Warm early communications begin the process of fostering belonging and supporting student success.
Developing your course to be appealing and accessible in terms of content and assignments fosters belonging and supporting student success. In addition to the content of your opening pages and syllabus, the tone can also begin to support these goals. Using a warm tone not only fosters belonging but leads to students鈥 having a more positive view of the course (Harnish & Bridges, 2011) and instructor (Waggoner Denton & Veloso, 2018).听
Set the Right Tone听
Your first communications to students matter. What message do you want to send to them before they even meet you? As you craft your first announcements and your landing page, consider the following:
- How will you present yourself as a teacher?听 Try to express your enthusiasm for the course, the pleasure you experience from working with students, and your belief in their potential for success.听
- How will you present yourself as a person? Students appreciate it when instructors reveal some aspects of their own educational story, their values, and what’s important to them as a person. In just a few sentences in an announcement, in your syllabus, or on your Canvas page, you can share a little bit about your values and priorities so that students can begin to know you as a person.
- How do you want to express your commitment to hearing all viewpoints? In your own words, how might you express your commitment to cultivating an atmosphere that supports all students? One strategy is to include a course overview that highlights the topics the course will cover (Fuentes, Zelaya & Madsen, 2021, p. 73).
- How can you express your strategies for supporting all learners?听 Some language that makes it clear that you recognize and appreciate learner variability and welcome student input on how they best learn can make clear that you are an inclusive educator.听
- How can you learn about your students? One of the best ways is through a simple “introduce yourself” first assignment, or through a pre-term survey. See pre-term samples and tips.
Here are two sample 鈥淲elcome Statements鈥 that users of the 麻豆传媒在线 Syllabus put directly into the “Course Overview” section.
From Jeffrey Gonzalez (English 238; full syllabus shared in OFE鈥檚 Canvas Community, (join by clicking ).
…We will have to be sensitive to the occasional tensions that will emerge from our conversations. All of your voices and feelings are relevant and welcome, provided they show respect to your classmates, to the history we鈥檙e exploring, and to the goals of the course.听
Since this is a literature course, aesthetic analysis matters. We will think about how these artistic decisions and displays interact with the time periods they emerge from and the social milieu they鈥檙e responding to.
From Claremont Colleges Center for Teaching and Learning:
My goal is to welcome everyone to [[your discipline]]. As your professor, I hold the fundamental belief that everyone in the class is fully capable of engaging and mastering the material. My goal is to meet everyone at least halfway in the learning process. Our classroom should be an inclusive space, where ideas, questions, and misconceptions can be discussed with respect. There is usually more than one way to see and solve a problem and we will all be richer if we can be open to multiple paths to knowledge. I look forward to getting to know you all, as individuals and as a learning community.
Warm Up Your Syllabus
1. Emphasize Positive over Punishing Language
Course policies are often written as a response to problems in the classroom and promote an antagonistic tone. Overly punitive rules never actually guarantee that unwanted behavior disappears, and they might even create resistance in students.
| Sample Phrases from Cold Syllabus听 | Sample Phrases from Warm Syllabus |
| 鈥淐ome prepared to actively participate in this course. This is the best way to engage you in learning鈥 | 鈥淚 hope you actively participate in this course . . . because I have found it is the best way to engage you in learning.鈥 |
| 鈥渢raumatic events . . . are no excuse for not contacting me within 24 h鈥 | 鈥渢raumatic events . . . are unwelcome and because I understand how difficult these times are, if you contact me within 24 h of the event and provide documentation, I will be happy to give you a make-up exam.鈥 |
2. Create Invitations over Commands
To highlight students鈥 agency in a course, instructors can create invitations instead of commands. They could phrase policies as logical consequences of student actions instead of retributive punishments. The chart below describes how to use language to highlight collaboration rather than top-down authority.
| Commands | Invitations |
| 鈥淵ou must complete makeup work to receive credit.鈥
鈥淵ou are allowed to鈥︹ 鈥淚 only accept鈥︹ 鈥淟ate work receives a 40% reduction.鈥 鈥淚f you need to contact me outside of class or office hours, email ______鈥 |
鈥淔eel free to complete makeup work to earn credit.鈥
鈥淵ou are welcome to鈥︹ 鈥淚 encourage you to鈥︹ 鈥淟ate work is eligible for 60% of听 original points.鈥 鈥淚 invite you to contact me outside of office hours by emailing ___________.鈥 |
3. Shift from passive to active voice, and from third person to first or second.
| Sample Phrases from Cold Syllabus | Sample Phrases from Warm Syllabus |
| This course covers . . .听 | This semester we will explore . . .听 |
| Students are required to . . . | You will . . .听 |
| Students will . . . | We will [or you will] |
听
Claremont Colleges Teaching and Learning Center. (2016.) Sample Syllabus Language. Denial, Cate. What Do Our Syllabi Really Say? Fuentes, M. A., Zelaya, D. G., & Madsen, J. W. (2021). . Teaching of Psychology, 48(1), 69鈥79. Harnish, R., & Bridges, K. (2011). Effect of syllabus tone: students鈥 perceptions of instructor and course. Social Psychology of Education, 14(3), 319鈥330. Rhetoric. (2015). Accessible Syllabus. Slattery, J. M., & Carlson, J. F. (2005). Preparing an Effective Syllabus. College Teaching, 53(4), 159鈥164. Waggoner Denton, A., & Veloso, J. (2018). Changes in syllabus tone affect warmth (but not competence) ratings of both male and female instructors. Social Psychology of Education, 21(1), 173鈥187. Last Modified: Thursday, March 27, 2025 5:26 pm
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