This post was written by the CITL’s Madeleine Gonin and Emily Esola from the Kelley School of Business

Introduction by Madeleine Gonin

I have invited Emily Esola to share her approaches and experiences with writing inclusive syllabi. Emily and I will be co-facilitating a workshop on December 17 and January 8 where we will take you through an efficient and methodical 3-part writing process to create your own inclusive syllabus.

Emily currently teaches C204: Strategic Business Writing in the Kelley School of Business. While obtaining her Ph.D. from IUB’s English department she taught a variety of Gen-Ed approved intensive writing courses over six years.

A learner-centered approach to designing your syllabus

The main purpose of business communication is to inform, respond to, and/or persuade a specific audience. In my 200-level business communication course, I train students to utilize a writing theory to create effective business messages for any context through strategic planning around audience and purpose. Students learn to begin planning their various messages by identifying their audience’s needs and expectations and clearly and explicitly articulating their purpose for using written communication to reach this audience.

If we apply this framework, an inclusive syllabus is simply an audience-centered, purpose-driven communication of the course designed with the learner in mind: “[T]he syllabus is the first opportunity for faculty to communicate their philosophy, expectations, requirements, and other course information” (Fuentes et al).

Consider how the learner’s needs and expectations are foregrounded in this example of an inclusive syllabus for a 100-level course in Biology from Dr. David Bollivar.

• The Google Doc outline function using header levels enables a reader to click and go directly to the relevant section.
• Concise and easy to understand language is used to describe the course, the learning outcomes, and the grading system to an incoming first year student.
• A link to definitions of major terms that the reader may be unfamiliar with is included in the succinct course description.
• Flexibility is provided and explained to students as a way to “to ease stress, allow for flexibility, and to maximize opportunities for learning.”

An easy teaching change that makes an immediate difference

Taking on the process of changing your teaching practices can be a daunting task. In the past four years, I have re-designed major facets of my course to implement current best practices in inclusive and evidence-based pedagogy, and most of these changes required significant planning and work on the front-end. I implemented the growth- and equity-minded practice of specifications grading, for example, and this was a multi-semester process of planning, piloting, and revising.

The inclusive syllabus is that rare development activity that is both low-investment and high-impact. As one of the tools of inclusive pedagogy that I have incorporated into my classes over the past three years, the inclusive syllabus has had the most immediate and measurable benefit for myself and students. My students have all responded positively to the shift from a traditional to inclusive syllabus: “I thought day 1 of class it was obvious what was expected of me as a student, and I had a much clearer understanding of the class and its assignments over a traditional syllabus” (Anonymous student in Emily’s Fall 2024 course, C204: Strategic Business Writing).

Our goal in this workshop is to demystify the Inclusive Syllabus and highlight a practical approach to incorporating an inclusive and equity-minded approach to creating course materials. In this workshop, you will receive 1) a clear overview of the Inclusive Syllabus and the research behind it, 2) ample time to think through and plan your own inclusive syllabus, and 3) a curated set of resources, including models and examples.

In order to increase access to this professional development opportunity, we are offering the workshop twice: first at the close of the fall semester (during exams week) and again at the beginning of the spring semester (the week prior to the official start of courses).

How to Humanize Your Classroom Using an Inclusive Syllabus

• Tuesday, December 17 from 10:00 am – noon: register here
• Wednesday, January 8 from 11:00 am – 1:00 pm: register here

References and resources

Fuentes, M. A., Zelaya, D. G., & Madsen, J. W. (2021). Rethinking the course syllabus: Considerations for promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion. Teaching of Psychology, 48(1), 69-79.

If you are ready to get started with creating an inclusive syllabus, the CITL’s Inclusive and Equitable Syllabi webpage can be of help.