Building a positive classroom environment

In the classroom, TAs contribute to creating a positive learning environment through their various roles, including teaching, student assessment, and behaviour management. When thinking about the classroom environment, it is important to recognize and acknowledge that our students have different lived experiences and perceptions of the world.

Positive student relationships can have a significant positive impact on learning outcomes (Varma, 2016). Interactions, such as sharing perspectives, knowledge, and personalities, can cultivate empathy and build rapport. This enhances the ability of students to appreciate diverse perspectives and opinions. TAs play a unique role as support systems for student learning. They provide students with an opportunity to learn from someone familiar with the course content and with experience navigating the university.

Hurtado and Carter (1997) highlighted the importance of belonging in shaping a student’s academic and social experience in higher education. This includes how students view their relationships with peers, their self-comparisons, and their interactions with instructors.  Positive interactions, such as receiving support from TAs, can have benefits for a student’s sense of belonging as they navigate their university journey.

First, TAs can foster a positive environment by building relationships with their students. For example, a TA can learn the names, pronunciations and pronouns of their students (Hogan & Sathy, 2022), depending on class size. This builds trust and strengthens relationships with students by being attentive to who they are as individuals. TAs can promote respect and empathy by modelling these gestures, helping students develop social skills and emotional intelligence.

Large class sizes are common in university—but their size can overwhelm students, foster competition (Hanushek, 1996), and discourage asking for help. This might mean students feel unable to ask questions or participate in class. To create an inclusive environment, it is essential to normalize students asking questions. When students avoid asking questions out of fear of judgment or criticism, they can fall behind their peers. TAs can encourage questions, thank students for their questions, and be responsive with help through email or one-on-one support.  This shows students that confusion around course content is normal and that TAs are available to help.

It is crucial to avoid making comments that imply a concept is easy to understand. This can create a sense of competition  and make students who don’t understand feel like outliers (Tari & Annabi, 2018). It also places the blame on the student rather than considering other factors impacting comprehension, such as teaching style or topic complexity. Instead, TAs can humanize themselves by acknowledging the challenges of the content while emphasizing that it is possible to grasp with effort and support.

Community guidelines

Community guidelines help to provide structure in the classroom and clarify expectations for how students will interact with you and their peers. The purpose of sharing the guidelines is to help build and inform community between students. You can use these as sample community guidelines when leading a class. This can be introduced in the first class and opened to students to suggest their own. When discussions become heated, remind students of your community guidelines.

• Use “I” statements when sharing in discussion
• Ask for clarification if you are confused or unsure
• Do not interrupt one another
• Challenge and discuss ideas, not your classmates
• When possible, reference course content or additional sources when sharing opinions
• Build on one another’s comments during discussions
• When speaking, be as specific as possible, avoiding generalizations

Heated, Offensive, and Tense (HOT) moments

Although it is challenging to predict what might lead to conflict between students, it is crucial to prepare for such situations. To effectively handle these moments, it is important to understand the different types of challenging situations that can arise. The HOT Moments framework, which categorizes these situations as Heated, Offensive, and Tense, can be a useful tool (Navigating Heated, Offensive, and Tense, n.d.).

• Heated moments often involve disruptive behaviour like yelling or accusations.
• Offensive moments, on the other hand, involve insulting statements directed at individuals or groups, such as inappropriate jokes.
• Lastly, Tense moments are more difficult to identify and often non-verbal, but might involve a sudden silence in the room or students hesitating to continue a discussion.

It is important to remember that your instructor can be a resource in navigating such situations. One proactive approach is to initiate a conversation on this topic early in the semester. You can seek your instructor’s guidance on how to handle these scenarios, their preferred level of involvement or information, and learn what support they can offer. Most instructors have invaluable experiences in managing classroom conflicts and can provide practical advice specific to the course.

Another approach  to a HOT moment is to observe students interactions during your labs or tutorials. This can include identifying dynamics between students, such as how they communicate with each other. By doing so, you can gain insight into how students interact and identify any patterns or changes. It is advisable to maintain a record of these observations by taking notes on each session. This record can prove valuable if you need to discuss any concerns with your instructor.

It can be useful to reflect on your comfort around addressing HOT moments. Here is a set of questions to consider that may help shape your approach and response:

• What types of topics are you…
  • Most comfortable handling?
  • The least comfortable handling?
• How do I feel about the dynamics between my students right now?
• Have my students shown that they can handle complex topics together?
• When students bring up difficult topics, is your impulse to…
  • Stop your students from saying it?
  • Change your students’ mind?
• Engage with your students?

You cannot control opinions, but you can filter them through respect and create a space safe enough for different views to be expressed.

Teaching sensitive topics

To anticipate potential sensitive or controversial moments, you can ask yourself certain questions.

• Are there any upcoming course content or topics that might be controversial?
• Was there any tension in the previous class that could carry over into the tutorial or lab?

Using these questions for reflection can help you plan how you might like to address this with students.

When teaching sensitive subjects, it is advisable to incorporate a high level of structure, such as an organized lesson or tutorial plan. This approach involves providing boundaries for discussions, predictability for students, and maintaining a timely schedule (Hogan & Sathy, 2022). For example, you can prepare discussion questions beforehand to limit the discussion topics, and present a timed agenda. Additionally, setting clear learning goals for controversial topics can help structure and clarify what students are expected to gain from the discussion. This can prevent students from being distracted by the contentious nature of the topic and, instead, enable focused learning.