creating and sustaining a culture of inclusion in the classroom, department and university 9 th...

Creating and Sustaining a Culture of Inclusion in the Classroom, Department and University

9th Annual Niagara University International Conference on Teaching and Learning

Dr. Mathew L. OuellettJanuary 13, 2010

Plenary Session I

1Niagara University, January 2010

Where I’m from…

Respond to the following four sentence stems; • I am from (familiar physical items – sights,

sounds, smells, feels, geography)• I am from (familiar foods)• I am from (familiar sayings)• I am from (familiar people)

2Niagara Univeristy, January 2010

Transformative Learning• Helps students see gaps / limitations in current

knowledge / perspective• Opportunities to explore / articulate underlying

assumptions• Opportunities for critical self-reflection• Critical disclosure with peers and instructor to

explore alternative ideas and approaches• Experience(s) testing / applying new

perspectives

Brief Write

• What differences have you noticed in your students’ cultural and individual learning styles, communication and interaction styles?


When core content (cognitive) and process (affective) goals are diversity related, effective teachers:

•Disclose attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors•Create a climate of trust and no defensiveness, so that participants can examine and change/grow•Provide students with conceptual organizers, models, and frameworks that encourage self-reflection and analysis•Design opportunities to try out and practice new patterns of thought and behavior via experimentation, practice, and application.

Adams, M.,& Love. B. (2005 ). Teaching with a Social Justice Perspective: A Model for Faculty Seminars across Academic Disciplines In M. Ouellett (Ed.) Teaching Inclusively: Essays on Course, Department and Institutional Diversity Initiatives. Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press.

Interdisciplinary Approaches to Inclusive Teaching


Taking Stock

• What is currently going well in your courses related to integrating intellectual and emotional engagement with controversial topics?

• What are some of the current challenges in your courses related to integrating intellectual and emotional engagement with controversial topics?


• Balancing cognitive and emotional components of learning process• Acknowledging and supporting the personal, while illuminating the systemic• Attending to social relations within the classroom• Utilizing reflection and experience as tools for student-centered learning• Valuing awareness, personal growth, and change as outcomes of the learning process

Adams, M., & Love. B. (2005). Teaching with a Social Justice Perspective: A Model for Faculty Seminars across Academic Disciplines In M. Ouellett (Ed.) Teaching Inclusively: Essays on Course, Department and Institutional Diversity Initiatives. Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press.

Five Pedagogical Challenges


3 Key Questions for Course Design

• What do you want students to know?• What do you want students to be able

to do?• What do you want students to value?


6 Dimensions of learning goals• Foundational knowledge• Application • Integration • Caring (to become engaged)• The human dimension (e.g., “real world”

apps)• Learning how to learn - self reflection and

assessment


Fink, L. D., & Fink, A. K. (2009). Designing Courses for Significant Learning: Voices of experience. New directions for teaching and learning, No. 119. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Sample diversity goals

• Cultivating a respect for diverse perspectives• Developing an ability and willingness to work

effectively in diverse groups• Have a heightened awareness of and

sensitivity to … {gender, class, race issues}• Learn to identify and reject narrow /

oppositional thinking that reduces issues to only two sides (right/wrong, us/them)

• Learn to stay engaged in intergroup dialogues

Attributes• Indentify specific, important learning goals for

the assignment• Create a meaningful task or problem that

corresponds to those goals• Balance the time/effort required of students

with the priority of the goal (realistic & challenging)

• Provide prompts (clear directions & expectations, models, checklists)

Habits of the mind

• Ability to work independently• Set personal goals• Persevere• Organize• Be clear and accurate• Visualize• Be curious• Be open minded to new ideas


Cognitive

• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding regarding the impact of culture on behavior

• Understand the history and contributions of various cultural groups

• Understand relationships among economics, power and oppression

• Understand that different groups may have different perspectives on the same event.


Affective

• Appreciate and value how one’s identity and heritage shape world view and perspective

• Recognize their own and others’ biases and understand their impact

• Develop a stronger self-identity, self concept, and sense of self-efficacy related to diversity issues

• Adopt attitudes supportive of a democratic society


Kinesthetic (behavioral)

• Engage in critical thinking, analysis, and problem-solving about social issues

• Effectively participate in sustained intergroup dialogues

• Effectively participate in sustained intragroup dialogues


Multicultural Course Design• Integration, not tokenism• Diverse perspectives• Clarity that these perspectives are worth studying

(and why), not simply included because of identity• Placement – mindful that diversity topics are not

last (this implies they are optional or additive) • Process is as important as content – and should be

evaluated accordingly


Inclusive Strategies• Present information in at least 2 formats• Give students as many learning resources as

possible (PPT slides, rubrics, models, scaffolds)• Provide background information (why is this

topic important?)• Build in flexibility (graphic calendars, choices)• Go digital (website, electronic versions)• Less is better (highlight key ideas, models)


Multicultural Course Design ModelTeacher SelfAwareness Pedagogy

CourseContent

StudentDiversity

Marchesani, L., & Adams, M. (1992). Dynamics of diversity in the teaching-learning process: A faculty development model for analysis and action. In M. Adams (Ed.), Promoting diversity in the college classroom: Innovative responses for the curriculum, faculty, and institutions (Vol. 52, ). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Diversity and Learning


Significant Learning Experiences

Learning Goals LearningActivities

Assessment Activities

Fink, L. D., & Fink, A. K. (2009). Designing Courses for Significant Learning: Voices of experience. New directions for teaching and learning, No. 119. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. 20Niagara Univeristy, January 2010

What are some of the Challenges?

• Students’ prior knowledge– E.g., “common sense” beliefs that may be

unjustified

• Sometimes these moments are unplanned/unexpected ones


Inclusive Strategies• Present information in at least 2 formats• Give students as many learning resources as

possible (PPT slides, rubrics, models, scaffolds)• Provide background information (why is this

topic important?)• Build in flexibility (graphic calendars, choices)• Go digital (website, electronic versions)• Less is better (highlight key ideas, models)


Attributes, continued

• Activities should prepare for and provide practice for assessments

• Provide equitable opportunities and multiple modes of expression

• Offer scaffolds (break out large, complex, high risk tasks into smaller, lower risk opportunities)

Inclusive Assessment Strategies• Build practice into assessments by moving from

low to high stakes efforts• Break down large, high stakes projects into

smaller components• Make models available• Create 2 or more assessment choices for students

to choose from (presentations, papers, videos, case studies, photo essays, videos)


Inclusive Assessment Strategies• Involve students in building assessment

strategies and rubrics• Alternate between “hard” and “soft” options:– Hard option: everyone does the same thing and

pretty much provides the same answer– Soft option: students have latitude / choices to

complete the assignment. Completed assignments may vary considerably according to their interests


Getting the Rubber to hit the Road…

Sample ActivitiesPedagogical strategies Exercises

Niagara Univeristy, January 2010 26

Syllabus Review

• Learning goals• State Expectations (civility, disabilities)– Process and Content will count

• Activities / Assignments / Due dates• Resource Materials (texts, articles, videos, etc)• Assessment Processes are Explicit– Formative– summative


Further strategies…• Use a flow chart at the beginning of class

(highlighting connections, flow and order)• Seek personal experiences of students with the

subject / topic and then integrate those experiences into the course

• Ask students to develop their own definitions of key topics, questions and abstracts

• Use assistive technology (e.g., closed captioning)


Prior Knowledge Survey1. Have never heard of this2. Have heard of it, but never really knew what it

meant3. Have hear of it and could have explained it

once, but not now4. Can recall what I means and explain it in

general terms, but cannot explain how it applies to broader concepts

5. Can recall what it means and can apply it


Houston, T. (2009). Teaching What You Don’t Know. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University.

Preparing students to engage

• Encourage students to define their points of entry

• Welcome diverse perspectives• Focus on civil dialogue, not consensus

(Consider whether you really need to come to an agreement)

• Model risk-taking• Value and reward growth and development


Discussion Preparation• Take a Stand Activity• Ask students to identify how they contribute to

the dynamics of discussions• Assign a label to the 4 corners of the room – Talks a lot– Waits until I have something important to say– Mostly listens– Devil’s advocate – challenges / criticizes

• Have students choose their corner & discuss


Houston, T. (2009). Teaching What You Don’t Know. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University.

10 – 7 – 5 : A Brief Writing Exercise

• Identify ten critical choices you have made in your life that have shaped your attitude about race and racism.

• List seven events that have affected the course of your life on the subjects of race and racism.

• And, name five people who have profoundly affected the course of your life as you live in our racialized society and describe how.


Hot Moments• Build discussions around questions• Begin with low-risk opportunities and build

toward high-risk ones.• Model asking for clarification in a non-

judgmental manner• Normalize emotions in the classroom• Depersonalize controversial topics


Warren, L. Managing Hot Moments in the Classroom. Downloaded August 14, 2003 from from http://bokcenter.fas.harvard.edu/docs/hotmoments.html

Texts• Do the texts represent the contributions of

diverse people to the discipline (e.g., women, People of Color, persons with disabilities, LGBT people)

• Do the graphics, photographs and images present representative images?

• Do the examples, applications, and illustrations to see if they extend to diverse communities, too?


Climate / Interaction• Office hours (1:1, dyad/triads, small groups)• Normalize help seeking behaviors• Help students to get to know each other by

engaging them together in significant, meaningful tasks

• Engage students – Personal questions (who are you?)– Motivation questions (prior and future interests?)– Experience questions (how is the class going?)


Further ResourcesAdams, M., Bell, L., Griffin, P. (2007). Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice.

New York: Routledge. (second edition)

Burgstahler, S., & Cory, R. (2008). Universal Design in Higher Education: From Principles to Practice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education.

Fink, L. D., & Fink, A. K. (2009). Designing Courses for Significant Learning: Voices of experience. New directions for teaching and learning, No. 119. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Morey, A. & Kitano, M. K. (1997). Multicultural Course Transformation in Higher Education: A Broader Truth. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Ouellett, M. L. (Ed.) (2005). Teaching Inclusively: Resources for Course, Department & Institutional Change in Higher Education. Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press.

Suskie, L. (2004). Assessing Student Learning: A Common Sense guide. Bolton, MA: Anker.


The academy is not paradise. But learning is a place where paradise can be created. The classroom, with all its limitations, remains a location of possibility. In that field of possibility we have the opportunity to labor for freedom, to demand of ourselves and our comrades, an openness of mind and heart that allows us to face reality even as we collectively imagine ways to move beyond boundaries, to transgress. This is education as the practice of freedom.

Bell hooks, 1994


creating and sustaining a culture of inclusion in the classroom, department and university 9 th...

Documents

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transformative learning

learning process adams

inclusive teaching

students cultural

individual learning

social justice perspective

new forums press