INCLUSIVE TEACHING PRACTICES
Inclusive Teaching Practices
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CREATING AN ENGAGING CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE

Cultivating an Inclusive Classroom Climate

Fostering a sense of belonging and embracing diverse experiences and perspectives enriches
our campus culture and prepares our students to navigate and shape our complex,
interconnected world. As an institution that thrives on innovation, fostering unique viewpoints
and celebrating differences is key to our growth and success. Our institution’s commitment to
supporting all our students, regardless of their background and ability, paves the way for us to meet future demands with empathy, creativity, and resilience.

Creating an Engaging Classroom Experience

An engaging classroom fosters a positive learning environment where students feel motivated
and excited to learn. It encourages active participation, critical thinking, and collaboration
among students and helps build their confidence and social skills, making them more
comfortable expressing their ideas and asking questions.

Trust

To build trust, start by sharing your professional journey. Often, students struggle to connect
due to feelings associated with imposter syndrome. Sharing your struggles through your
education and professional journey can allow students, especially those with unique
experiences, to see a path for themselves on our campus. Similarly, showing empathy and
acknowledging the challenges students may face many of our students face and offering
support is a good way to build trust with your students. Being approachable and understanding can make a big difference.

Trust How-To's

  • Sharing Your Professional Journey

  • Showing Empathy

  • Acknowledging Challenges

Community

Building a connection with each student can feel out of reach for many courses, especially large enrollment courses. Helping students build connections with their peers is a good way to build the students’ social capital. When possible, think of ways students can collaborate on assignments. Promoting group work and peer-to-peer learning will increase students' sense of community in your course. Similarly, make yourself available for questions and support outside of class hours. Inviting students to attend office hours or communicate via email and other communication channels can build a personal connection and strengthen trust.

Community How-To's

  • Building Connections with Their Peers

  • Promoting Group Work and Peer-to-Peer Learning

  • Make Yourself Available for Students

Participation

Trust is the foundation for active participation in class. Trust must be built between the instructors and the students and between students. Adding strategic icebreakers can initiate trust on the first day of class or at the beginning of a class. Icebreakers that focus on connecting students’ experiences to the course content or beyond are great ways to decrease anxiety in the classroom. Here are some examples of icebreaker activities you can incorporate into your course to stimulate a more interactive classroom. Similarly, consider asking open-ended questions or questions with no right answers to spark discussion and openness to share points of view. Using questions with no definite answers will allow students to share their views without the anxiety of being wrong.

Group activities are a great way to enhance participation in your course. They allow students to build trust with each other and decrease the anxiety associated with speaking up in class. When selecting group activities for your course, consider varying the types of activities. Using varied group activities like discussions, debates, presentations, and team projects caters to different learning styles and helps students learn from each other.

Participation How-To's

  • Strategic Icebreakers

  • Connecting Students' Experiences to Content

  • Icebreaker Activities

  • Asking Open-Ended Questions or Questions with No Right Answers

  • Group Activities

  • Varied Group Assignments