Approachability, Empathy, and Warm Language
Video Length
5:38
THE ROLE OF THE INSTRUCTOR
At the heart of an accessible, inclusive course design is you, the instructor of the course. Your interactions with students, including the language you use and how you communicate with students, has a profound impact on how well all students are engaged and supported in learning. In a meta-analysis study of 38 UDL studies, Ann C. Orr and Sara Bachman Hammig Links to an external site. identified instructor approachability and empathy as one of five primary themes supported by UDL research evidence.
Often, the inclusiveness of a classroom depends on the kind of interactions that take place between students and faculty.
The approaches to language that we discuss here can be applied throughout your course, including your syllabus, course policies, welcome video, course announcements, student emails, and more.
WARMTH AND APPROACHABILITY
Instructor warmth and approachability are deeply connected characteristics. In a 2011 study, Richard J. Harnish and K. Robert Bridges Links to an external site. found that students who interacted with a syllabus written in a friendly tone saw the instructor as both warmer and more approachable. Moreover, these same students reported being more motivated to engage with the course.
The key to warmth and approachability is the language you use. In particular, a positive or friendly tone can help students see you as warm and approachable. This includes welcoming students, inviting them to engage and participate rather than demanding it, and using language that empowers students with agency in their learning experience.
For example, Harnish and Bridges used "Office Hours" in the cold syllabus, with students told that they could contact the instructor outside office hours "if you need to." In the warm syllabus, these were rephrased as "Student Hours," and students were told "I welcome you to contact me outside of class and student hours."
Some common authoritative words to look out for include "must," "should," "need," "necessary," "expect," and "excuse." For instance, students are often told that they "must" or "should" meet course objectives. A simple shift to using invitational language, such as "hope" or "work toward," can help motivate students to strive to achieve learning objectives.
Harnish and Bridges provide 6 recommendations for faculty looking to create warm and approachable materials:
- Using positive or friendly language
- Providing a rationale for assignments
- Sharing personal experiences
- Using humor
- Conveying compassion
- Showing enthusiasm for the course
There is some concern that warm language can lead to students not seeing the importance of critical information or perceiving a course as easier. While Harnish and Bridges found that friendly language was connected to perceptions of an easier course, other studies have found that friendly language leads students to better remember critical syllabus information. This connection is still murky in the literature, though, and we encourage you to evaluate your own language on a case-by-case basis. In some instances, colder language serves a valuable purpose. That's also why we provided the example of "student hours," as that is a low-stakes form of communication that can shift how students perceive you and your course.
EMPATHY AND HUMAN-CENTRIC LANGUAGE
For many teachers, the COVID-19 pandemic showed just how much of a need there is for empathy, compassion, and flexibility. Empathetic teaching requires both flexible, inclusive policies and an attention to language.
Creating empathetic language can go hand-in-hand with warmth and approachability. For example, when writing about class participation, you could say, "I hope you consistently and actively participate in this course. Actively participating is the best way to engage with the material and learn throughout the course. Everyone is different, and I invite you to participate in ways that are meaningful and helpful for you. For example, below are a variety of ways you can participate in the course."
This language uses some of the hallmarks of warm language (such as "hope" and "invite"), and it empathizes with students who may not always feel comfortable participating in class discussions. These individual human differences are at the core of Universal Design for Learning, and language that speaks to these differences can have a profound impact on students' ability to engage in your course.
Empathetic language also puts human beings at the center, foregrounding the reality that courses aren't disembodied entities, but communities made up of individual connections, both student-to-student and student-to-teacher. When evaluating your course materials, look for opportunities to include personal stories, share why you structured something how you did, or form connections with your students. The early days of a course are an excellent time to focus on humanizing your course and building community. Below is a presentation from Sarah Ackermann, Director of Teaching Innovation, about humanizing your course through a welcome video.