Pushing Back on a College Myth

A story I have heard a lot is that college is a cold, strict place. For students, they hear “There is no late work accepted.” “You won’t get the benefit of the doubt.” “You better figure things out because you’re on your own.”  “You won’t be able to do x, y, or z in college.” The message? College is a scary place.

As if our first-gen students or anyone else coming to college does not already have a challenging time overcoming imposter syndrome or learning the ropes or having enough gas to get to campus or making sure they get to eat before class! This really is a myth that needs to stop. 

This myth doesn't just affect first-gen students, though they may feel its weight more than others. It affects returning students who left college once and are terrified of repeating the experience--we have many in our online classes. It affects students who grew up hearing adults talk about professors as unreachable figures. When students walk through our doors already bracing for rejection, they're less likely to ask for help, less likely to persist through a hard week, more likely to disappear quietly instead of asking for help. The myth costs us students before we even get a chance to show them who we actually are.

I talked with a student in office hours the other day who reiterated a version of this myth to me. She was truly worried about how she would be perceived for asking questions. I did my best to convince her that educators here at GCC would appreciate her asking questions; that is, after all, how students learn. People at GCC do care. They hold office hours hoping students will show up. They send emails checking in on students who've gone quiet. They build in flexibility for when a student is juggling two jobs and a sick parent at home.

How do we change the story? We can be intentional about telling a different story--starting on day one. The way we introduce ourselves, the tone of our syllabus, whether we smile when a student asks a question that's "already in the syllabus.” All of it sends a message. Counter stories don't spread on their own. We have to repeat them wherever we are able.

Honors at GCC and Inclusivity

"Learn communication strategies that influence diverse audiences. Express ideas and concepts precisely and persuasively in multiple formats, and employ writing conventions suitable to research and/or creative processes."

     Above is one of the learning outcomes in the honors program here at GCC. As both an online teacher and an honors instructor, it should come as no surprise that creating content that is accessible (and inclusive) to all learners is at the forefront of my mind. So when I set out to design a project for honors students in my Survey of Gothic Literature (ENH235) class, I wanted their presentations to include all audiences and to get at meeting this learning outcome.

     Creating a video screencast and using YouTube's Classic Studio to edit closed captioning seemed to be the best combination of accessibility goals and Universal Design for Learning principles--the videos would be accessible to students who are deaf or hard of hearing and also create benefits for all other students:

• students absorb more by reading,
• students who have English as a second or third language can listen and see the words, and
• any student can pause the video and record important vocabulary in their notes.

     I met with students in person or via Google Meeting to explain the project. When I explained that they would need to caption the videos, that this meant more than just the auto-captioning from YouTube, and that one of their learning outcomes was to be able to communicate with diverse audiences in multiple formats, I was happy to get lots of head nods of agreement at the value of including all students.

Image from student video presentation used with permission.

     I believe students in this class are meeting this learning outcome by using a video format and writing (or editing) their closed captions. They are creating content that is inclusive of all learners and, I think and hope, learning a variety of other skills as well.