Recommended Practices for Fostering Inclusive Interactions
Authenticity, community guidelines, structured discussions, and "survivable risk." These are some of the strategies Shane Whalley, LMSW, uses to promote real and inclusive spaces in hir classroom in the Steve Hicks School of Social Work.
As Shane shares hir approach to fostering inclusive interactions in the classroom, think about what strategies you use to facilitate class discussions, and how you model for your students what you expect from them.
There are a variety of strategies for developing inclusive interactions among students, between students and the instructor, and harnessing the power of those interactions to build and maintain a positive classroom community. Remember that fostering an inclusive approach to learning is intentional.
Consider the many ways your students can connect with you and with each other, including their backgrounds, familiarity with the subject matter, experiences, and identities.
Click on the images below to discover strategies related to these modes of interaction. For an extended explanation of these practices, and additional recommendations, you may download this pdf version of strategies Download pdf version of strategies based on those outlined in the links below.
Putting It Into Practice: What Would You Do?
As an instructor, you want to integrate more active learning strategies in your classroom. Which of the following options would you choose?
As you think about these possible approaches, also consider how might you prepare students for active learning activities? What are some ways you can encourage cooperation between students and within the class? As you reflect on this activity, are there any adjustments you may consider making in the future when incorporate active learning strategies in your classes?
Option A: Ask students to read passages of the course text out loud.
- What might you consider when choosing who should read to the class? Could some students benefit from hearing the material, rather than reading it?
- What may make some students feel uncomfortable in these situations? How might some students feel empowered in these situations?
Option B: Implement personal response systems (“clickers”) for quick checks for learning.
- How might a student who frequently answers the questions wrong feel?
- Could all of the students benefit from a break-down of the distractors (the “wrong” answers) in addition to the confirmation of the correct answer? Why or why not?
- What options for getting additional support and tutoring might you offer all of the students?
Option C: Use a quick “think-pair-share” activity to encourage quieter students to participate in class discussion.
- How might students with learning disabilities, English language learners, or students who are more introverted feel about their ability to process information on their own in a short amount of time?
- What might you do to encourage a more diverse array of voices during the share-out stage of the activity?
Graduate Student Instructors: Top Tips
If you are a TA who leads labs or discussion sections, or an Assistant Instructor (AI) who is leading your own course, you can use many of these practices for fostering inclusive interactions to build connections with and between your students, and create a positive climate in your own sections/courses! We recognize that a challenge aspect of TAs working with lead professors is the sometimes strange dynamic of being an intermediary between the professor and your students. Here are the two ways you can navigate that terrain in a way that will build your teaching confidence and effectiveness, and benefit your students’ learning.
Go here Download here for a more comprehensive list of inclusive teaching strategies for graduate student instructors.
- Establish a positive relationship with your lead professor: Ask your professor to clarify your expectations and responsibilities before your first day of class. One way to do this is by asking your professor to complete a “TA Agreement”. Download our suggested TA agreement form Links to an external site.. In addition, ask if there are opportunities for contributing to the course curriculum, such as conducting a guest lecture, or helping design assessments and rubrics for grading assessments.
- Reconsider “authority”: Being in the process of developing expertise and often close in age to your students may create anxiety about how to demonstrate authority in the classroom. That’s not to mention the challenges many of us who have underrepresented social identities face establishing credibility as instructors. But consider challenging the notion that good teaching constitutes establishing authority in the classroom. While you certainly want to have clear expectations for your students that you exercise consistently, think about how you can welcome and empower your students to collaborate in the creation of knowledge by being relatable and sharing aspects of your research that may inspire them. For example, allowing students to work with you to establish ground rules for class discussion Links to an external site. can help foster student buy-in. And don't be nervous if you don't know an answer to a question they ask or if you make a mistake in front of them: if you are transparent in these moments, you make them "teachable"--you can model for students that learning is a process for all of us.