Digest #165: Inclusive Teaching
By Althea Need Kaminske
(Cover image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay)
As we prepare for the start of another academic school year, now is an excellent time to think about how to include inclusive teaching practices in your course. There is no one right way to use inclusive teaching practices in your course. Instead, inclusive teaching involves a deeper understanding of the interaction between the needs of your students, the content of the course, and the environment you’re teaching in. This digest provides a collection of resources and guides to explain research and examples of inclusive teaching practices.
1. Essential Strategies for Inclusive Teaching by Jaleel Howard, Cicely Bingener, and Tyrone Howard from ASCD’s special issue, Engage and Motivate!
This accessible and informative article focuses on ways to motivate and engage Black students. The authors provide 5 strategies supported by research on inclusive teaching: Offer students voice and choice, use collaborative learning, practice “warm demanding”, tap the power of dynamic instruction, and create meaningful partnerships with families.
2. Inclusive Teaching by Bryan Dewsbury and Cynthia J. Brame from CBE-Life Sciences Education Vol. 18, No 2.
This open-access journal article focuses on inclusive teaching practices in STEM. From the abstract:
“…many STEM faculty, even those at teaching-focused institutions, have been educated in a traditional environment that emphasizes research and may not include classroom teaching. This can produce a deficit in training that leaves many STEM faculty feeling uncertain about inclusive teaching practices and their essential undergirding principles. This essay describes an online, evidence based teaching guide intended to help fill this gap, serving as a resource for science faculty as they work to become more inclusive, particular with regard to differences in race, ethnicity, and gender.”
3. 5 Principles as Pathways to Inclusive Teaching by Soulaymane Kachani, Catherine Ross, and Amanda Irvin for Inside Higher Ed.
This piece discusses 5 principles of inclusive teaching and provides examples of teaching strategies for each principle.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
4. Inclusive Teaching Practices Toolkit from the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE)
This toolkit provides an array of resources: example syllabi, instructions for making media accessible, sample surveys, etc. It also provides short videos from teachers discussing their use of inclusive practices.
Image by Eric Haynes, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
5. Inclusive Teaching Strategies from then Center for Teaching and Learning at University of Washington
There are a number of resource guides from colleges and universities on inclusive teaching practices. I found this one from the University of Washington to be particularly well designed and easy to navigate. I especially liked how they highlighted inclusive practices for different groups of students. While some of the resources they provide may be specific for that institution, you should have similar resources available at your own.
From time to time, we pick a theme and provide a curated list of links. If you have a theme suggestion, please don’t hesitate to contact us! Occasionally we publish a guest digest, and If you'd like to propose a guest digest click here. Our 5 most recent digests can be found here:
Digest #160: Neurodiversity Celebration Week
Digest #161: Guide to Effective Presentations
Digest #162: Teaching Water Safety