A productive online ecology class starts with the faculty being
honest and vulnerable about their own understandings of the students and
their circumstances. Through such understanding, they can create an
environment where shame has no place and difference is acknowledged and
valued.
Instructors in charge are the producers of our ecosystem. They set the
mood, tone, and atmosphere for students for the entire semester of the
course. Nothing can survive the ecosystem without the producers. In this
transition from face-to-face instruction, the producers must be
intentional and deliberate. Instructors must embrace the fact that good
teaching can transport students away from wherever they are to where
instructors want them to be. Now more than ever it is imperative that
our online teaching practices be led with vulnerability and empathy
(hooks, 1994, Brown, 2018). We must acknowledge the environmental and
circumstantial differences while welcoming them. During these difficult
times it is important that we remember that our students are individuals
who live diverse and complicated lives. There are those that only need
consistency and stability in their teaching environment, while others
may require extra support.
Moreover, it is not just about the instructors’ academic and content
language. Instructor non-content talk is more vital than ever in
establishing an engaged and inviting “online classroom” culture.
Research by the Tanner lab shows that instructor non-content talk
impacts (a) building the instructor-student relationship, (b)
establishing the classroom culture, (c) pedagogical choices, (d)
provides avenues for sharing personal experiences, and 5) unmasking
science (Seidel, 2015). All these elements were important in the
face-to-face classroom setting, but are even more so during crises
remote instruction and online teaching. Non-content talk can break down
barriers and allow instructors to connect with students as humans,
inspire students to dig deeper and persist and it also decreases the
feelings of social and emotional distance between the instructor and
students (Mehrabian, 1971). Limiting this perceived distance in the
context of sudden and dramatic isolation can help students feel more
connected and motivated (Gorham, 1992). Teaching is inherently
relational; therefore, it is imperative that instructors engage in
politicized caring (McKinney de Royston, 2017, hooks, 1994) that
connects with students in robust ways that does not ignore the larger
sociocultural contexts in which they are currently living (figure 2).