Creating a Safe and Supportive Classroom Environment

The physical, emotional and social safety of learners require a supportive classroom environment. In planning for your classes from an anti-racist perspective, consider how you can create opportunities where learners are able to actively participate in their own learning; including an exploration of the lived experiences of other learners.

Goals

1. Create a safe and supportive classroom environment for learners.
2. Establish a learning environment where students feel valued, comfortable and empowered to be themselves and achieve their potential.

How-to-guide: Safe spaces

It is important for an instructor to provide opportunities to safely explore different racial and cultural backgrounds thereby contextualizing historical perspectives.

• Engage your learners in a discussion around classroom expectations. Be explicit about the intolerance of racism and microaggression in your physical classroom or online (both from a college policy and professional conduct perspective).  
• Consider your course content: are different populations represented respectfully in images, scenarios, and examples? Have you included diverse viewpoints and opinions? 
• When possible, offer participation and engagement choices for learners (e.g., internet, video, phone, chat). 
• Set guidelines around respect for privacy and resharing of information so that learners feel comfortable to participate in discussions and learning activities
• Integrate diverse delivery strategies and tools to create a space where learners’ voices are recognized and valued . Consider using videos, written, and verbal methods, or incorporating images, infographics, or arts to deliver the learning objectives. 
• Create intentional opportunities for self-reflections and knowledge sharing, modeling respect for diverse backgrounds and lived experiences.
• Create cross-cultural interactions that foster independent learning and empowerment between students through incorporation of group work and team projects.

Reflection: What is one new technique you can use to manage conversations from an anti-racist approach?

How-to-guide: For creating a safe and supportive classroom environment

Tips for creating a supportive classroom environment:

• Acknowledge the power and privilege you hold as an instructor
• Ensure that all learners feel comfortable enough to voice their concerns regarding discrimination in the classroom. This could be done by providing tools for anonymous feedback
• Know the different resources and support areas at the College to support learners who believe they were discriminated against
• Offer a variety of ways (in-person, virtually, with other persons) that learners can share experiences of discrimination
• Be open to learner expressions of discrimination in accessing teaching and learning in the classroom
• Invite learners to suggest ways to make the classroom more inclusive
• Ask learners how they want to be identified in the classroom (e.g., pronouns)

Reflection: What is one new technique you can use to manage conversations from an anti-racist approach?

Checklist for creating a safe and supportive classroom environment

This checklist may be used by members of instructional teams to self-reflect on their readiness and practices aimed at fostering classroom safety and support for all students, including those from racialized or underrepresented groups.

Resources

References

Berkeley Graduate Division (n.d.). GSI Teaching & Resource Center. Creating Community Agreements. 

Burnham, K. (2020). 5 culturally responsive strategies.

Duke University. (2018). Best practices for inclusive assessment. 

Nieminen, J. H. (2024). Assessment for Inclusion: Rethinking inclusive assessment in higher education. Teaching in Higher Education, 29(4), 841–859. 

George Brown College. (2018). 10 tips & resources to develop an antiracist classroom. 

Holley, L. C. & Steiner, S. (2005). Safe space: Student perspectives on classroom environment. Journal of Social Work Education, 41(1), 49 -64.

Ladson-Billings, G. (2014). Culturally Relevant Pedagogy 2.0: A.k.a. the Remix. Harvard Educational Review, Vol. 84(1), pp. 74-84.

Lesson 5. Inclusive Teaching in Practice - Group Work.

Oxford Brookes University. (2023). Equality, diversity and inclusion.

Singhal, M., and Gulati, S. (2020). Five essential strategies to embrace culturally responsive teaching. Faculty Focus: Higher Ed Teaching Strategies from Magna Publications.

Authors

Written by: Judith Gallimore (Associate Chair, Business at NorQuest College)

Reviewed and edited by: Rebecca Bock-Freeman (Manager, Academic Strategy)