Inclusive Teaching Strategies

What is It?

Inclusive teaching embraces students’ various cultural and social backgrounds and recognizes students’ different learning needs and preferences. By establishing a welcoming learning environment and using a variety of teaching methods that motivate students to learn, we create a learning space where everyone belongs.

Why is It Important?

All students are different! Acknowledging and embracing students’ differences and their contribution to the classroom can lead to increased participation and engagement. Building an inclusive space for students will allow them to more freely share unique ideas and diverse perspectives. Additionally, inclusive teaching helps students and instructors learn from each other.

How Can Faculty Apply It?

  • Introductions – Having everyone in the classroom pronounce their own name can alleviate confusion on name pronunciation and show respect to their identity. Asking students to fill out an information card with their interests, preferred name and pronouns, and questions about class is another way to get to know students through a low-key activity.
  • Include diverse teaching materials – Inclusive teaching can take many paths, but an easy way to start could be incorporating learning materials that represent scholars with diverse identities and backgrounds. This effort can contribute to students feeling represented through the material, thereby potentially increasing relevance and engagement
  • Provide open-ended topics for discussion – Open-ended discussion questions can encourage diverse perspectives and opinions. Similarly, consider providing different modes of discussion beyond in class discourse, such as discussion boards, reflexive journaling, or small group interactions.
  • Connect key lessons to the surrounding community – Engaging with the community around you can help students understand the intersections of diversity outside of the classroom and better connect with issues beyond the classroom.
  • Use Universal Design for Learning resources – Embrace student variability with multiple pathways for exploring content, engaging with the class, and expressing their learning. That could look like making tests/quizzes shorter and/or providing more time for completion, or being aware of the resources provided by Student Accessibility Services and connecting students to appropriate resources as needed. Additionally, consider varied engagement and assessment strategies as you design your course.

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