Equity and Inclusion

The resources presented here offer ideas, reflective activities, and tips for culturally responsive teaching in remote modalites.

Employing equity-minded & culturally-affirming teaching practices in virtual learning communities

This webinar is presented by Dr. Frank Harris III, Professor of post-secondary education at San Diego State University and Co-Director of the Community College Equity Assessment Lab, and Dr. J. Luke Wood, Associate VP for Diversity and Innovation, also at San Diego State.

A brief summary:

To infuse equity-mindedness into virtual teaching and learning environments, we must do 5 things:

1. Be intrusive.  It’s incumbent for us to reach out to the students, not vice versa.  Students need continual positive reinforcement from us:  “You belong here.  You can do this.  Look at what you’ve accomplished already.”

2. Be Relational.  Humanize yourself to build trust and mutual respect.  Learn at least one thing about each student that has nothing to do with them being a student. Look for opportunities to include words of validation when giving feedback on assignments.

3. Be Culturally Relevant and Affirming.  Select literature and reading materials that are inclusive of students of color.  Expose students to racially salient images that highlight their contributions to society.

4. Be Community Focused.  Be present in all aspects of the course and model the engagement you expect of students.  Encourage students to share their camera during synchronous class sessions while being mindful to challenges/limitations with access to technology.

5. Be Race Conscious.  Don’t ignore it or conversations about it.

There is a twitter feed that accompanied the webcast.  You can find it at #equityonline

How to express care with a focus on racial equity

Drs. J. Luke Wood and Frank Harris III are joined by Dr. Aisha Lowe, Vice Chancellor for the California community colleges.  This webinar highlights the critical connection between equity-mindedness, authentic care, learning, and student success for minoritized students in community colleges.  The presenters also share equity-minded practices for conveying authentic care.

Being aware of learning opportunities and constraints posed by online teaching and moving towards anti-racist practices

This webinar will address the “taken-for-granted” practices and assumptions that shape the online learning environment and ways in which they can be detrimental to the success of minoritized students. For example, many students only have access to a cellular phone and instructors are not considering how the materials they upload may become distorted on a phone. The current circumstances are overwhelming and it is easy for instructors to default to the students who have the know-how to navigate technology.  Webinar recording    Webinar transcript

We know how to be racist. We know how to pretend to be not racist. Now let’s know how to be antiracist:  What schools need to do

The title comes from the new book, “How To Be An Antiracist,” by Ibram X. Kendi, an American University professor who takes readers on a surprising exploration of what it means to be racist — and what it means not to be.  Valerie Strauss has a conversation with Mr. Kendi in this Washington Post article.

6 Quick ways to be more inclusive in a virtual classroom

Flower Darby, co-author of Small teaching online with James Lange, recently shared with The Chronicle her ideas on fostering both inclusion and equity in synchronous and asynchronous classes, in 6 Quick ways to be more inclusive in a virtual classroom.

Equity-minded online teaching: Using Canvas as a model

Professor Jennifer Ortiz illustrates how to use Canvas with an equity mindset. She will provide examples of techniques and strategies which can be easily applied in any course. For example, she will show participants the video message she uses to welcome students into her class. This session will also have a focus on the implementation of AB705. Professor Ortiz is the Chair of English at LA Trade Tech and a Fellow at the Center for Urban Education.  Webinar recording   Webinar transcript

Recognizing and responding to microaggressions online

Microaggressions are often discussed in the context of race, but are experienced by people in any marginalized group as a result of gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, and so on.  They can take many forms, from subtle to overt.

Microaggressions can occur in many places in an online learning environment – examples include in profile pictures, discussion groups and peer-reviews in Canvas, and in chat windows and breakout rooms in Zoom.

Among the most pervasive challenges addressed are issues with racial bias and racial microaggressions that serve to impede the student experience. In an environment typified by time constraints, stress, and the unknown – racial strife is at an all-time high. This webinar facilitated by Drs. Frank Harris III and J. Luke Wood focuses  on strategies that educators can use to address issues of bias and microaggressions in order to meet the needs of historically underrepresented and under-served students in the online environment.

Creating an inclusive online learning environment

In this webinar from the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), panelists share practices they have found helpful to effectively set expectations for valuing diverse viewpoints, facilitating respectful conversations, and engaging students in inclusive active learning exercises. The teaching practices discussed in this webinar can be utilized in a variety of disciplines and course sizes to promote equity and inclusion.

• Webinar Recap
• Webinar Video Recording
• Chat Transcript-Creating an Inclusive Online Learning Environment
• Transcript-Creating an Inclusive Online Learning Environment

Preparing an inclusive online course

In this webinar from the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), panelists share their thoughts and practices for approaching your online teaching with an inclusive mindset, ensuring your course reflects a diverse society and world. Learn inclusive strategies you can put into practice even before the first day of your online course to set the stage for creating a more equitable online learning environment.

• Webinar Recap
• Webinar Video Recording
• Chat Transcript-Preparing an Inclusive Online Course
• Transcript Preparing an Inclusive Online Course

Examining and mitigating implicit bias

In this webinar from the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), keynote speaker Dr. Teresa Nance, Vice
President for Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer at Villanova University and panelists share speak on this topic.

• Webinar Video Recording
• Chat Transcript-Examining and Mitigating Implicit Bias
• Webinar Transcript-Examining and Mitigating Implicit Bias

Additional articles addressing microaggressions

• University of Washington’s Center for Teaching and Learning has an excellent primer on addressing microaggressions in the classroom, including definitions, video examples, and step-by-step strategies for dealing with them in online, hybrid, and face-to-face modalities.
• In Speaking up without tearing down,  Ross (2019) explains the value of teaching students to call each other in rather that out, a technique that allows all parties to move forward.
• Fleurizard (2018) offers 3 Approaches for confronting microaggressions to reduce subtle yet discriminatory actions and comments in the classroom.
• Students of color share their stories of feeling uncomfortable because of their race, experiencing stereotypes in the classroom, and feeling their contributions were minimalized  in Racial microagressions@ University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, by Harwood, Choi, Orozco, Huntt and Mendenhall (2015)
• Students and staff at Arizona State gathered to answer questions and dispel stereotypes: Asian,  LatinX,  Indigenous,  African American

Professional development opportunities

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Additional resources and scholarship

• Highline Library’s Culturally Responsive Educators Libguide
• Highline Library’s Anti-racist Libguide
• Highline Library’s APIDA (Asian Pacific Islander Desi Americans) Racial Justice Libguide

Watch Highline faculty member Christie Knighton present on Inequality regimes:  What are they, and how do they impact Highline?  (Highline login required)  Social and economic inequalities are prevalent throughout daily activities in US organizations, including higher education institutions. Prior research has considered various forms of inequity including but not limited to class, gender, ability, sexual orientation, and/or racial/ethnic identity. By focusing on just one category, this can oversimplify other interpenetrating realities. This talk focuses on how to surface inequality regimes and discuss ways of disrupting these regimes to work towards more equality for everyone in the campus community.  video recording

 

Reference:

Harris III, F., & Wood, L.  (2020, March 27). Employing equity-minded & culturally-affirming teaching practices in virtual learning communities  [Webinar].  CORA Learning.