Principle 3: Inclusivity and Diversity
Develop and teach courses through inclusion of content from multiple perspectives, considering diversity in all its forms, as understanding differing experiences is critical for all students’ deep learning. Therefore instructors are encouraged to select content to support, facilitate, and interrogate barriers to inclusion. Knowledge experts from across disciplines have discovered critical gaps in their disciplines’ advancement and understanding based on conscious or unconscious exclusion of diverse experiences and perspectives, and therefore in both research and teaching it is incumbent upon instructors to actively counter disciplinary and other habits of bias through systematic evaluation of course content and pedagogy for diversity: in viewpoints, population focus, as well as author identity.
- Embrace and make visible inclusive course design as a valuable opportunity to interrogate historical consciousness and our assumptions about various peoples and ideologies.
- In introducing content, acknowledge systemic inequities–and the power and privilege that attend them in our disciplines, workforce, and global society–and use intentional course design to make visible and address these inequities.
- Practice culturally responsive teaching (CRT) to cultivate awareness of the identities and dynamics that shape educational experiences and impact learning, provide efficacious and responsive accommodations for equitable and optimal learning and assessment, and effectively leverage diversity in the course environment.
- Audit course content for 1) diversity and inclusion of authors and creators, noting gaps and areas of concentration and 2) diversity and inclusiveness of topics, examples, and experiences selected. Remain open to changing texts and voices highlighted.
- Critically evaluate texts for assumptions, stereotyping, and missing perspectives and bring these elements to students’ attention. Highlight contributions made by diverse voices made to the field to further facilitate inclusion. Avoid marginalizing non-dominant voices by highlighting and discussing homogeneity when it occurs.
- Demonstrate how understanding diverse voices is essential for creating high quality, rigorous, and competitive academic programs that serve student needs and continue to elevate the institution’s reputation.
- Avoid assuming familiarity with cultural references (for example, WASP or Lassie), understanding that few cultural references are widely shared, and assuming shared references undermines the confidence of those for whom the reference is unknown.
Incorporating Varied Perspectives in Course Materials
Understanding varied human experiences and viewpoints is critical for all students’ deep learning, so take time to select content to facilitate representative, heterogeneous perspectives.
Cultivating Student Success
Fostering students’ sense of belonging and ensuring they experience your class as fair, inclusive, and respectful of diverse perspectives can have a powerful impact on their learning and overall success.
Foster Belonging
Feeling like you belong — in a course or at the university — helps students succeed. Instructors can take small steps in course design and pedagogy to improve belonging in ways that help students persevere when classes and life become difficult.
Using Protocols to Deepen Conversation and Raise Intellectual Engagement
Adapted from a presentation by Prof. Patricia Virella, this guide will help you create an environment in which deep conversations about sensitive issues can flourish.
“Warming Up” Your Syllabus
Developing your course to be appealing and accessible in terms of content and assignments fosters belonging and supporting student success.
Mitigating Cognitive Bias to Promote Fairness
Understanding how cognitive bias works enables instructors to adopt strategies to increase their objectivity, reduce subjectivity, and promote fairness so all students are equally able to succeed.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
Design and deliver all course elements for maximum accessibility to support success for all students.
Last Modified: Monday, March 31, 2025 12:09 pm
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