In online courses, much of the course communication occurs in public spaces. In synchronous courses, the video and audio channels represent a shared space, and although private chat messages are possible, they may not be substantial or frequent. In asynchronous courses, discussion boards are the allocated space for communication. In these…

Online learning has provided pathways for access to flexible educational experiences, but can also feel isolating and impersonal, lacking authentic relationships with instructors and peers. Centering the discussion of humanizing distance education through the lens of three core pedagogical components of teaching and learning (i.e., instruction,…

This article argues that in the teaching of writing online, incidents of linguistic discrimination can be (in)directly caused by faculty unfamiliarity with online teaching best practices, lack of critical linguistic awareness, and the prevalent legacy of racist and monolingual ideologies. To address this issue, it is necessary to cultivate empathy…

With the continued growth in online education, higher education institutions have moved community engagement further into virtual spaces through e-service learning courses (Faulconer, 2021). These courses have a history of being client-based, rather than critical or transformational (Strait & Nordyke, 2015). I argue that this conception of…

The top-down approach of assigning the whole class articles by authors of historically privileged identities, and expecting students to dutifully read and reflect in writing, is an ineffective way to respect, excite, connect with, and challenge students, most especially students of identities historically marginalized in the online academy. In…

Humanizing research online claims to engage practices that care for human learners. Even so, many of the recommended practices are unreflective about the universalizing ethic from which they draw. We argue that humanizing online learning becomes tangled in broader university aims that expect care to happen aside from underlying histories of…

Humanising pedagogy has been a focus of recent research as more universities move to online and blended models of instruction. Online learning has been linked to feelings of isolation, disconnection, and depersonalisation of the learning experience for many students. In South Africa, the shift to online instruction took place in the context of the…

In a post-COVID world, online education is more important than ever. Understanding how to make digital learning environments more humanized for learners can lead to more engaged learners. This study explored the experiences of 56 online graduate students to understand what components of asynchronous, traditionally formatted online courses centered…

As research continues to dissect the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the teaching profession, the experiences of teachers of Color remain overlooked. Thus, this article explicitly centers the lived experiences and insider knowledge of six secondary teachers of Color who taught virtually during the pandemic to answer the question, "How do…

With the growth of cultural diversity in online higher education, this qualitative research aimed to investigate instructors' perceptions, practices, and challenges of increasing cultural presence in online course design and delivery. Seventeen instructors with different disciplinary backgrounds, online teaching experiences, titles, and ranks…

Among many consequences of the pandemic was an abrupt switch to virtual instruction coupled with feelings of isolation around mandated lockdowns. This situation pushed us to humanize our mathematics classes in ways we had not done previously. Our takeaway from this experience is that community building must be done intentionally and actively. The…

At the intersection of an ongoing global pandemic and equity-focused social movements, critical and digital pedagogies became both necessary and important. Digital ways of teaching made education possible when we could not be in person, and provided alternative modes of learning and thinking, but also exacerbated existing inequalities. In this…

Objective: This study explores how community college faculty adjust their instructional approaches and student supports amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: This research drew on a basic qualitative approach to analyze 18 semi-structured interviews with faculty teaching math or math-heavy courses at two institutions. Results: Our findings add to…

Purpose: In this reflective essay, the authors, four educators of color, explore the relevance of humanizing practices of community in teaching and learning, school leadership and the potential challenges for equity work in education, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: This reflective essay draws on lessons learned from the…

This article draws from inquiry-based research that explored the efficacy of practitioners' efforts to create an asset-oriented field experience with preservice teachers and middle school students, responding to the challenge of building a virtual learning community during the pandemic. Through thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006), we…