Here are some syllabus statements that I use to set the classroom culture of belongingness in the courses I teach.

Navigating this Course:

Like many of our BMCC students, I am a first-generation college student and through lived experience, I understand the complexities of assimilating to college life and academic expectations. I am here as a resource to you. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me via email and we can schedule a zoom meeting. Throughout the course, we will also explore strategies for student success. I have divided the class into 5 learning communities with 5 students per community. The purpose of your learning community is to build peer support in this hybrid environment, I hope you find this helpful. We will collaborate together in the creation of your learning community.

Diversity and Inclusion

In an ideal world, science should be objective. However, much of science is historically built on a small subset of privileged voices. Integrating a diverse set of experiences is important for a more comprehensive understanding of science, and we will discuss issues of diversity in psychology during this course. I would like to create a learning environment that supports a diversity of thoughts, perspectives, and experiences, and honors your identities (including race, gender, class, sexuality, religion, ability, etc.). As a start toward this practice, your classmates and I will make every effort to use your preferred name and pronouns. Also, if anyone (including me) says or does anything in class that makes you feel uncomfortable, please try and talk to me about it. I will also provide opportunities for you to provide anonymous feedback about our classroom climate.

I plan on using Dwight’s example of having a working spreadsheet students can refer to, to keep track of their progression and learning objectives and a collaborative space for students to add links to videos they have found helpful.

After our week 1 discussion I plan to update my statements. I also use the statements as a springboard to create an environment were students feel themselves, provided with the tools to express themselves. To be seen and heard and not ignored.