Poster with word Be Kind. Let's Look Out for One Another. Community is Kindness.

While we can't plan for every situation, some advance planning can help you be prepared for when unexpected events impact your students' learning. We have already reviewed ways to introduce yourself to your students, and communicate with students early to understand them. As you get to know your students and build relationships throughout the semester, you'll be better prepared to help them with difficult situations.

Specifically related to the COVID-19 global pandemic, we know that everyone is impacted. However, the pandemic has highlighted social justice issues in the United States. To learn more, start by reviewing this short 5-minute training presentation from the Social Justice Hub: COVID-19 and Social Justice.

Based on campus experiences in spring 2020, we have compiled communication tips, as well as additional resources, to better support your students.

Communication Best Practices

1. Be transparent. In a stressful situation, transparent communication can be reassuring. Even if you are uncertain, communicate! Acknowledging uncertainty and stress helps students understand the full situation, acknowledges and validates their own feelings, and provides information to help them plan.
2. Be clear. Keep in mind that virtual communication adds complexity and can make intent, emotion, and subtleties more difficult to detect. We are more prone to misunderstand each other when we lack visual and auditory cues, like facial expressions, gestures, and tone of voice. Be as clear and direct as possible.
3. Be empathetic. Get to know your students and understand that they may have different needs. First year students new to higher education are likely to have more questions. Students choosing to study from a home location may feel more isolated from campus experiences. All students may have varying situations in their physical environment, like difficulty sharing space with others or finding private space to work or poor internet connections. Students may also have additional challenges if they are negotiating accessibility to course materials, figuring out their visa status, dealing with illness, or a variety of other factors. Your empathy and flexibility can help students navigate these situations.
4. Be kind to yourself. Remember to consider your own situation and needs, and to set boundaries with your students. Boundaries include time boundaries - when you are available, and how quickly you will respond. Boundaries also include responsibility boundaries - when you are the best person to help, and when you should connect students with other resources that are better able to help. You cannot be everything to the undergraduate students in your course, nor are you expected to.

Resources for Students in Need

As a TA you are on the frontline with students, and your students will more than likely come to you with problems that affect them both inside and outside of the classroom. Listening to students, and coming to understand your students as individuals, can go a long way in helping a student who is struggling. However, you are not expected to provide endless support to your students. In many cases, it is most responsible and expected that you refer students to other places for help. Recall our content from Day 1 about Policies to Know and Where to Get Help.

Additionally, certain student situations may be intimidating because you are not trained to handle concerns about mental health, suicide prevention, or other health services. In these situations, the [Your university's Dean of Students] is there to help you if you have concerns about a student. They have put together helpful guides to advise instructors as you support students experiencing issues: [website with resources].

Here are some key resources you should be aware of for helping students:

- - If you are concerned for the wellbeing of one of your students or your own wellbeing, call (###) ###-#### to speak with a crisis counselor who will help you address your most pressing issues. This support line is available 24/7, 365 day a year.
  - You or your students can text ZZZZ to ###-### to get connected to Crisis Counselor for any reason.
  - LGTBQ+ students who are in crisis can connect with the Trevor Project by calling (866) 488-7386 or texting START to 678-678
  - Confidential services for victims/survivors of sexual assault, sexual harassment, domestic violence, dating violence, and/ or stalking are available by calling ###) ###-####. They can also call the National Sexual Assault Hotline 24/7 at (800)-656-4673.

References

Center for Teaching and Learning, Marquette University. (2020). Maintaining Equity and Inclusion in Virtual Learning Environments. Inclusive Teaching Resources. https://www.marquette.edu/center-for-teaching-and-learning/documents/maintaining_equity.and.inclusion.in.virtual.learning.environments.pdf

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. This means that you are welcome to adopt and adapt content from this page for your own teaching, but we ask that you observe the terms of the license and that you provide attribution to L&S Learning Support Services.