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Communication Strategies Faculty Resources: Advocating

Advocating

Icon for Advocating

Advocating

Develop the confidence to actively support a person or perspective.

Using this Strategy

Students use this strategy in the classroom, at home, and on the job when they:

  • Recognize when they need help and where to ask for that help, including:
    • Asking an instructor for help accessing academic supports.
    • Identifying gaps in their skills and seeking help (tutoring, attending office hours, etc.).
    • Meeting with an instructor to ask about a mark on an assignment.
    • Asking for what they need in order to do their job better.
  • Work in a team by:
    • Speaking up in class to ask for more time to finish a group assignment.
    • Speaking up during a group meeting to make sure a classmate gets to share their opinion.
    • Asking group mates to do their share of the work.
    • Reaching out to an instructor to tell them that a classmate is struggling and needs help.
    • Allowing one another space to learn and build capacity.
  • Communicate and act with intention and care by:
    • Reflecting on when they can and should speak up on behalf of others.
    • Using inclusive language in their communications.
    • Setting clear expectations for themselves and their teams.
    • Ensuring they create an inclusive environment and building psychological safety

Faculty Blog: Advocating

Read about developing the strategy of "advocating" with your students in the Faculty Blog post: Communication Strategies: Advocating

Key Resources for Students

To learn about how to advocate for others, students can:

To learn about how to be an advocate, students can:

To find out how to boost their self-confidence, students can:

To intentionally build their self-confidence, students can:

To learn how to speak up, students can:

To learn how to advocate for themselves, students can:

To get help if they (or a friend) have experienced violence, harassment, or discrimination , students can:

Related Academic Success Centre Supports

Students can access the following resources through Library & Academic Services to develop this strategy:

  • Tutoring for individualized and small group support, if students advocate for themselves or others that they need help to understand the content of their courses.
  • Writing Tutoring, for individualized in-person and email support to develop writing skills, and to help develop self-advocacy skills through writing. 
  • EAL Tutoring, for individualized language development for students whose first language is not English, which can help develop the confidence and language skills required for self-advocacy.
  • Academic Coaching, to develop the academic skills needed for success within college.