In the April edition of Edubytes, we will be exploring inclusive teaching, which is also the theme of UBC Vancouver’s annual week-long showcase of teaching and learning opportunities, Celebrate Learning Week. Here are some past events focused on inclusive teaching, including:
- Keynote Speaker: Kevin Lamoureux
Healing the Wound with the Weapon: Post-Secondary Education and Reconciliation - Equity and Inclusion in Teaching and Learning: Student Perspectives
- Equity and Inclusion in Teaching and Learning: Faculty Perspectives
Our guest editors, Hanae Tsukada, PhD, and Hélène Frohard-Dourlent, PhD, have curated the first part of this edition of Edubytes. Hanae is an educational consultant for the Student Diversity Initiative, who works with the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT). Hélène is an educational strategist for the Student Diversity Initiative, who works for the Equity & Inclusion Office in partnership with CTLT.
As more and more research shows that diverse groups produce better ideas, discoveries, and solutions to real-life challenges, universities are increasingly focused on creating a culture of belonging for diverse students and instructors. An important practical component of this shift is inclusive teaching.
This umbrella term is used to describe many different approaches that consider how equity, diversity, and inclusion can be incorporated into teaching and learning. Inclusive teaching involves deliberately cultivating a learning environment where all students feel a connection to the course material, and a sense of belonging in all aspects of the learning experience. It is increasingly gaining influence across disciplines, from STEM to the humanities.
An underlying goal of inclusive teaching is to upend the ways that systemic inequities around race, gender, and other axes of difference operate in teaching-learning spaces.
Podcast: Inclusive Pedagogy
“We are not teaching content. We are teaching students.” In this Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, Professor Sylvia Kane, Director of Education at Vanguard University, explains how inclusive pedagogy has informed her teaching style. She asks what knowledge, experiences, and assets do students themselves bring to their learning processes? How can instructors build upon students’ unique assets in order to help them excel? Kane also shares how the process of learning more about her students’ backgrounds and everyday lives has enabled her to become a more effective instructor.
Learn More
Building Diversity in Science, One Interaction at a Time
Why do Latinx, Black and Indigenous people make up a disproportionately small number of science professor positions at North American universities and what are the outcomes of this? This Undark article discusses how the everyday experiences of marginalization, which affect racialized students and women in science classroom settings, may be derailing their careers in science. Incorporating inclusive teaching principles into STEM classrooms can help address the crux of this problem: a non-inclusive culture where success requires leaving one’s humanity and identity at the door.
Read More
Building a More Inclusive Curriculum
While “diversifying” or “decolonizing” learning have been increasingly high priority goals for universities, this process involves more than just adding diverse perspectives to existing curriculum. Rather, it requires building a university-wide “diversity infrastructure” on the part of deans, administrators, faculty councils and instructors, with the outcome being a stronger, more supportive institution. In this Dal News article, professors from Dalhousie University and Simon Fraser University explain how diversifying curriculum has important implications both within the classroom and beyond.
Read More
Faculty Beliefs About Intelligence Predict Racial Achievement Gaps in STEM Classes
Phys.org reports that a recent study has shown that professors’ beliefs about intelligence play a major role in the success of all students, but especially for underrepresented students taking their first college-level STEM courses. Racialized students in particular earn significantly higher grades in STEM courses when their professors believe intelligence is “malleable” and can be developed over time, rather than something that students innately either have or do not have. This study has important implications for inclusive teaching, providing specific tips for increasing student success while potentially helping close racial achievement gaps.
Read More
Dechinta ‘Bush University’ Eyes Expansion with 5 Years of Federal Funding
Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning demonstrates the possible outcomes when inclusive teaching philosophy and practice foreground Indigenous land-based knowledge. This CBC News article features UBC professor Glen Coulthard, who sits on the board of directors and faculty for Dechinta, explaining the deep engagement with various communities within all aspects of curriculum and delivery that inform the Centre’s approach to learning. The federal government’s recent $13 million grant to diversify its programming sends a powerful message about the future of diverse inclusive teaching pedagogies in Canada.
Read More
Enjoyed reading about Inclusive Teaching? Learn about other topics we covered in the April 2019 edition by reading the complete Edubytes newsletter. To view past issues, visit the Edubytes archive.
Are you interested in staying up to date on the latest trends in teaching and learning in higher education? Sign up for our newsletter and get this content delivered to your inbox once a month.
