Ideas

Idea #1: Creating a Welcoming Syllabus

"The first day of a course often revolves around the syllabus, and our work to embed kindness in our teaching should begin in the same place. To reframe our course syllabus as instruments of kindness may require us to rethink our usual relationship to those carefully crafted documents." —Catherine J. Denial

Learning Intentions

Beyond laying out clear expectations, the syllabus is an opportunity to communicate your approach, share how you plan to meet their needs, and start a relationship with students. The right syllabus can help students feel welcomed, supported, and excited to engage.

Benefits of a Welcoming Syllabus

Establishes mutual trust
Begins a strong student-teacher relationship
Communicates effectively that every student is welcome and safe
Gets students excited to learn on the first day of class
Encourages students to reach out to you for help, and to attend office hours
Connects students with the support they need to succeed

Strategies

Language: Use welcoming language and share your excitement to work with them. Rather than "requirements" and "deadlines," try "guidelines" and "due dates." Also, use a language checker or "gender decoder" to check for bias.
Tone: Strive for a tone that expects students will succeed and be engaged. Try not to let past negative experiences fill your syllabus with warnings.
Introduction: Start with an introduction about who you are and how to address you (Professor, Dr., pronouns, etc.) or a course description that shows your passion for the subject.
Academic Integrity: Assume a basis of trust and communicate that in your language. For example, try defining what academic integrity and AI use means in your class and that you will help them if they struggle with the guidelines.
Clarity: Make all course expectations clear, simple, and explicit. Use learning outcomes, rubrics, guidelines, and clear instructions to support understanding.
Kindness First: Look at each section of your syllabus and ask yourself, why is it this way? What am I communicating here?
Support: Aside from office hours and methods to communicate with you and/or your TA, include campus resources wellbeing, mental health, technology, testing, library, Title IX, course accommodations, gender neutral bathrooms, etc.

Statement Ideas

Success: You have worked hard to be here; you belong here. Welcome to the course…
Multilingual: The University welcomes students from around the country and the world, and their unique perspectives enrich our unique community…
Reporting Bias: Acts of discrimination, intolerance, or harassment are not tolerated and can be reported via the Bias or Discrimination Online Report Form.
Mental Health: If mental health concerns or stressful events are impeding your learning and participation, please let me know or contact the Counseling Center directly.
Basic Needs: Any student who has difficulty accessing sufficient food or who lacks a safe and stable environment and believes this impacts their learning is urged to reach out to the Basic Needs office.
Trigger Warnings: I have attempted to offer advance notice of content that may be triggering; if you have concerns about encountering anything specific, please let me know.
Resource Costs: I have attempted to reduce costs for reading materials by… Lower cost alternatives are available by…

Resources

Davidson, C. N. & Katopodis, C. (2022). The New College Classroom. Harvard Univ. Press.
Denial, C. J. (2024). A Pedagogy of Kindness: Teaching, Engaging, and Thriving in Higher Ed. University of Oklahoma Press.
Gutierrez-Dennehy, C. (2024). Abolishing the "Cop in your Head:" Working Towards Student Empowerment in the Classroom. Teaching & Learning Cooperative. Western Washington University.
Hogan, K.A. & Sathy, V. (2022). Inclusive Teaching: Strategies for Promoting Equity in the College Classroom. West Virginia University Press.
Walden University. (n.d.). Using bias-free language. OASIS.