Title: T: Guidelines for Participating in Our Class
Course: Canvas Course Template 2 > Section: T: Week 0: Start Here

Provide clear and customizable guidelines for participation to help students understand how to engage meaningfully in your course, whether it’s asynchronous online, hybrid, or in-person. Transparency is essential—students should know what “effective participation” looks like in your specific context. Some instructors share their guidelines directly (as shown below), while others collaborate with students to develop them.

Below are examples of general participation guidelines. Adjust these examples to reflect your course’s unique needs and modalities.

Instructor note: Customize this page to your Class Participation preferences

Participate and Contribute

Your active participation is key to our collective learning. Here's how you can contribute based on the course format:

- Asynchronous Online: Share thoughtful, on-topic posts in Canvas Discussions. Respond to your peers and engage in discussions that deepen our understanding.
- Hybrid: Balance your participation between online discussions and in-person activities, creating a cohesive experience across both.
- In-Person: Be present, listen actively, and share your thoughts in class discussions or activities.

We may fine-tune participation expectations during the first weeks of the course, so don’t worry if it feels a bit unclear at first. We’ll figure it out together!

Respect Diversity

I value everyone’s unique perspective and experience. Please engage respectfully with others, even when we don’t always agree. We’ll also set specific guidelines to ensure that everyone feels included and respected throughout the course. If you ever feel uncomfortable or unsure about how to interact, feel free to reach out to me.

Help Everyone Learn

Part of how we learn is by working together and learning from one another. We each have slightly different feelings about and comfort levels around working with peers, which means we need to be patient with each other, identify ways we can assist others, and be open-minded to receiving help and feedback. No one should hesitate to contact me to ask for assistance or offer suggestions that might help us learn better.   

Interact Professionally

Participation is a great chance to practice professional communication skills. Here’s how you can maintain a positive and respectful tone:

- Before posting in Canvas Discussions, take a moment to proofread for spelling clarity of ideas.
- Be mindful of your contributions, whether in online spaces or face-to-face. Stay respectful, listen actively, and be aware of your participation style (e.g., speaking up too much or not enough).
- Stay focused on the topic and be aware of how humor or tone might come across, especially in written form.

Canvas Discussion Guidelines

When using Canvas Discussions, here are some tips for success"

1. Use clear subject lines that communicate the content of your post and make it easy to follow.
2. Keep your posts concise and to the point, and back up your ideas with readings or course materials. Be aware that humor or sarcasm often doesn’t translate in an online environment.
3. Be supportive and considerate when replying to others’ posts. This means avoiding the use of jargon or inappropriate language. Disagree respectfully—provide thoughtful reasoning and evidence to support your point of view.
4. Keep focused on the topic and reference readings and other class materials to support your points (as applicable).
5. Always proofread your posts before submitting them to ensure they are clear, error-free, and respectful to the learning environment. A recommendation is to use Microsoft Word to compose your postings so that you can use the spell check tool, then copy and paste it into your Canvas submission.
6. Contribute and interact often!