7 Ways to Create an Inclusive Classroom
As a faculty member, you play a critical role in deciding what climate you would like your classroom to have and you have the
opportunity to set the tone. As the leader in the classroom and manager of Graduate Student Instructors of discussion sections you have
the responsibility to balance the free exchange of ideas with maintaining a safe and welcoming environment for all students regardless
of their background. Please find below a list of some actions you can take to create an inclusive classroom. Each suggestion includes
related links to resources for more detailed information. Additional resources can be found at http://mep.berkeley.edu/classroom . This
handout is downloadable here: http://mep.berkeley.edu/7ways
1. W e l c o m e a n d K n o w Y o u r S t u d e n t s : Learn to pronounce your student’s full name correctly. Student should not feel the need
to shorten or change her or his name in order to make it easier for faculty or GSIs to pronounce it. If you have a large class, consider
inviting students to write their names phonetically on index cards at the beginning of the semester and/or use name tents.
• Palmer, M. (circa 2007). Not quite 101 ways to learning students’ names. University of Virginia Teaching Resource Center.
Retrieved from http://trc.virginia.edu/Publications/Teaching_Concerns/Misc_Tips/Learn_Names.pdf
• Carnegie Mellon University. (2013) Tips for Learning Students’ Names. Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation. Retrieved
from http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/resources/studentnames.html
2. A d d r e s s B i a s i n t h e C l a s s r o o m : Resist the urge to be a bystander when biased comments arise in your classroom. Use
resources such as UC Berkeley’s Principles of Community to help create norms for communication in your class. Plan to talk about
these issues, despite false perceptions that students are not “ready” to engage.
• UC Berkeley’s Principles of Community http://www.berkeley.edu/about/principles.shtml
• University of North Carolina. (September 2004). Teaching Controversial Issues. For your consideration. Retrieved from
AssignmentTutorOnline
Click to access FYC21.pdf
• Warren, L. (circa 2006). Managing hot moments in the classroom. Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning. Retrieved
http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/html/icb.topic58474/hotmoments.html
• MEP Classroom web page: Engaging with Diversity Topics http://mep.berkeley.edu/classroom#engaging
3. C u r r i c u l a r & L e a r n i n g M a t e r i a l s : Review all learning materials, ensuring that they are free of bias whether in implicit or
explicit forms. If you find bias in required materials, commit to encouraging students to recognize and analyze it. Invite your
students to critically question it. Teach about the ways people or institutions in your subject areas have used their knowledge to be
inclusive in a multicultural world.
• Northern Illinois University. (2013). About multicultural curriculum transformation. Office of the Provost. Retrieved from
http://www.niu.edu/mct/about/index.shtml
• Saunders, S., Kardia, D. (2012). Creating inclusive college classrooms. Center for Research on Learning and Teaching. Retrieved
from http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/p3_1
• Cornell University. (circa 2011). Strategies for Helping Students Develop Critical Thinking Skills. Center for Teaching Excellence.
Retrieved from
Click to access CTE%20Helping%20Students%20Develop%20Critical%20Thinking%20Skills.pdf
• Paul, R., Elder, L. (2006). Miniature guide to critical thinking: Concepts & tools. Dillon Beach, CA: Foundation for Critical
Thinking. Retrieved from http://www.criticalthinking.org/files/Concepts_Tools.pdf
4. (Continue to) D e v e l o p S e l f – A w a r e n e s s : Reject notions such as “color-blindness” or that our social identities have little to no
impacts on our daily lives. Understand that you may unintentionally react differently when in a room full of people who are more
like you than more unlike you. Be open and honest about this reality, because those shifts inevitably inform the experiences of the
diversity of the students in your classes. Denying the impacts of the many aspects of diversity, denies people validation of the
whole student.
• University of North Carolina. (1998). Teaching for Inclusion. Center for Teaching and Learning. Retrieved from
http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/p3_2
7 Ways to Create an Inclusive Classroom
• Kardia, D. B., Wright, M. C. (2004). Instructor Identity: The Impact of Gender and Race on Faculty Experiences with Teaching.
Center for Research on Learning and Teaching. Retrieved from http://www.crlt.umich.edu/publinks/CRLT_no19.pdf
5. K n o w t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n i n t e n t a n d i m p a c t : Faculty members hold a great deal of power within their
classrooms; as the course instructor, and possibly based on their social identities. Faculty have the luxury of referring and
responding to intended messages, regardless of the impact on others. Take responsibility for and learn from the impacts of what
you say and do because unconscious bias is by definition, unintentional. Unconscious bias, however, hurts just as much as
intentional bias.
• Quick youtube video: http://youtu.be/gFqG4frpzGc
• MEP workshop on Unconscious Bias http://mep.berkeley.edu/workshops/ftsl
6. I n c l u s i v e T e a c h i n g S t r a t e g i e s : Use techniques to actively engage students in your classroom such as “Flipping the
Classroom”, use of clicker technology, and varying classroom discussions by size. Assign small teams of students to work together
to encourage students to meet and work with others beyond their immediate friends.
• MEP Classroom web page resources on “flipping the classroom” http://mep.berkeley.edu/classroom#flip
• Center for Teaching and Learning’s web page on using groups http://teaching.berkeley.edu/using-groups-classesencouraging-study-groups
7. F i g h t f o r E q u i t y f o r A l l S t u d e n t s : Fight for equity for all underrepresented or disenfranchised students. Equity is not a
game of choice. For example, one cannot fight effectively for racial equity while failing to confront gender inequity.
• Lorde, A. (1983). There is no Hierarchy of Oppressions. International Books for Children Bulletin, 14.
• Gorski, P. C. & Goodman, R. D. (2011): Is There a “Hierarchy of Oppression” in U.S. Multicultural Teacher Education Coursework?,
Action in Teacher Education, 33:5-6, 455-475
Based on Gorski, P. (2010). Beyond celebrating diversity: Twenty things I can do to be a better multicultural educator. Retrieved from http://www.edchange.org/handouts/20things.doc
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Multicultural Education Program:
http://mep.berkeley.edu/classroom
http://mep.berkeley.edu/classroom/basri
Center for Teaching and Learning:
http://teaching.berkeley.edu
Graduate Student Instructor Teaching & Resource Center:
http://gsi.berkeley.edu
- Assignment status: Already Solved By Our Experts
- (USA, AUS, UK & CA PhD. Writers)
- CLICK HERE TO GET A PROFESSIONAL WRITER TO WORK ON THIS PAPER AND OTHER SIMILAR PAPERS, GET A NON PLAGIARIZED PAPER FROM OUR EXPERTS
