
I also read Bell Hooks, All About love. I really enjoyed her style of writing- I found it easy to read and understand. It was a welcome change to some of the more academic style of texts that I have been reading so far.
‘Everywhere we learn that love is important, and yet we are bombarded by it’s failure.’ (Hooks, 2001)
The book explains that true love is so difficult in our culture because of the affect of the unrealistic pressures and expectations society and the media have put upon us e.g. materialism and dishonesty (Hooks, 2001). Living in an age where we are always seeking the next best thing, and where online we can fabricate false constructs of ourselves. Hooks reminds us that love is not just a feeling of affection, it is the constant and consistent work to nourish spiritual growth inside ourselves and others. I can see the parallels to our role as teachers in university- we must facilitate this ‘growth’. It is our responsibility to create a unified and trustworthy environment where students and staff have the freedom to learn and grow with each other. Mutual respect and feeling like you belong, and are valued, are at the heart of the classroom- whether it be in the virtual world or the physical classroom.
When feeding our thoughts back to the larger group, Vikki suggested some podcasts to listen to and some articles. Fostering Belonging and Compassionate Pedagogy- I liked the schematic diagram, and felt like it was something good to look at with the whole tech team. I will pass it on- but also look to see if there are any more documents available on more practical examples of implementing this. I really enjoyed reading David Whites articles about Spatial collaboration: How to escape the webcam – it had many practical resolutions to what I, and am sure my students were feeling- the need for creating more valuable togetherness in the online classroom- other than a sea of dis-embodied faces floating in cyber space. White talks about creating ‘imagined spaces’ where no bodies are present but instead a collaborative, common ground to work on (White, 2021). I have found recently that students really respond to a white board where they can anonymously contribute. He suggested a move away from trying to re-create the ‘real’ classroom, instead concentrating on providing cues which help to spatialise thinking and identity. This definitely inspired me to think about simple solutions as how I can do this more in my online group sessions- perhaps using things like Padlet and Miro.
I also really enjoyed listening to the podcasts ‘Interrogating Spaces: Belonging in Higher Education and Belonging in online environments’. Currant et al. (2020) and Jethnani et al. (2020) echoed this need to facilitate the student voice. And the different ways to do that- making students feel like they matter right from the minute they start university. Adding the more personal touches- making and taking the time to find out about each student, remembering names, starting sessions with ice breakers etc. All things that I think as technicians sometimes we miss out on at the beginning of term as we can be so bombarded with inductions. And again moving online, sometimes we can be so focused on the learning outcomes, creating resources on request at the last minute (and the short allocated time to meet these outcomes) that these fundamental things can sometimes get brushed aside, or feel like are too late to do. I can see that now, without a physical classroom, belonging is more important than ever, and time must be given to create these relaxed spaces where we can get to know students better- not to just race on with the task in hand.
I found the group work in the session really lovely, it was so great to meet other staff from Lime Grove- Claire and Jo- we have all been working in the same building for a few years but it took an online class for us to meet!! We talked about our different plans on how to implement love care and belonging. Both of their plans focused on the importance of ice-breaker sessions and staff well being.
Karen and I focused on a general plan or agreement that could be drawn between staff and students that would set expectations and hopefully shape a supportive environment from the beginning. We focused our thoughts around the online classroom but these could be adapted to suit the physical classroom- sort of like a best practice to do list. So at the start of every session do the ‘housekeeping’- let everyone know what is expected of them in the space- do’s and don’ts- these can be made in collaboration with the students too. Ask everyone to log on at the beginning of the session with their preferred name and pronouns to create consistency and make it easy for everyone to learn and remember. Make sure that a variety of formats of lesson take place, offer choices of group tutorials and individual tutorials to cater for everyone’s needs. Create more informal spaces for students to communicate- this could be another virtual classroom/break room and encourage its use. Check ins with the students which focus on well-being and not just work-and the same for staff. A lot of this has been done in bits already, but when all of this is done in combination, I think is quite a powerful way to foster belonging. If it becomes a standard way of working, inbuilt into each course- I think it would go some way to create a more caring and nurturing organisation.
Hooks, B. (2001) All About Love: new visions, Harper Collins, available at: https://wtf.tw/ref/hooks.pdf
https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/223417/AEM3_FBCP.pdf
White, D. (2021) Spatial collaboration: how to escape the webcam, Web-page, Feb 2021, available at:
Currant et al. (2020) Interrogating Spaces, Belonging in Higher Education, Podcast, June 2020, available at:
https://interrogatingspaces.buzzsprout.com/683798/4671476-belonging-in-higher-education
Jethani et al. (2020) Interrogating Spaces: Belonging in online Learning Environments, Podcast, July 2020, Accessed Feb 2021, available at:
https://interrogatingspaces.buzzsprout.com/683798/4795271-belonging-in-online-learning-environments
Hill et al. Fostering Belonging and Compassionate Pedagogy: AEM and Attainment Team, Ual, available at:
https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/223417/AEM3_FBCP.pdf