2.3 Applications of inclusive teaching
In a literature review of research on inclusive teaching, Hockings (2010) highlights the practices that foster and support an inclusive teaching environment. They are as follows:
- Learn about your individual students.
- Create a safe learning environment, based on mutual respect and open mindedness.
- Set clear rules and expectations.
- Create “universal” lessons and assessments that students can apply to their contexts.
- Anticipate, acknowledge, and address individual needs (for example, physical, cultural, academic, or emotional).
- Challenge existing policies, practices, and systems that exclude certain students.
- Involve your students in the creation or adjustment of their curricula and assessments.
- Establish inclusive teaching practices and train future faculty in these practices.
- Support your students and faculty in effectively implementing inclusive strategies and widening participation.
- Analyze, amend, and improve upon your inclusive teaching practices based on student feedback.
(Hockings, 2010:46-47)
Although these principles are intended to be broadly applicable, they should not preclude individual teachers and institutions from developing their own responses (Hockings, 2010). It is important to interrogate whether and how these principles may be put into practice within your specific learning context.
At the Bok Center, we have developed a list of inclusive teaching strategies based on the literature and our own experience in the classroom. You will see overlaps between these strategies and other suggestions we have made with regard to rapport-building and setting expectations. Ultimately, inclusive teaching is good teaching.
- Get to know your students: Ask your students to share with you why they are taking your course and what they hope to get out of it. Find out what their previous experience with the subject is. Learn their names. Encourage them to take advantage of your office hours by requiring them to visit you at least once in the first month of the course.
- Build rapport among the group: Give your students opportunities to interact with each other. Ask them to move around and work with different partners throughout a session. This is especially important for discussion classes, or sections that require a lot of participation; be sure to start with icebreakers to help the group feel comfortable. It can be as simple as having students introduce themselves to a partner and then introduce their partner to the larger group.
- Assess early and often: Assessment does not always have to be in the form of high-stakes midterms, exams, or papers, but rather can be simple check-ins throughout a semester. There are a number of low-stakes techniques that are easily implemented and provide you with quick information. For example, collect student information using index cards or polling software. You can ask them to write answers to brief background knowledge questions to get a sense of where they are starting. Once or twice throughout the semester, ask students to write down and pass in (anonymously) the “muddiest point,” or most confusing part, of the class.
- Vary teaching strategies: Rather than simply lecturing or running through a problem set, mix things up by getting students to come up with an answer as a group at their given table, or have students come to the board to provide an answer. For discussions, try to have students talk in pairs or smaller groups before opening up to the whole group. Be mindful of the various ways you present information. Some ways work for some, but not others. Consider using a combination of board work, slides, relevant videos, comics, etc. There are many ways to mix things up.
- Diversify course materials: Evaluate course content (for example, readings, images, examples) for diversity. Are multiple groups and identities represented and respected? Find ways to express that diverse backgrounds have a place in your discipline. For example, draw on diverse scholars and showcase their successes.
- Allow students to demonstrate their learning in various ways, when possible: Some students excel at articulating arguments in class; others may share deep insights during office hours. Encourage students to develop in all areas and forms of expression, but be open to and acknowledge the fact that students may not all be able to demonstrate their grasp of the material to the same level in the same ways.
- Be explicit: Be careful not to assume that your approach is obvious to everyone. Provide a rationale for what you are doing. Let students know what they need to do to be successful in the course.
- Address incivility: It is important to address classroom incivility as soon as possible, as it can have negative impacts on the classroom environment and student learning.
- Be mindful of language: Model for your students how inclusive language can be used in writing and speaking (for example, use “humanity” rather than “man”). Acknowledge evolving conventions regarding the use of pronouns in English. Keep in mind that the examples we use in teaching are often culturally-based, and can be alienating to students if they lack familiarity with them.
Pause and reflect:
In 2015, Iowa State University’s Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) established an inclusive classroom task force that created a faculty development program geared towards assisting faculty in the creation of inclusive classrooms and, by extension, positive learning experiences. To date, numerous faculty and academic leaders have attended the program, which consists of four online modules and a three-hour in-person workshop.
This is one example of how inclusive teaching can be addressed at an institutional level. Are you aware of similar initiatives in your higher education context?