I often tell clients to celebrate their wins, so now I’m going to model that with a recent win of mine.
I just read the student evaluations of the class I taught on victims’ rights at American University last fall. The students deepened their understanding of the subject and they loved the guest speakers, but the thing that most stood out was that they felt safe. 100% agreed that I treated students with respect and that I facilitated a respectful learning environment.Comments included that I promoted a “respectful open–dialogue learning environment [and] prioritized hearing everyone,” “provided a good classroom environment that supported all students” and that “this class topic was sensitive and can easily be triggering; she absolutely created an environment where I felt safe to share my personal experiences and also ask questions.”
How did I do it? There are a few things that I think helped. I set explicit goals and expectations from the first class. I acknowledged every student who spoke, always. I was open about my own mistakes and asked for their advice sometimes.
Psychological safety is the key to risk taking, creativity, and engagement, and enhances learning, collaboration, inclusion, wellness, and retention. I often pressure myself to ensure that I’m covering all the things, perfectly, every time. These evaluations are a good reminder that creating an environment where people feel supported and able to learn is the most important of all.