SETTING VALUES IN CLASS
It’s important to explain what the purpose of the process is before starting. I usually say something like this:
“We are going through a short process that helps us decide the values for the class. You can think about these values as the container for class, something we will aspire toward and activate in different ways. The worst thing we can do is decide these values and then forget about them after today. So to avoid that, we will build other routines around them, like checking in about which values we are activating the most or least, and doing self-evaluations rooted in the values. If situations come up this semester that we don’t know how to handle, we can look toward the values for direction about how to move forward.”
I start by offering a pool of values to choose from, like this:
Ideation steps
- Begin with an individual prompt: “I think [value] is important to a learning environment because…” Everyone picks a value and writes a short response.
- Break the class into groups of 3-5 people. Conversation prompt: “Have a 5 minute conversation about which of these values are most important to a learning environment.” Give reasons why. Share examples from your experience. Draw from your written response.
- Group consensus: “Come to consensus on 2 values you think should anchor this class. Color your first choice red and your second choice blue.”
Class consent
Back as a whole class:
- Each group shares with the whole class the two values they discussed.
- Facilitator arranges these results for the whole class to see, looking for common values across the groups. Note that outliers do not have to be excluded. A value only appearing once might be important to keep. Work through values until there are 3-4 left.
- A question to ask toward consent is this: “Does this seem like something we can consent to?” Remind the class what they are consenting to: “A set of values that we will try to activate and hold ourselves to.” Ask for a thumbs up from each person as a sign of consent.
Here is a set of values one of my classes recently came up with and consented to:
This process could stop here, but I think it’s worth taking one step further to contextualize the values to class.
Contextualzing to class
Back in groups: “Tell a story about a time when you felt one of these values activated or not activated. For example, if the value is respect, tell a story about a time when you felt respected.”
This step is important because even though people may agree on values, they may experience the values differently. Putting the values into specific experiences helps people to see these differences.
Then, ask each group to draft a short anchor statement in response to questions such as these. Each of these questions is directed toward a specific component of class. These anchor statement have a better chance of reflecting the people in the room since they have just addressed what these values mean to them in practice and not just the abstract.
- When it comes to completing major assignments, how might we activate the values?
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When it comes to preparing for class, how might we activate the values?
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When it comes to being together in class, how might we activate these values
- When it comes to health and wellness this semester, how might we activate the values?
An alternative here is to draft a single statement that synthesizes and activates the values. Here is one example one class drafted:
“In our classroom, we work together to create a community of future educators that are compassionate and open-minded in order to foster the maximum amount of growth we can obtain from the class. We will work to create community by being dependable both as it pertains to the class and to each other while encouraging a sense of adaptability across the course. In this class, our minds are open to change, revision, and new ideas.”
Activating values across class
An exercise like this is of little use without routines throughout the semester that activate the values. The values are merely ornamental without additional routines.
The values should be visible at the start of every class, perhaps on an opening slide or course commons.
There are ways to activate the values through short conversation prompts at the start or end of class, too. Here are some I use:
- Which value do you think we’ve been activating the most in class?
- What’s an instance from class so far when you saw one of these values clearly activated?
- Which value could we do a better job at activating over the next four weeks? Which value should we lean into a bit more?
- Which value comes easiest to you? Which comes as a challenge?
A more in-depth way to activate values is to factor them into a routine of self-evaluation that takes place every 4 weeks. Here is one version of a template that connects the values to the main areas of class.
Finally, I often activate the values if the class encounters challenges not anticipated. Some of these situations have been:
- Revising assignment deadlines
- Re-leveling the weight of assignments
- Having conversations about course load
- Getting clear about expectation for professor and students
Around topics like these, I often ask the question: “Do the course values give us any direction here?” I take much solace in having something separate from myself to lean on and invite the class to gather around when making these kinds of decisions together.
Undergraduate & graduate courses