Virtual 1:1s

Accommodations

Students who are Blind or have a Visual Impairment: Ensure a student knows how to use the call platform with keyboard shortcuts or offer a call-in appointment. Help log the student into the Network for their appointment if needed. If sharing a google doc tool with a student, it should be accessible to screen readers. If sharing other information or tools, be prepared to verbally walk a student through it.

Students who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing: Be prepared to communicate through the platform’s chat window, a shared doc, or email. Be prepared to communicate via phone with a TTY operator who relays information through text to a student.

Students with Speech Disabilities: Be prepared to communicate through the platform’s chat window, a shared doc, or email. Be comfortable asking a student to repeat themselves or to move to a text-based meeting if you can’t understand them. Provide a longer appointment slot if a student has stutter/speech blocks (which can result in needing more time to verbalize thoughts).

Students with Cognitive or Learning Difficulties: Be prepared to take notes on behalf of the student. Check-in frequently to ensure a student understands concepts being shared and that appointment is moving at appropriate pace (not too fast). Be prepared to offer email communication or a follow-up appointment to answer clarifying questions once the student has had more time to process information or attempted to apply skills taught.

Students with Physical or Neurological Disabilities (Plus Anxiety/Depression) - Be prepared to take notes on behalf of the student. To accommodate exertion limits, you may need to provide a shorter appointment with follow-up appointments (e.g. split a 45 minute appointment into three 15 minute appointments) or may need to book a longer appointment with built-in breaks and frequent check-ins as to how the student is doing.

Opening the Meeting

Ask about Familiarity with the Virtual Platform - Don’t assume that a student knows how to use the various features of a platform you are using. Ask them if they have used the platform before and depending on the answer, introduce the various features of the platform, where they are located on participants’ screens, and how to engage with them: the chat box, the speaker or gallery view, the microphone, the share screen function, etc.

Set a Plan for Being Disconnected - Because the internet can be unpredictable, make a plan for what you will do if the meeting is disconnected.

Video is Optional - Because students may be balancing different home responsibilities and may not want to provide others with a view into their homes, do not require that students turn on their video. Share that turning on the video is optional at the start of the meeting to alleviate pressure a student might be feeling to have their video on.

Communicate Meeting Structure and Expectations: Share with students what they can expect through the time that you are meeting together: what normally happens during a session, what are the roles of the student and the staff member in the meeting, and any expectations that you have for engagement during the meeting.

Encourage Students to Meet Their Needs - Communicate that you know we are in unusual times and doing meetings from home, so you understand things might come up for them and they might need to adjust something with the meeting in order to meet their needs.

Express Openness to Feedback - Communicate your desire to provide a meeting that is accessible to the student and your desire for feedback for how you can best do that during the meeting.

During the Meeting

Give Choices: Create a flexible environment that provides students with options for determining what they want to do in order to best meet their goals and needs.

Ask for Feedback: Ask for feedback from the student throughout the meeting to see how students are feeling about the direction, pace, and progress of the meeting.

Draw on Students’ Knowledge: When introducing concepts, ask students what they know about a topic in order to bring their knowledge to the forefront and adapt what you share based on what they already know.

Growth Mindset: Emphasize the role of effort and commitment - not intrinsic ability - in achievement and success. Highlight that struggles, challenges and frustrations are essential parts of the learning process.

Provide Examples: When explaining how to do something, provide an example. For example, when describing how to draft a resume bullet point, show an example of a strong resume bullet point.

Offer Clear Instructions : Provide step-by-step instructions for skills that you are teaching to students and allow them time to practice the skill at their own pace.

Break Down your Feedback - Offer feedback in small chunks and stop after each chunk to see what thoughts and questions a student has.

Mirror Language that Students Use - Use the language that a student uses to identify. For example - If they describe themselves as gay, disabled or undocumented, use that language when referring to them within the meeting.

Use Gender Neutral Language - When referring to individuals or groups in a students’ life, use gender neutral language - partner, parent, etc. and use the gender neutral pronoun they/them to describe people until a student reveals the pronoun that the person uses.

Avoid Generalizations - Be careful to check and interrupt any assumptions you might have about a student’s dis/abilities, immigration status, access to resources or finances, cultural background, family structure, religion, gender identity, etc.

Affirm Strengths - Offer encouragement about a student’s strengths and what they have accomplished. Ask questions geared toward bringing out their strengths (What are some of the things that you did when you worked at Starbucks?) and highlight those strengths in your conversations.

Concerns around Well-Being - Separate out your concerns for a student’s well-being from the context of an appointment. For example, do not bring up concerns about how a student is doing emotionally/mentally during a conversation about a resume. Wait until the end of the appointment to share anything you noticed that made you worry and that you care about the student's well-being. You might want to normalize that it is very common to be struggling right now and ask if they would like campus resources that other students have found helpful. Ask permission before providing resources.

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