This post is part of our Keep Teaching blog series meant to help IU instructors move their classes online quickly due to COVID-19. For more detailed resources, see the Keep Teaching website.
I have been reading many articles about equity and inclusion issues during our shift to remote teaching this semester and summer, and I want to start sharing some of those that impacted me the most. I will continue updating this list as I come across more items. If you run across articles I should read, please send them my way, via email or a comment below.
Is Pass-Fail an Equity Issue?
Inside Higher Education, April 22, 2020
Students petition University System of Georgia for pass-fail grading, pointing to how inequities in life circumstances during the sudden shift from campus will lead to inequitable grading that will have later consequences. This is a nice piece for revealing the systemic nature of many inequities.
No Emergency Aid for DACA Students
Inside Higher Education, April 22, 2020
Undocumented students dealing with campus closures are not eligible for emergency stimulus grants, per Education Department guidance. Consider the impacts on students who were already some of the most vulnerable on our campuses.
Bridging the Digital Divide: Teaching with Empathy and Equity in the Wake of COVID-19
In this webinar, IUB Associate Professor of Sociology Dr. Jessica Calarco examines the impact of unequal access to technologies on student learning, as well as the larger issues of equity and compassion that are important to consider right now. My favorite part is when she talks about telling her students their final grade can be no worse than it was before we shifted to remote learning—a nice way to take grading anxiety out of the picture.
How the Coronavirus Pandemic Has Shattered the Myth of College in America
The New Yorker , April 28, 2020
This article challenged me to think about the struggles many students are experiencing as they try to engage with higher education during this pandemic, which has upended every expectation they had about going to college.
What We Lose When We Go from the Classroom to Zoom
New York Times, May 4, 2020
This opinion piece explores how our classrooms can be places to work on equity, but the shift to online tools like Zoom can challenge those important efforts. I’d say we can still work towards equity and justice online, but we need to be aware of the additional challenges involved.
Note: IU faculty, staff, and students can get free NYT access at https://libraries.indiana.edu/new-york-times-online.
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