Make explicit the culture, protocols, and norms of your community.
What?
Basic: Communicate the expectations and consequences of your community.
Advanced: Develop a shared agreement on class engagement, communication, and interaction. Define respect within your community.
Why?
When learners feel they helped create the culture, protocols, and norms agreements they have greater buy-in, which will be reflected in their greater participation and effort, both in class and digitally.
Shared and collaborative agreements create a safe environment where they share deeper reflections and have increased vulnerability in their responses. The more you set up clear expectations the less you have to moderate posts
Basic: “if I post I know I am not going to be bullied or made fun of”
The next level: “when I create this I am buying into the culture”
Collaborating on the culture, protocols, and norms will make students feel empowered to create vulnerable Unrulr posts without fear of being judged, bullied, or outcasted. By creating vulnerable Unrulr posts, students are buying into the culture of your community!
How?
Create a document outlining class norms, culture, and behavior expectations, ensuring student collaboration and signatures to symbolize agreement.
Incorporate student feedback throughout the process, update the document accordingly, and emphasize the significance of their signatures in reflecting their participation and consent.
Lesson Plan: How to make explicit the protocols and norms of your community
Step 1: Create a document which states the class norms, culture, and behavior expectations and standards.
How you create the document is up to you, but the process could be similar to How to Create a COGS set that reflects your culture and community.
The “document” could be (but is not limited to)…
A class contract : document stating the norms, culture, and behavior expectations with student signature
A syllabus (older students) with an additional page that students must sign & hand it back in.
A physical bulletin board in the classroom some text
Add words in student language to this bulletin board some text
*note in step _ you will be collaborating with students to edit/make slight changes to these words/agreement so make sure it is not permanent at first!
All students sign the bulletin board
Pro-tip: take a photo and create an Unrulr post reflecting on the process of creating the class agreement.
Here’s an Unrulr specific example of a contract: Example
What do all of these document examples have in common?
STUDENT SIGNATURES! They symbolize that students are in agreement with the norms, culture, and behavior expectations.
Tip:
Add language to the signature statement that reflects the collaborative nature of the document. Example:
By signing this document I agree to adhere to the classroom norms, culture, and behavior expectations to the best of my ability. I felt my voice, opinions, and ideas were heard and taken into consideration when this document was created. Taking it a step further: codify the behaviors and standards
Step 2: Collaborate with students
When students feel that their voice, feelings, and ideas are reflected in the document, there will be greater buy-in. Students are also an excellent sounding board – if expectations are too far out there, they will let you know!
Present the first draft of document to your students
Invite student feedback & ideas
Examples:
Write these ideas down on board
Project the digital document → use highlight, strikethrough, and comment tools to note student feedback / ideas
Use sticky notes to record student feedback & ideas some text
You can add these directly to bulletin board or just place where students can see them
Tip: Explain the process around what happens next.
Example:
I will take your feedback and ideas. Make changes to the document name. I will show you all the changes I made and ask if this was what you all had in mind. I will ask if there are any last minute tweaks that you all think should be made. I will make those changes. I will present the final draft and you all will sign it. Signing it means you agree and collaborated on the document”
Step 3: Make the changes to the document
Tip: It may be beneficial for you to save the changes on a NEW document. This will allow you to see the differences and show the differences to your students.
Step 4: Collaborate a final time with students
Physically show students WHERE the changes are in the document
Ask for final thoughts, ideas, and possible changes some text
Record them - just like in step 3
Tips:
Tell your students this is their last opportunity to make changes and share their thoughts!
Encourage them to let their voice be heard!
Step 5: Make any final changes to document
Step 6: Present the final document to students emphasizing the changes and stating what the students are agreeing to when they sign it.
Step 7: Student and teacher signatures
Signatures are always the last step.
Emphasize to students that their signature matters, and is important to you because it signifies they are in agreement with the document and, importantly, that their voice was heard in the creation of the document.
Additional Resources
COGS In Unrulr: How to Transform Your Education Program with Comprehensive Competency Tracking