Through their national, multipart study of instructors at a variety of higher educational institutions, Tracie Marcella Addy, Derek Dube, Khadijah A. Mitchell, and Mallory E. SoRelle sought to identify how participants define inclusive teaching and what practices they implement in their own courses. One of the results of this work is a comprehensive resource that introduces readers to both the theory and practice of inclusive teaching including small steps to establish and foster a culture of inclusion within courses. Addy and colleagues define inclusive teaching as teaching that promotes belonging and equity.
Inclusive instruction is the result of a mindset that values student diversity and views it as critical to learning among all members of the course. Inclusive instructors take ownership over their role in fostering an inclusive learning environment on campus, rather than viewing it as the responsibility of others on campus such as the diversity office.
An inclusive mindset provides the lens through which instructors design an inclusive course. Courses are intentionally built to foster success and equitable participation among all student and provide a sense of belonging in the discipline. These design choices can be communicated early in the semester through the syllabus.
Inclusive teaching does not end once the course is developed but impacts how the course is facilitated as well. Inclusive instructors build a learning community in the class and are transparent about not only what they expect of students, but why these are the expectations. One way to increase transparency is through implementing the TILT (Transparency in Learning & Teaching) framework to your assignments.
The IUB SoTL program within CITL is sponsoring two programs for faculty to engage with Dr. Addy and the ideas in her book; What Inclusive Instructors Do. The first is a virtual keynote on September 10, 2021. You can learn more about the talk and register on the CITL event page. This is open to faculty members and instructors on all IU campuses.
The second program is a fall faculty reading group of What Inclusive Instructors Do. Meetings will be held from 2-3:30pm on the following Fridays: October 1, October 29, & November 19, 2021. In addition to receiving a physical copy of the book, participants will have the opportunity to talk with author, Tracie Addy, during one of the meetings. If you are an IUB faculty member or AI interested in joining the book group and can commit to attending all three of these meetings, please fill out the brief application form no later than Sunday, September 12, 2021.
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