We found 139 results that contain "diversity"

This website from the American Historical Association provides resources for history grad student and historians to consider a multitude of possible career paths, including unexpected ones.

Diversity Employers is a career database with the goal of providing professional and career information to African Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Latino/Hispanic Americans, Native Americans and women.

Topic Area: DEI
Presented by: Patrick Arnold
Abstract:
Diversity education increasingly takes an anti-racist, anti-sexist, and trans-inclusive orientation, and aims to highlight the dynamics between power, privilege, and forms of oppression which permeate many of our institutions and create conditions of discrimination and marginalization. Extensive scholarship has emerged on the theoretical frameworks, teaching methods, and the impact of diversity education within settings like university courses or DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programming. Educational and psychological research has studied anti-racist diversity education as a form of intervention: A central purpose of anti-racist education, after all, is to increase understanding of bias, and promote ways of ending systemic racial discrimination (Lynch, Swartz, & Isaacs, 2017). Naturally, then, it is common to evaluate the effectiveness of diversity education by measuring change in relevant attitudes, beliefs, or implicit biases of the participants of these interventions. However, diversity education is important not merely because it can be an intervention on existing bias, nor is the only appropriate audience for this context subjects who display such biases. In this pilot study, we explore more expansive data on the impact of diversity education, collected via a large intro course covering diversity in sex, gender, and current social justice issues like #BlackLivesMatter. Importantly, we find that diversity education is particularly impactful on the sense of belonging the students feel toward the university and its community, and especially for students of color enrolled in the course. We argue that further research is needed on diversity education as also an affirmation of belonging in our institutions.
Ingrid Lynch, Sharlene Swartz & Dane Isaacs (2017) Anti-racist moral education: A review of approaches, impact and theoretical underpinnings from 2000 to 2015, Journal of Moral Education, 46:2, 129-144, DOI: 10.1080/03057240.2016.1273825 

A more in-depth look at the challenges facing English language learners in college, as well as considerations and strategies for college instructors. While an older resource, its conclusions remain relevant.

Topic Area: DEI
Presented by: Anne Violin-Wigent, Matt Kanefsky
Abstract:
In recent years, there has been a push to supplement a communication-based approach to language teaching with a systematic inclusion of cultural content and cultural literacy. Most textbooks, however, fail to do so and restrict culture to a page or two at the end of each chapter or cultural vignettes sprinkled throughout, while remaining focused on grammar. For this project, Matt Kanefsky and I decided to develop teaching material that uses culture as the source and context for all learning. In addition, we seek to represent the diversity of the French-speaking world, to include material from and about various countries, and to give voices to minorities groups telling their stories. This is done in particular through the development of online learning activities since our program is hybrid/flipped.In this presentation, we will share how we chose to implement our focus on culture and diversity in deliberate, systematic, and cyclical ways in each aspect of the course. We will share a list of questions we used as guiding principles to make sure that we reach our goals and provide a truly inclusive representation of French speakers. Lastly, we will share preliminary experiences and feedback from both instructors and learners.
 

Just as in-person events need to accommodate diversity and special needs factors, virtual events present similar challenges and calls-to-action for your team. Tackling accessibility issues (e.g., screen reader compatibility, proper contrast, WCAG compliance, etc.) will ensure that everyone can partake of the event equally and protects the university from legal ramifications.
Examples of key accessibility-related topics include, but are not limited to the following:

Effort:

Closed captioning is needed for live presentations and
Website images must include alternative
Contrast should be evaluated to confirm WCAG AA
Content should be tested to confirm screen reader
Color choices must support colorblindness


Audit:

The Hub can assist with accessibility
Third-party support teams can be secure to assist with



To learn more about accessibility and virtual events, visit the following:

An Accessibility & Inclusion Checklist for Virtual Events
Accessibility: Resources to Help Ensure Accessibility of Your Virtual Events for People with Disabilities
Ensuring Virtual Events Are Accessible For All

You might think linguistic diversity equates to different languages people speak. However, I urge you move toward a more nuanced understanding, one where our linguistic background involves both our variable linguistic repertoire (the resources of a language we use or have access to) and our sociolinguistic competence (our ability to interpret social uses of language and use language in socially meaningful ways). A linguistically inclusive classroom, then, would include nuanced understandings of linguistic diversity. To help you intentionally move toward linguistic inclusion, I provide seven tips below.

Learn a little about language. Language is a resource we utilize for a variety of purposes (e.g. prestige, power, recognition, etc.). For instance, you might use language perceived as “more proper” to be identified as educated or professional, or use more colloquial language to fit in with peers. Thus, before you engage with language in the classroom, make sure you can differentiate the facts from the myths (to start, see Richard Nordquist’s post about Language Myths).


Get to know your linguistic background. Have you thought about how you use language? If not, you might be surprised by how your own language varies (from how much -ing vs. -in you use to your speech in formal or informal situations). Taking some time to get to know yourself as a language producer and perceiver will help you come to terms with your linguistic identity.


Get to know students’ linguistic backgrounds. No matter where you teach, you will surely come across language variation. Recognizing this will help you understand students and how they use language. Students come from different linguistic backgrounds and bring different language experiences (with different associated norms). I get to know students by having them talk about where they are from on the first day of class, but mostly this work requires listening for clues enabling you to differentiate between, for instance, dialectal features (e.g. “ain’t”) and mispronunciations.


Become aware of linguistic assumptions. Though it is not always easy to talk about, we all have linguistic biases. These might surface as pet peeves (see Weird Al’s parody “Word Crimes” for some examples), stereotypes (e.g. that “southern”-sounding speakers are “lazy”), or assumptions (e.g. thinking there is an objectively “right” or “correct” way of talking). Acknowledging and addressing these biases will help you see language more objectively and address language in the classroom more dynamically.


Know how linguistic assumptions affect the learning environment. Regardless of whether you teach a course that discusses language or not, you are in a position to set rules and expectations about language. As such, it is important to consider what you tell students about language. Language assumptions can lead to linguistic profiling. They can make students linguistically insecure, or feel they are somehow linguistically inferior. Make sure you’re creating classrooms flexibly, accommodating multiple and diverse language uses.


Be willing to accommodate. As a result of individual linguistic backgrounds, students’ language behaviors might not map to your expectations. Some students might not have experience writing essays, but might be profound bloggers, tweeters, or novelists. Some might speak different languages or come from backgrounds where there are different cultural norms surrounding language use (e.g. the use of silence, turn-taking, interruptions, etc.). Before jumping to conclusions, ask yourself if a student comes from a culture where language use is governed by different rules. Be flexible, willing to accommodate, and work together toward where you all hope to go. Start by defining culture- or dialect-specific terms in course content and assessments; vary assessment types to accommodate different communication preferences; and grade based on content, not grammar (unless grammar is the focus of your class). Grammar-based grading privileges native-English speakers and students from certain educational backgrounds.


Recognize linguistic diversity as a resource. Some assume classrooms should run under cultural norms expected by a given region, country, or community. However, as sociolinguist Carmen Fought (2006) points out, “…interactional patterns from different ethnic groups might enhance learning and ultimately provide all participants with a wide range of skills.” Seek to understand ways the inclusion of several different interactional norms and behaviors might benefit learning environments. Some communities, for instance, encourage a “collective orientation […] group harmony, and the avoidance of conflict” in classrooms. Though inclusion of this orientation can be viewed as problematic, it could also be used to teach concern for others, humility, and an ability to work cooperatively (pp. 193-4).

If we aim to make students feel seen and heard, we must question what we really listen to when students communicate. We have an opportunity to co-construct an inclusive curriculum, classroom, and community built out of diverse linguistic resources.
 

Beginning to Teach Inclusively
How do I encourage students to bring diverse perspectives to the subject matter I teach? How can I promote inclusive behavior of students working in groups? These were just a few questions posed by approximately 45 doctoral students and postdocs at the “Cultivating an Inclusive Classroom” workshop I ran last year with Dr. Sheila Contreras. To begin answering them, Inside Teaching posts over the next few weeks will address different areas for you to focus on toward a more inclusive classroom. In today’s post, I’ll discuss where to begin: making your curriculum design choices more inclusive.
What Do I Mean By “Inclusive”?
Before I start discussing how your content and curriculum design choices can be more inclusive, let’s start with a working definition for an inclusive classroom. According to the Association of American Colleges & Universities, inclusive classrooms are learning spaces where “active, intentional, and ongoing engagement with diversity” occurs “in ways that increase awareness, content knowledge, cognitive sophistication, and empathetic understanding of the complex individuals interact within systems and institutions.” 
 
So, as an instructor concerned about inclusive teaching, I encourage you do consider how your course content and assignments both represent a diverse (for example, gender, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, nationality, epistemological perspectives) set of scholarly voices and how you can hold yourself – and your students—to more inclusive standards of behavior and discourse in the classroom.
Inclusive Classrooms Require Intentional Thought and Not “Extra Work”
Graduate students and other beginning instructors are often overwhelmed by the volume of things they need to learn about teaching in a college classroom or lab. Creating an inclusive environment in your classroom does not require “extra work” – what it requires is “intentional thought” in how you plan and implement your classes. This involves a deliberate awareness of the decisions you’re making and the impact they have on how you represent your discipline and the multiple voices connected to it. I’d argue that this level of intentionality is a key hallmark of curriculum design across disciplines. To help with this intentionality toward more inclusive classrooms, I provide the following four tips below.
Four Tips Toward Inclusive Curriculum Design
(1) Select the work of scholars from different cultural or paradigmatic backgrounds
Make sure you are presenting a variety of voices and perspectives across the course readings, videos and material you select.  Additionally important is presenting a full spectrum of disciplinary paradigms in the field so that students have a full picture of disciplinary conversation(s).
(2) Acknowledge the limitations of course material with regards to demographic representation
Frame what you are providing and point out the potential limitations of your materials. This can help students see how and why you have made the decisions you did. This can also help students to get a better window into your teaching decisions and engage alongside you critically.
(3) Pay attention to WHO and HOW you represent in your presentation slides, case studies, videos, and guest panels
As with our tips above, it’s important that the slides, case studies, and videos you use reflect multiple voices and backgrounds. Additionally, it’s important to pay attention to how various individuals and groups are portrayed in these materials. In their portrayals, are you sending the messages you want sent to a diverse group of students?
(4) Maximize the inclusion of all student voices in instructional activities
Make sure you provide multiple opportunities and safe spaces in your classroom for all student voices. Not all students will immediately respond to one way of engaging in the classroom, so make sure your approaches vary and respond to what you have come to know about the different students in class. We will share more specific tips about instructional activities in later posts.
 
Additional Resources
The goal of the Inclusive Teaching Workshop, in addition to soliciting student questions, was to present a Framework for Inclusive Teaching, modified from resources from both a resource from the Center for Research on Teaching and Learning at University of Michigan and a paper produced by the Bok Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard.
 
We’d like to know: What have you done to make your course content and curriculum more inclusive? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or with us on social media using the hashtag “#iteachmsu.”
 

 
Originally posted at “Inside Teaching MSU” (site no longer live): McDaniels, M. Cultivating Inclusive Classrooms: Inclusive Curriculum Design. inside teaching.grad.msu.edu