Keri Stephens

Keri Stephens

KERI STEPHENS, Associate Professor, Department of Communication Studies 

What does inclusivity mean to you?

I believe that inclusivity takes constant attention because it isn’t something you do once and you’re finished.  Students’ needs and backgrounds are in flux and thinking about making classrooms and learning inclusive and meaningful requires ongoing adaptation and focus.  For example, I’ll never forget a day in class when I used a childhood fairy tale, Goldilocks and the Three Bears to illustrate ethical dilemmas.  I spent a fair bit of time designing this example and we laughed while we learned in class.  At the end of class, I had a student come up to me to ask where she could learn more about the Goldilocks story.  She was from China and had only been in the U.S. for two months and because she had no knowledge of what I had assumed was a shared experience, she could not follow the class discussion.  That conversation made me think about other examples I use in class that might exclude students.  I’ve never used cultural fairy tales again because I’ve learned that they are not necessarily shared experiences.  

As a teacher who uses stories to illustrate complex concepts, I’m constantly assessing their value and their ability to reach diverse student populations.  One of the greatest things I’ve experienced by having TAs from multiple countries and different backgrounds is that they can screen my material and help me work to adapt my teaching for a broad audience.  Also, we can’t overlook the value of asking our students what worked, what was confusing, and what we can change.  Inclusive teaching requires dialog and a willingness to listen, change, and adapt.