Relationships are the very bas is of teaching and learning. Students are more engaged when they develop a sense of connection with their instructor and peers. Below are four
steps with suggestions, and supporting resources, to help you create a sense of community in your course.
Establishing a Sense of Connection
- Create a sense of your presence by sharing
- a personal biography and photo/video.
- Create a Discussion Forum for student introductions and encourage sharing of pictures/videos, pronouns, personal interests (e.g., music, movies, books).
- Invite students to meet with you in small groups or individually at the beginning of the semester.
- Hold office hours using Brightspace Online Rooms, WebEx Office, or Navigate tools.
- Give students a variety of options to connect to their classmates and to you, to respect differing needs for privacy.
Develop a Caring and Inclusive Environment
- Begin classes with a check-in about students’ well-being.
- Greet or call students by name whenever possible. You can check with students individually to confirm correct pronunciation.
- When you introduce yourself, include your pronouns and invite students to share their pronouns.
- Provide a syllabus that clearly lays out a schedule and expectations for the semester.
- Provide students with clear guidance on how and when they can contact you, and how long they may expect to wait for a response.
- Survey student about their needs and concerns at the beginning of the semester and follow up to see what accommodations or alternatives they may need.
- Offer choice to students, such as a variety of options for assessments, whenever possible.
- Provide a transcript or closed-captioning for video lectures.
- Provide information to students on supports available at Memorial.
Encourage Students to Work Together
- Create a Discussion Forum for students to ask any course-related question.
- Engage students to engage in collaborative notetaking or building summary tables or mind maps on course concepts.
- Include peer feedback in assignments using peer review tools such as PeerScholar or ePortfolio.
- Have students lead group discussions in breakout rooms, assigning roles of moderator, recorder, timekeeper, reporter.
- Encourage students to interact using the chat feature in Brightspace.
Foster a Wider Sense of Belonging in the Broader Community
- Encourage students to take part in remote campus events or webinars.
- Share relevant campus news stories with the class.
- Share links to relevant community events or webinars.
- Share links to current media pieces relevant to course materials.
- Invite guest speakers from community organizations into your course.
Supporting Resources
- Memorial Course Syllabus Requirements (Academic Regulation)
- Creating a Sense of Instructor Presence in the Online Classroom (Faculty Focus)
- Using Discussion Tool in Brightspace
- Using Groups in Brightspace
- Accessible Education (Blundon Centre Resources)
- Accessibility for Students with Disabilities (Memorial Policy)
- Sexual & Gender Diversity (Student Life Resources)
- Indigenous Resource Centre
- Using Collaborative Notetaking to Promote an Inclusive Learning Environment (UGuelph)
- Using PeerScholar
- Memorial’s ePortfolio
- Using Announcements in Brightspace
- Memorial’s Gazette
- The UDL Guidelines (CAST)
- Do’s and Don’ts for Video and Audio Recording (CITL Video Recording)
Updated by Ruth H.
Originally Published: February 10, 2026
