How Can I Foster Inclusive Interactions with Students?
Maya Angelou said, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Well, what if we told you that how you make people feel can dramatically impact their academic success?
Research shows that if instructors provide a learning environment where students feel emotionally supported, comfortable and free to express opinions, and connected to the learning community, students demonstrate more interest in subjects, are more likely to internalize tasks, have reduced learning apprehension and may even be less likely to engage in academic dishonesty (Müller & Louw, 2004; Ellis, 2004; DiPietro, 2012; Barr, 2016). The learning environment is determined by “a constellation of interacting factors that include faculty-student interaction, the tone instructors set, instances of stereotyping or tokenism, the course demographics (for example, relative size of racial and other social groups enrolled in the course), and student-student interaction” (Ambrose et. al., 2010, p. 170). With so many unknowns each semester, what are some variables within your control that will consistently encourage inclusive interactions and support an inclusive class climate?
In this module, we will explore:
What does it mean to foster inclusive interactions?
As a classroom community, our capacity to generate excitement is deeply affected by our interest in one another, in hearing one another’s voices, in recognizing one another’s presence.”
- bell hooks (1994)
Read through any recent higher ed digest, and you will notice that conversations on college campuses have been fraught with concerns about handling difficult dialogues in the classroom. The political climate, local city and campus tragedies, national disasters, racist or sexist remarks, or even just general classroom dynamics can contribute to a classroom conversation becoming heated quickly. These issues show no signs of going away anytime soon, so how can we as instructors effectively respond in such moments?
While we cannot anticipate everything that students will experience throughout the semester and how those experiences may impact their individual performance in class or general class dynamics, fostering inclusive interactions within your class is a proactive approach that can better equip instructors and students to handle conflict in healthy, productive ways. Intentionally embedding inclusive practices into your interactions with students and encouraging interaction among students contributes to a positive climate both in your classroom and on campus.
What do we mean by class climate? DeSurra and Church (1994) encourage us to think about climate in the classroom through two sets of oppositions: marginalizing and centralizing, and implicit and explicit. Review the table below, and think about whether you have experienced classrooms that are implicitly marginalizing, explicitly marginalizing, implicitly centralizing, or explicitly centralizing.
|
marginalizing |
centralizing |
implicitly |
|
|
explicitly |
|
|
UCLA Education Professor Juan Carlos Gariby (2015) explains that we should aim for explicitly centralized classroom climates, or "courses [that] often contain written ground rules for discussion and course policies to foster inclusivity and sensitivity to the experiences and perspectives of all students." Such a class climate can produce conditions and mediate relationships that can positively influence student cognitive, social, emotional, and mental well-being, and increase student receptivity to you, content, exchange in the classroom, student motivation and study habits, and learning (Hess & Smythe, 2004).
What are microaggressions and how can we address them?
Inclusive practices require self-reflection and a commitment to on-going growth as an instructor. When thinking about fostering inclusive interactions, reflecting on the often-unconscious ways in which prejudices are communicated to our students, and consequently create implicitly or explicitly marginalized class climates, is an important practice.
What are Microagressions? Think of microaggressions as "death by a thousand papercuts." Coined in the 1970s by Harvard psychiatrist Charles Pierce, and added to the Merriam Webster Dictionary in February 2017, microaggressions are “comments or actions that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a marginalized group." What are examples of microaggressions? Let's ask UT student Debbie Nehikhuere (School of Communication). In the video below, Debbie shares how experiencing a microaggression in her class inhibited her learning experience. As you listen and read, think about what you would do if you were her professor and you had learned that you had committed a microaggression while teaching.
Inclusivity DDIG Student Testimonial: Debbie Nehikhuere Links to an external site. from Faculty Innovation Center Links to an external site. on Vimeo Links to an external site..
How can we counteract microaggressions? Research shows that ignoring microaggressions can be just as detrimental if not more than the initial microaggression itself (Hirschy & Braxton, 2004). Cheung, Ganote, and Souza (2016) offer an A.C.T.I.O.N. plan to help empower instructors to speak up when micoraggressions occur in the classroom. Here are their recommended steps:
- Ask clarifying questions to help you understand intentions. “I want to make sure that I understand what you were saying. Were you saying that…?”
- Carefully listen.
- Tell others what you observed as a microaggression in a factual manner. “I noticed that...”
- Impact exploration: ask for, or state, the potential impact of such a statement or action on others without putting the target of the microaggression on the spot. “What do you think people think when they hear that type of comment?”
- Own your own thoughts and feelings around the microaggression’s impact. “When I hear your comment, I think/feel…”
- Next steps: Request appropriate action be taken. “Our class is a learning community, and such comments make it difficult for us to focus on learning because people feel offended. So I am going to ask you to refrain from such comments in the future. Can you do that please?”
Ideas & Directions Links to an external site.
This resource is evolving: It is meant to grow and develop. Please share with us your ideas and suggestions. We would love to collaborate with you!