Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

"A classroom, whether physical or virtual, is a reflection of the world in which we live. Research has shown that students from underrepresented groups often face additional challenges. By implementing inclusive teaching practices, faculty can create learning environments in which all students feel like they belong and can learn at high levels." Our partners at ACUE have put together 10 inclusive teaching practices that can be immediately put to use to benefit both faculty and their students. These practices are tailored for online teaching but are also relevant to the physical classroom.

ACUE Inclusive Teaching Practices Toolkit

Excellent Quick Start Guide on Inclusive Teaching Practices

Teaching & Learning in the Diverse Classroom
A MOOC offered by Cornell University free of charge on a regular basis. Through real stories, reflection, and key research, you can learn how to create and sustain inclusive, student-centered learning environments.

6 Quick Ways to Be More Inclusive in a Virtual Classroom
Being prepared in uncertain times means both improving your remote-teaching skills and finding ways to make your classroom more inclusive. A good article by Flower Darby that helps faculty figure out how their courses will be affected by the dual reverberations of Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter. 

Campus with a Heart Caring Toolkit For Faculty [Video]
We cordially invite you to take a look at the following presentation Becky Spencer (CFE Faculty Fellow, Spring 2020) recorded for you and hope that it will inspire you to think about ways that you to infuse your online and face-to-face classrooms with a sense of caring and community as part of the Strategic Plan Belonging Initiative. The tool kit is a work in progress and there's infinite space to add ideas and activities that many of you may already be using to foster caring in your classrooms. We look forward to receiving your feedback and to convening with you later in the fall to talk more about how we can infuse our classrooms with caring strategies. 

How to Make Your Teaching More Inclusive
Besides teaching content and skills in your discipline, our role is to help students learn. And not just some students. The changing demographics of higher education mean that undergraduates come to you with a wide variety of experiences, cultures, abilities, skills, and personalities. Viji Sathy and Kelly A. Hogan put together this valuable Advice Guide.

Reflecting on Your (Inclusive) Teaching Practice
Applying Inclusive Teaching Principles involves deliberately cultivating a learning environment where all students are treated equitably, have equal access to learning, and feel valued and supported in their learning. This resource from the CRLT at U of Michigan provides a framework of five interconnected research-based principles that can guide instructional choices across all domains of teaching.

The Peralta Online Equity Rubric
The Peralta Equity Rubric is a research-based course (re)design evaluation instrument to help teachers make online course experiences more equitable for all students.

Confronting Prejudice
Dealing with prejudice—whether it’s microaggressions, bias, or discrimination—is physically and psychologically demanding. But avoiding it is not always an option. Here is a guide to understand where prejudice comes from, what it looks like, and how we can help others who are experiencing it.

5 Lessons From a Race-and-Ethnicity RequirementAt U of Michigan, the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) has had a three-credit course requirement on race and ethnicity in effect since 1990. It remains a source of some consternation, especially among those on the campus who want designated courses to have a more explicitly anti-racist orientation and who want to know why programs outside of the college don’t have a similar course requirement. The article describes 5 Lessons learned from the Race & Ethnicity requirement over the course of 30 years.

Suggestions for Teaching about Race
A degree of caution is recommended for professors when teaching about race and white supremacy in the United States. Even more care is required in this particular historical moment after years of lynchings and police brutality that have taken the lives of Black men and women. Andrew Joseph Pegoda gives advice for how to be mindful when initiating or engaging in conversations about it in class.

Resources for White People to Learn and Talk About Race and Racism
Nina Berman points out that "it’s important for white people to take on a lot of the educational labor. But if white people are only ever reading resources written by and for white people, we’ve only reified whiteness as the central concern in racism. White people who want to become more anti-racist need to seek out Black radical voices. a reading list can offer direction and jumping-off points. 

We Wear the MaskA thought-provoking essay by Cia Verschelden: Now that we all know the feeling of confinement, limitation, and lack of air, we must stop maintaining our systems and structures that require us to wear masks, replacing them with learning environments that are welcoming to everyone and that nurture, celebrate, and value the unique identities of all of our students.

Let's talk about race... [Video]
In this ACE2019 plenary session, two of the country’s leading voices and best-selling authors on race and racism—Beverly Daniel Tatum and Robin DiAngelo—discussed the role of race in the United States and on college campuses, how university leaders can engage their communities on race, and what it will take to close equity gaps.

Racial Justice Resources
Compiled by the the Chicago Art Institute’s staff equity team, this compilation of racial justice resources includes materials for learning and talking about race and racism, actions you can take, free mental health resources, local and national social justice organizations, articles and organizations committed to ending police brutality, and more. 

Taking action on racial equity and justice
One of the best ways educators can make an impact on racial equity and justice is to expand the perspectives of their students. Apple Inc. created a guide that will help instructors create opportunities for courageous conversations about racial injustice and design solutions that lead to lasting social change. (Note: don't be deceived - the guide might look a little playful, but is chock-full of excellent information and adaptable classroom practices.)

Putting Action Behind Words
An InsideHigherEd article describing how colleges are announcing new curricula and resources to improve the experience of Black students on campus and dismantle structural racism. Institutional leaders are also following through on promises made to help promote racial equity in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and nationwide protests about racial injustice.

The Urgency of Intersectionality [Video]
It's important to look boldly at the reality of race and gender bias — and understand how the two can combine to create even more harm. Kimberlé Crenshaw uses the term "intersectionality" to describe and define this phenomenon and points out that "if you're standing in the path of multiple forms of exclusion, you're likely to get hit by both."

Racial Equity Tools
A web repository designed to support individuals and groups working to achieve racial equity. This site offers tools, research, tips, curricula and ideas for people who want to increase their own understanding and to help those working toward justice at every level – in systems, organizations, communities and the culture at large.

 
An Explainer on Trauma-Informed Teaching
Stress inhibits learning. So what can professors do to help students under these conditions? They shouldn't act as therapists or counselors. But rather, say teaching experts, they must recognize and adjust to this unique situation.

How to Be a Trauma-Informed Department Chair and Leader
Perhaps the most difficult aspect of being in a management position right now is balancing the work demands of the institution with the human needs for compassion and self-care. Manya Whitaker provides advice on the need to offer trauma-informed leadership.

What is a Safe Space in College?
The terms safe spaces and trigger warnings commonly appear on social media and in political debates, but their definitions and purposes are sometimes misunderstood. This guide explores what constitutes a safe space in college, including commonly used terminology, to help you learn more about finding safe spaces, identifying allies, and recognizing and using trigger warnings in person and online.

Mindfulness in the (Online) Classroom
Aurora D. Bonner describes how she helps her students improve their stress levels and is able to reduce test-taking as well as social-anxieties in- and outside of the classroom. "As a teacher of writing and mindfulness, I often use cross-genre approaches in my classrooms. For my writing classrooms, that might mean simple breath work, meditation, or movements to help my college students deal with stress and practice self-awareness. ... When the coronavirus hit, I knew I had to convert my person-to-person techniques and cater my mindfulness approach to an increasingly stressed, anxious, and remote student body."

Managing Anxiety
The threat of COVID 19 is still around, and efforts to contain it have led to profound disruptions in many of our lives and many of us are experiencing anxiety. For students of all ages in-person classes have been canceled, teachers were asked to transfer their teaching to on-line platforms, schools and businesses are closing, and we are instructed to engage in “social distancing” to prevent the transmission of the virus.This article points out thow can we use the adaptive capacity of our anxiety to help us cope better.

Leveraging the Neuroscience of Now
It is not uncommon these days that our students express feelings of stress, anxiety, and world-weariness. Mays Imad explores seven ways professors can help students thrive in class in times of trauma.

Universal Design - TLT @ TWU
Universal Design helps instructors implement their courses to be usable by all students, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaption or accommodation. Instructors using universal design increase usability, engagement, and access to content for everyone. Therefore, the goal of Universal Design is for instructors to use a variety of teaching methods to remove any barriers to learning and give all students equal opportunities for success.

-->  TWU Universal Design Toolkit

Supporting College Students with Learning Disabilities
While high school students with learning disabilities can rely on school staff to help them acquire support, post-secondary students have to self-advocate to secure resources. Understanding the difficulties college students with disabilities may face in self-advocating or securing appropriate support services is crucial for faculty members as well as administrators in ensuring that students feel comfortable.

Universal Design for Learning Guidelines
The UDL Guidelines are a tool used in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning. These guidelines offer a set of concrete suggestions that can be applied to any discipline or domain to ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities.

The New Accessibility Booklet
Accessibility issues are crucial to the ability of students with disabilities of all types to fully receive a higher education. In the digital era, and especially now that we were all forced to move online, this means issues big and small — from the usability of an LMS to a professor's choices on a syllabus. Topics addressed in this booklet include: High-tech instructional materials and how they impact students with disabilities, creating formal policies for digital accessibility, making course content available to all students, and inclusive teaching strategies to use in the classroom.

We’re 20 Percent of America, and We’re Still Invisible
On July 26, 1990, President George Bush signed the Americans With Disabilities Act into law. Like the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the A.D.A. was watershed legislation, the culmination of a decades-long campaign of organized protest and activism. Few modern laws have had as big of an impact on Americans’ lives, and the anniversary has led to reflections on what the A.D.A. has — and has not — accomplished. (For further immersion, here is a package of NY Times stories: The A.D.A. at 30: Beyond the Law’s Promise )

Teaching for Inclusion: Diversity in the College Classroom   [temporarily unavailable]
A comprehensive Guide put together by the Center for Teaching and Learning at UNC-Chapel Hill that covers a wide array of DE&I issues and topics: differing ethnic and racial backgrounds, genders, physical abilities, sexual orientation, ages, learning styles, as well as religious and political beliefs of students. The handbook focuses on strategies for creating an inclusive classroom on issues likely to arise in a classroom. It also presents teaching strategies for reaching students with a variety of learning styles.

Promoting Student Engagement and Cultivating Classroom Equity
There are a host of simple teaching strategies rooted in research on teaching and learning that can support instructors in paying attention to whom they are trying to help learn. These teaching strategies are sometimes referred to as “equitable teaching strategies,” whereby striving for “classroom equity” is about teaching all the students in your classroom, not just those who are already engaged, already participating, and perhaps already know the subject being taught. Originally conceived for biology faculty, this article is a fine guide on how to involve and engage ALL your students. The pdf includes a self-assessment/strategy inventory.

Harvard Project Implicit – Bias Tests
What are implicit and explicit stereotypes? Stereotypes are the belief that most members of a group have some characteristic. Some examples of stereotypes are the belief that women are nurturing or the belief that police officers like donuts. An explicit stereotype is the kind that you deliberately think about and report. An implicit stereotype is one that is relatively inaccessible to conscious awareness and/or control. The Harvard Project Implicit allows you to test yourself and find out about your own prejudices and biases.

HigherEd360-Diversity Resources
A listing of Associations, Consortia, professional development and educational organizations dedicated to furthering DE&I in higher education.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Resources (Educause)
Leading change toward diversity is an area of expertise with its own knowledge base and professional practitioners. These resources featured here, drawn from a variety of external sources, provide a gateway into DEI topics for higher education professionals who would like elevate diversity and inclusion as a priority personally or for their organizations.

Diversity Resources - HigherEdJobs
Information, resources, and jobs for minority faculty, administrators, students, and anyone interested in Diversity and Inclusion in the higher education industry.

The TILT Project
The Transparency in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education project (TILT Higher Ed) is an award-winning national educational development and research project that helps faculty to implement a transparent teaching framework that promotes college students' success. The TILT project aims to advance equitable teaching and learning practices that reduce systemic inequities in higher education.

Workplace Diversity & Inclusion at TWU
Texas Woman's University is committed to foster an ongoing community dialogue, empower a culture of inclusivity and provide engaging educational experiences to all TWU community members in an effort to remove barriers to success and opportunity as well as continually increase compassion and mutual respect. For more info on diversity trainings, affinity groups and other resources take a look at the TWU Office of Human Resources Workplace Diversity & Inclusion pages.