Classroom Contracts, The "Ouch Rule," and Other Student Engagement Strategies • by Caitlin Compton-Almo (Assistant Professor of Human Services, Ammerman)
I describe my approach in my "JEDI Strategies" video, but I'll provide an overview here too. JEDI strategies tend to abound in my discipline because in human services our content is often about issues of privilege and justice. We have a smaller number of majors who tend to move together as a cohort—and even often end up working toward their BSW together and eventually working together after graduation. So I see my role as creating a safe space for human services students to dig in to this kind of work.
One JEDI technique to accomplish this is having my students work in small groups to create a classroom contract. They reflect on what works for them in the classroom, what has helped them feel safe enough to share in the classroom, what has made them shut down in the past, etc., then we develop a classroom contract. It's not just classroom policies either; for example, students come up with ideas like "I will be open to new relationships," "I will respect others' physical and emotional space," "I will keep things confidential," and other wonderful suggestions.
From a workshop offered by our chief diversity officer Christina Vargas a few years ago, I learned about the "ouch rule." This is a way for students to express—in a gentle, non-threatening way—that someone in class has said or done something that upsets them or that is offensive in some way. They can simply say "ouch" to draw attention to it, and we can engage in a dialogue to address it and hopefully let us walk away having learned something from the experience.
I also invite anonymous student feedback both at the start of the semester and mid-semester, asking questions such as "What’s different about this course from what you expected?" I don’t wait until the end of the semester because if something is not working, I want to be able to fix it. I use students' anonymous feedback to continually improve my courses.
Finally, I take the time early in the semester to explain what office hours are and what kinds of things students can do during office hours. I explain that in addition to having class concepts explained or clarified, students can come to my office for advice about their major, transfer options, career options, assistance with issues that threaten their academic progress, etc. I've found that many students don't go to their professors' office hours because they don't even know what office hours are supposed to be used for.
These are just a handful of strategies that I think might be applicable across disciplines.