Julie Schell

JULIE SCHELL, Director of OnRamps and Strategic Initiatives;  Clinical Assistant Professor (Program in Higher Education Leadership and School of Design and Creative Technologies, College of Fine Arts) - https://education.utexas.edu/faculty/julie_schell Links to an external site.  

What does inclusive teaching mean to you?

To me, inclusive teaching means all students belong in the class and in the field we study--higher education. In my teaching practice, I draw from a personal pedagogy of belonging. I seek opportunities to invite all students to see themselves as part of something bigger than the class and more as a critical part of the protecting the welfare of our field. I use teaching methods designed to build classroom community and strengthen distinct relationships among students, between students and me, and between students and the subject. I also use feedback strategies based on established learning science as a means for encouraging students to develop the skill sets scholars in our field must master, such as dealing with ambiguity and creative problem-solving. It also means understanding how students' lives unfold in a world where symbolic violence, structural inequity, and implicit bias are present.

Please give an example of what thinking inclusively looks like to you in your teaching or your work around campus.

I object to deficit thinking and employ a strengths-based model in my work with students. I do not view myself as a guardian of the subject. I see students' experiences as subject-matter knowledge that is as significant to understanding our field as is established theory and research. I operate as a learner of my students and consider my students to be teachers who have perspectives on higher education that I have not been exposed to through my own scholarship. Inclusivity in my classroom shows up in our assignments, which I design to place value on students' perspectives, experiences, and ideas. I also see that my students have much to teach one another and therefore our assignments always have a public demonstration or social exchange. As they construct the knowledge we learn together, they shape the field in fascinating and powerful ways.