Ask students about themselves and take an interest in who they are outside of class. Also, tell students about yourself.

Quotes:

Students expressed that having a connection with their instructor made them feel more supported by the instructor and more motivated to participate and engage.

• I really appreciated the outside connection to like what I was doing beyond math class. I feel like sometimes we get lost in math class and only think about math but forget that like we're people outside of it. And I feel like it really happens more in math than any other subject. I feel like it's so dense. But I would say work on making connections beyond the math. (Math 203 student)

• If I have a connection with the teacher, like even if I absolutely hate the class and it's super boring, but I like the teacher and I just like the way him or her puts themself forward, I'll be like more likely to want to do good because I want them to like me. (Math 203 student)

One student, who was a leader and participant of a local youth organization, shared that the organization’s primary event conflicted with class meetings; when the student shared their circumstances with their instructor, the instructor was both supportive of missing class and interested in learning more.

• I had that event going on, and not only did I tell her I'm going to be missing class, which was already difficult for the three week session, but I was going to be missing class, but she was like, that is a perfectly appropriate reason to miss class and she wanted to know more about it. And I really appreciated that. I feel like knowing your students outside of your content area, but also like something as important as that meant a lot to me. (Math 203 student)

• I always loved teachers who asked me about that because like, that's a part of who I am. And so the fact that I didn't even have to really push to ask her to like care for it or anything like that, that meant a lot. And even then, she was asking me like, ‘Is there other stuff that we can go to?’ And then after it happened, when we got back to class, she was like ‘Oh, tell us how it went and everything that happened.’ So it was, it was really nice to be able to share that part of myself and definitely felt supported by that. (Math 203 student)

Suggestions for implementation:

Students need and value connections with at least one other student in the class; as instructors, we can be aware of this and look for opportunities for students to build these connections.

Quotes:

In focus group interviews, students shared several ways in which connections with a peer positively impact their success in the course. One student shared that a connection with a peer gives them someone to go to when they couldn’t reach out to an instructor.

• I didn't have any personal connection to my class. And I walked around my dorm trying to find somebody who knew how to write the paper cause I didn't. It was due that night. It was 9:00 PM. It was due at midnight and I'm just like freaking out. I don't know how to write the paper. I don't know how to do it. And that's why I would say you definitely need a connection with somebody who knows what's going on or somebody who can help, who can help you figure it out. So you're not just like stranded on your own. (Math 203 student)

Another student shared that having a connection with a peer keeps them motivated to continue participating and engaging with the course.

• Even if I'm not really liking the class as much, but I made like a very good personal connection, this friend and I are like in it together, then I'll definitely do a lot better...Like we would like encourage each other and make sure we were on top of it and like get everything done and just like remind each other stuff. (Math 203 student)

Several students shared that it is particularly important to find connections with course peers that they identify with in some way. One student shared that these connections helped them feel a sense of inclusion and belonging:

• I'm pretty used to being the single minority in the class but fortunately I was able to be with others and those are the people that I got grouped up with often. I don't know how it ended up that way, but I appreciated it. But it was really nice to have that connection and like sometimes we would text about it during class or something where we found each other, but it was really nice to be a part of a group like that because sometimes that's hard to find, especially in Nebraska and especially at UNL. (Math 203 student)

Expanding on this, the student shared:

• It's hard to invest yourself in something where you can't see people who look like you. I mean, you have to do the inevitable of still giving your all but I definitely wish that minorities were uplifted to like to participate in science and math. I feel like it doesn't happen a lot. We often get a lot of, ‘Oh, you're, you'd be really good at English. You'd be really good at social sciences’, but I feel like we belong everywhere. I just wish that that was encouraged a lot more. (Math 203 student)

Several students shared that it was easier to ask for help from those with shared identities:

• I feel more comfortable reaching out to people that look like me but I'm also able to still reach out to people that may not look like me, but I think it's just easier if they do. (Math 203 student)

• I personally felt more rapport, or maybe more of a connection, with the other black students in my class, personally because I just feel more comfortable when I'm around black people, or people who are similar to me. So I felt more comfortable interacting with [classmates] in the cases that I did. (Math 203 student)

Suggestions for implementation:

Think about when utilizing individual-think-time versus group-work time may be more beneficial to students; set aside time for both. 

Quotes:

Some students shared that they didn’t feel that group work was always helpful for their individual learning and that they valued opportunities to think through ideas independently

• I think not forcing us to work in groups is best because sometimes, like if it's a little harder for me to understand, I need to take my time and do it on my own...and then sometimes if it makes sense to do it as a group, like we do it as a group. (Math 203 student)

Suggestions for implementation:

When asking students to work in groups, provide structure that encourages and supports productive collaboration between students

Quotes:

In focus group interviews, several students shared that time for group work was often silent and awkward; students reported that they didn’t feel they had relationships with their peers and that the group work wasn’t productive for their learning. One student shared:

• I really felt that [breakout room time] got awkward, the amount of silence that we dealt with through the semester... I can't help but feel that there was a good 25 to 30% of the time was spent kind of in this awkward silence. And for me personally, I felt that there could have been a better use for that space. (Math 100A student)

The same student shared that the students needed guidance or prompting to make group work more productive: 

• If [instructors] want to have group time and they feel that that's something that they're supposed to do as an instructor is to give group breakout time or group work time, I think getting creative [with strategies to support groupwork]. I know it's a weird thing because you don't want to make your students uncomfortable. And I understand that. And so we have to choose what kind of uncomfortable we're going to have. Are we going to have uncomfortability because there's a lot of silence and there's a lot of time sitting, or are we going to be uncomfortable because we've got to actually productively try to work out a problem together? (Math 100A student)

Suggestions for implementation:

Be aware of what resources are available to students and the limitations of those resources.

Quotes:

Many students shared that they turned to friends, roommates, and family members when looking for support in their math classes. However, several students expressed that one challenge with taking Math 203 is that members of their mathematical support system weren’t familiar with course content. This meant these students had fewer resources when looking for help. Since resources vary from course to course, it is important for instructors to know what they are and in what ways they are limited.  

• I would even ask math majors, like “how do I do this?” And they'd even be confused. (Math 203 student)

• My brother-in-law graduated from UNL and he's an organic chemist. So he is smart, naturally gifted, smart in math. And I would be like “can you help me with this?” And he's like, “I do not know what you're trying to do.” (Math 203 student)

Suggestions for implementation:

Inform students of resources early on, but also find creative ways to actively remind students of resources throughout the semester. (Note: We don’t mean that students weren’t told about resources, rather that reminders will be needed/are helpful to students!)

Quotes:

One student shared that their study group wasn’t aware that instructional videos existed until part-way into the semester: 

• We would just meet like every Monday and go over all our assignments. Like, we didn't even realize there was video lessons for the class until it was like halfway over. (Math 203 student). 

This student also expressed the understanding that their Math 203 Workbook was the only textbook associated with the course. 

• Yeah, it was a workbook. That was our textbook. It was a workbook. (Math 203 student)

Suggestions for implementation:

Use Canvas (or another LMS) to present students with information in an organized, coherent, and structured manner.

Quotes:

Canvas acts as a home base for course resources. Thus, making your Canvas page a useful tool for students by keeping it organized can help students stay on top of the course. One student from Math 203 shared: 

• I think that having a good canvas page is really important because for our class, everything was laid out really well. All the assignments were right there. You could go onto it and you could see everything [my instructor] was going to go through the day, what we were going to have to do exactly, when the group work was, what you have to work on during those times. (Math 203 student)

Suggestions for implementation:

Find opportunities to help students strengthen their sense of academic responsibility.

Quotes:

Students expressed concerns about the effectiveness of components of their courses, but sometimes the underlying issues were lack of academic responsibility. Students seemed to use assignments as a measure of success or failure rather than a learning tool that can be used for their benefit. As instructors, we are in a position to help students strengthen their sense of academic responsibility so that they have more agency when it comes to their success in the course.

• I have [Webwork] every Sunday, Wednesday, which I like, because it's the same day and it's a lot easier to remember, but also at the same time it doesn't always match up with what you've learned. So I'll learn something on Monday and I won't end up doing the WebWork until next Sunday. And so then by that time it's not even in my brain. So it's not like the homework is reiterating or reteaching it to me. So it just doesn't line up. And there's not like an easy way to do it unless you have homework every single night, which is also a lot in a 200 level class when I'm taking four other classes. So I think web work is like a really hard tool to balance personally. (Math 203 student)

• The WebWorks were awful for me. Like I would do them, I would do okay on them. Cause you get so many tries, but it was just like, again, after you get so many tries, you're putting random answers half the time because either you don't get it or you don't want to spend 30, 45, to an hour doing homework that you don't really need to do. (Math 203 student)

• It would be very little time that I would spend on the WebWork because again, it's just kind of a guessing game on it. And I really did it for the grade. (Math 203 student)

Suggestions for implementation:

Carefully and intentionally create and maintain a welcoming and safe environment for students.

Quotes:

In interviews, students were asked to identify things that helped them succeed in their math course. Students credited being in a safe and welcoming environment to their success.

• I felt really supported by [name of instructor] throughout the entire [course]. Honestly, I'm convinced that's why I did so well. She just was always there, and I never felt ridiculous asking questions in her class.And her passion for math and answering questions was exceptional to me. And I hadn't had a math teacher like that in a really long time, so I felt really great.  (Math 203 student)

• I think the class kind of introducing themselves, perhaps in the sense of just talking about maybe how they feel about math. … I think it was kind of nice to kind of get the sense from the room of where everybody was at with it. I would assume since everybody was in 100A, everybody is in a place where they need review, where they can't, you know, start into 101. So spending some of that time talking through that is I think a key in helping us to feel more comfortable with each other, that we're all kind of in the same place. And so, being able to kind of verbalize that in the classroom, I think is a good thing. (Math 100A student)

In interviews, students were also asked to identify any barriers to their participation in their math courses. Several students identified the fear of being wrong as one such barrier. 

• I didn't really have any barriers to my participation other than like, maybe I didn't feel confident in my answer. But even then, when I didn't feel confident, I still didn't really have a hard time sharing as much as I had in the past. I think [name of instructor] made it really comfortable, and an environment where it was okay to mess up and it was okay to not understand. And it was okay to not learn math fast …..I never really felt rushed. And I always felt like I was able to ask questions. (Math 203 student)

• The only barrier I would say would be the fear of getting answers wrong. So I wouldn't sometimes answer. (Math 100A student)

Suggestions for implementation:

Recommendation #10: Expand your ideas of what engagement and participation look like.

Quotes:

Engagement/participation presents differently from student to student. One student mentioned that they have ADHD, which presents selective focusing challenges to them during class. They expressed appreciation for their instructor who recognized their engagement when other instructors did not.

• I had previously told my teacher that I have a really hard time focusing and I probably won't be able to have my camera on most of the time, just cause I don't want to distract other students. So I think that having her understand and just telling her that, ‘Hey, I might have to be working on side projects while we have class’ and her … not caring that I have to be doing other things to focus on a main thing. She really understood that. And I thought that that was really nice because that definitely helped me be successful. And I know that I have other professors who, if I happen to have my camera off, they would tell me to turn it on. Or if they saw me doing something while I was in class, they would also get upset. So just having the teacher understand, I'm still paying attention, I'm still focused. I just might not look like it. (Math 203 student)

Suggestions for implementation: