This past week, we all heard about the attack on students at Ohio State University. Whether or not we had friends or colleagues at OSU, an event like that makes us wonder how we would deal with such a situation on our own campus. Tragedies, whether local or national, can distract from the day-to-day work of teaching and learning, and our role of educators shifts a bit when our students may be worried more about their safety than the day’s lesson.
Whether and how to address such tragedies is certainly at the instructor’s discretion, but research into responses to 9/11 give us some indications that students react well to even momentary recognitions of the events, acknowledgement that some students may be struggling with their reactions, and perhaps options for completing assignments that are due immediately afterwards. What students find frustrating or discouraging is a complete avoidance of the topic or comments that seem to belittle the event’s impact on students. So even without an actual change in lesson plans, a bit of compassion goes a long way to helping students get back on track and ready for learning.
For more specific ideas on how to teach immediately following a crisis, see our resource on “Teaching in the Face of Tragedy.” We hope you will never need it, but it is there for you in case you do.
And while we never want to dwell on the possibility of such an event happening at IU Bloomington, it is always a good idea to be aware of your options in your classroom—the lock on the door, the safest way to exit the building, and plans for what to do in various emergency situations. See Protect IU’s Emergency Procedures page for more information.
We at the CITL are keeping our Ohio State colleagues in mind this week, and we are ready to assist you should any such tragedy ever occur on our own campus.
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