6 Copyright and Attribution of Introduction to EDI in Teaching and Learning
About the module
âIntroduction to EDI in Teaching and Learningâ was created by the Manitoba Flexible Learning Hub (https://mbhub.ca/), University of Manitoba.
Copyright © University of Manitoba (2022)
Unless other attribution is noted, the University of Manitoba makes this material available to the Manitoba Flexible Learning HUBâs partners â Red River College Polytech, Assiniboine Community College, Brandon University, University College of the North, and University of Winnipeg, and others under the Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Creative Commons License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).
Attribution on module localization
The following attribution should be implemented on adaptations:
Adapted from âIntroduction to EDI in Teaching and Learningâ, Manitoba Flexible Learning HUB, University of Manitoba, licensed under CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 unless other attribution is noted.
Contributors
Project Sponsors – Flexible Learning Advisory Group
Erica Jung, Director, Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, University of Manitoba
Curt Schoultz, Director, Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Technology, Brandon University
Jonathan Kennedy (he/him), Manager, Flexible Learning HUB, University of Manitoba
Kim Grenier Mintenko (she/her), Executive Director, Campus Manitoba
Nadine Ogborn (she/her), Director, Centre for Learning and Program Excellence, RRC Polytech
Loresto Jimenez, Director, Centre for Academic Technology, University of Winnipeg
Sheryl Prouse (she/her), Student Affairs and Interim Director of the Learning Commons, Assiniboine Community College
Terralyn McKee, Learning Technologies Specialist, University College of the North
Project Board
Carley McDougall (she/her), Special Projects Coordinator, Campus Manitoba
Cheryl Fleming (she/her), Diversity and Human Rights Advisor, Brandon University
Mike Tutthil (he/him), Instructor, School of Indigenous Education, Red River College Polytech
Naithan Lagace, Indigenous Curriculum Specialist, University College of the North
Robin Attas (she/her), Educational Developer – Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, University of Manitoba
Scout Rexe (they/she), Instructional Designer, Centre for Learning and Innovation, Assiniboine Community College
Stacey Belding, Human Rights and Diversity Officer, University of Winnipeg
Course Author
Laura Forsythe, aen Lecturer D’universitii di Winnipeg – University of Winnipeg Lecturer, Faculty of Education; Ph.D. Candidate, University of Manitoba
Educational Developer
Iwona Gniadek (she/her), Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, University of Manitoba
Media Specialist
Joeffer Domingo (he/him), Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, University of Manitoba
Copyright Specialist
Althea Wheeler, JD, MLIS, Copyright Strategy Manager, University of Manitoba
Community Reviewers
Charlene Nault (she/her), Assiniboine Indigenous Peer Mentor, Assiniboine Community College
Eric Dowsett, PhD, Brandon, Manitoba
Kaitlin Schilling (she/they), Associate Program Manager, Rebus Community
Kristen A. Hardy (she/her), Instructor, Disability Studies/Women’s & Gender Studies, University of Winnipeg; Adjunct Professor, Health Studies and Instructor, Sociology/Gender & Women’s Studies, Brandon University
Valerie Williams, (she/her), Director, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba
Winsome Algera, Instructor, Red River College
Module Introduction
This module was created for post-secondary teachers in Manitoba. It aims to enhance the understanding of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in the post-secondary teaching context and provide strategies and teaching techniques for advancing EDI in teaching and learning.
This is an approximately 30-minute, asynchronous, self-paced learning experience. Additional resources have been provided and linked to throughout the module for those users who wish to take their learning further. There is no instructor facilitation or group discussions.
[Transcript for Welcome Video]
Laura Forsythe: Taanshi kiya everyone? Laura Forsythe dishinikaashon. My name is Laura Forsythe, and I’m from the Faculty of Education at the University of Winnipeg. Welcome to Module 1. We’ve curated an experience using research, articles, and videos made by educators from across the globe. The module has been created using the First Peoples Principles of Learning, including that learning is embedded in memory, history, and story, where we ask you as a learner to reflect on the experiences that you’ve had or the experiences that you have witnessed. Also includes that learning involves patience and time, as we acknowledge that our practices as educators changes over time the more that we know. We are hopeful that in this module that we create a sense of curiosity about the possibilities in your classroom, that we provide extension activities, videos, articles, and strategies that you can build into your classrooms for best practices of EDI.
[Transcript ends]
Learning Objectives
By the end of this module, you should be able to:
Define what equity, diversity, and inclusion means to you.
Articulate why incorporating equity, diversity, and inclusion into teaching and learning is important for the success of your learners.
Apply teaching strategies and techniques that promote equity, diversity, and inclusion in teaching and learning.
In the next step, you will consider equity in your teaching.
Equity
Have you seen this equality versus equity cartoon?
Image attribution: Interaction Institute for Social Change | Angus Maguire (https://interactioninstitute.org/illustrating-equality-vs-equity/)
Here we have three situations.
The situation on the left depicts equality when we give all learners the same support, represented by the boxes in the image. Some do not need them, some benefit, and for others, it is not enough. This image shows that not all learners can see what is happening due to a barrier, which is represented by the fence.
The middle situation demonstrates equity’s intention regarding additional support, which some learners need at differing levels. One of the learners did not need additional support, one required some, and the third required more support. In this situation, we see that all learners can now see what is happening.
The situation on the right depicts what can occur when we remove barriers in our classrooms. There is no longer a need for additional support as we have removed the piece preventing all learners from seeing. What this situation speaks to is the need to prepare teaching and design courses that are accessible to all by design, not by accommodation, which is represented in this image by supports at differing levels.
Definition of Equity
As we saw in the previous image, equity in the classroom means that all learners can access education. Additional supports or removing barriers may be necessary to achieve this goal, depending on the learner’s needs. The one-size-fits-all approach to equality will not serve all learners. Actualizing equity in your classes will require getting to know your students and their needs to get the most out of your time together.
Context and Usage
In our post-secondary institutionâs context, to close historical educational attainment gaps, we must create opportunities for historically marginalized and currently systemically excluded students, staff, instructors, and faculty, ensuring they have equal access to programming. To actualize this, we must acknowledge that not all of our learners have the same experiences, and we must remove barriers to their success. Revisit your course syllabus or outline. Are there opportunities for addressing equity issues?
Do you outline your extension policy? For example, is it possible for students experiencing issues completing the assignment on time to arrange a new deadline to accommodate their struggles?
In your syllabus, have you listed your institution’s support for learning supports and well-being?
Have you invited your institution’s support systems into your course lecture to allow students to meet the supports in-person or online?
How do We Make Assessment More Equitable?
Assessment refers to all formative and summative (https://www.queensu.ca/teachingandlearning/modules/assessments/09_s2_01_intro_section.html) assignments, quizzes, discussions, group projects, etc. that students complete to achieve the learning objectives in your course.
There are many ways in which we can make our assessments more equitable, starting with ensuring the course structure is clear, that students are aware of the relevance and practical application of the learning, that more hands-on activities and less rote memorization are used, and the assessment emphasizes skill-building and problem-solving. Other examples include:
Transparent descriptions and evaluation criteria
Provide detailed descriptions of assessment items, including the purpose, how-to instructions, evaluation criteria, and examples. This will increase your teaching transparency and show that you care about students’ success. Consider this Transparent Assignment Template (https://tilthighered.com/assets/pdffiles/Transparent%20Assignment%20Template.pdf) as an example of how to describe the assessment items.
Co-creating expectations
Involve students in co-creating (https://bit.ly/3bw4nSo) evaluation expectations and suggesting questions for exams.
Submission format flexibility
Offer choice and flexibility of submission format that might align better with students’ interests, needs, and skills, and increase their agency. Can the assignment be submitted in the form of a video, podcast, sketch-noting illustration, think-aloud map, or poem? UDL and Assessment (http://udloncampus.cast.org/page/assessment_udl) is a great resource to explore this topic further.
Multiple attempts
Give options to resubmit work. Could students have two attempts to complete an assignment? They receive your or peers’ thoughtful feedback for learning (https://feedbackforlearning.org/) on their first attempt, revise their work, and resubmit to obtain the final grade with additional feedback on their progress and additional areas of improvement.Â
Due date flexibility
Enable flexibility in submission dates. How important is it to you that all students submit the assignment by midnight on Sunday? Can there be a grace period which they can leverage just in case life happens or they need more time to do the final tweaks? Could students propose their own submission deadlines? Could you offer ‘do it another day’ as does Maha Bali in her compassionate design approach (https://blog.mahabali.me/pedagogy/anticipatory-compassionate-design-in-muslim-fasting/) informed by Muslim fasting?Â
Reflecting on learning
Incorporate the practice of reflecting on learning (https://bit.ly/3bndcxR) in your assessment scheme. This will help students develop self-awareness about what they know and donât yet know, as well as use that knowledge to help direct their future learning. It also helps make studentsâ learning visible to you. Just make sure to offer flexibility in the format of expression through written text, audio, or video, while at the same time providing detailed instructions and guiding questions for those who need them. Watch this video for an example of the what-so what-now what model of reflecting on learning.Â
Your Reflection on Equity
Just as we want students to reflect on their learning, this is an important practice for educators to engage in as well. It is only through examining what we are doing in our teaching that we can use that knowledge to improve our teaching in the future.
The exercise below is an example of this practice in action. Introspective pauses like this give you time to contemplate what you have just learned and how you can use it to inform your teaching practice.
Pause and think: How would you define equity in a teaching and learning context? What are you already doing that would be considered equitable? Based on this lesson, what is one new practice you can implement into your course next term? Take 2 minutes to type some percolating thoughts.
âŠ
If you would like to keep a copy of what you wrote in the above space, remember to copy and paste the text somewhere you can keep it before moving on to the next page.
In fact, keeping a copy of your reflections has a variety of benefits including:
Being evidence of your desire to learn.
Making your learning and growth as an educator visible.
Including them in your teaching dossier when applying for a new position.
Including them in the dossier you submit for tenure and/or promotion.
In the next step, you will consider diversity in your teaching.
Diversity
What is Diversity?
Diversity can be defined by the differences in the lived experiences and perspectives of people that may include:
age
ancestry
appearance
body size
ethnicity
family status
gender identity or expression
language
marital status
mental health
neurodiversity
physical disability
place of origin
political belief
race
religion
sex
sexual orientation
social class
Pause and think for a moment: What is the most diverse environment you have ever encountered? What is the least? What made it so? What factors contributed to it?
Why Diversity Matters?
âWhen schools take inclusive and responsive approaches to diversity, students are more likely to see their identity represented in classroom materials or other students. When diversity is not a priority and these students donât feel included, theyâre more likely to not participate and feel inferior to their peers.â (Kampen, 2020)
Beyond Kampen’s quote above, diversity matters because each individual in our classroom matters, and we need to value everyone. Since our student cohorts are diverse, we need to care about fostering their diversity so that all students feel they belong. Our courses should create a sense of belonging for all of our students, not because of policy or this module but because they matter as human beings.
Myths about Diversity
The University of Alberta Faculty of Education has created an extremely useful document that addresses 11 myths and misconceptions about diversity in the classroom. I have picked three myths for us to review here. As you review them, consider if you have ever witnessed any of them?
Myth/Misconception 1: âMy students are all White. I donât really need to teach about diversity here.â
Response: In fact, itâs in places that are not as visibly diverse that students need explicit teaching about diversity, as they may not have experiences that will counter their assumptions about people they perceive as different from them. It is important to remember the ‘diverse’ is not just about race, or worse, not just about adding people of colour to a group of white people. Therefore, it is important to uncover studentsâ (mis)conceptions about diversity and plan learning experiences that directly (and repeatedly) confront these misconceptions. Sharing literature about and from different ethnic groups is a good way to do this.
Myth/Misconception 3: âI donât know anything about different cultures. I think only people of that culture should teach about it.â
Response: Itâs good that you are cautious, but we canât wait for the teaching profession to become more diverse before we teach about diversity. It is all of our responsibility to do so and itâs in the curriculum we are required to teach. Your local multicultural associations and Indigenous organizations (such as Indigenous Friendship Centres) are excellent resources for learning about other cultures. Most of these organizations are very happy to do a class visit. Other resources can be the local library and various non-profit organizations that deal with issues of diversity (such as poverty) and how they intersect with issues of ethnicity. You can also consult our list of resources (http://teach4diversity.ca/resources/) for information about what and how to teach. One strategy to keep in mind is to look for and use articles, videos, interviews, films, etc. created by members of the marginalized communities (e.g. use films by Indigenous filmmakers when looking at Indigenous topics).
Myth/Misconception 11: âPeople are all basically the same, the focus should be on what binds us together, not what makes us different.â
Response: This kind of statement often arises from the fear that teaching about diversity might be divisive and the desire to promote harmony rather than conflict. Unfortunately, as University of Toronto professor Kathy Bickmore points out, it often results in superficial teaching that seeks to manage diversity rather than explore it. In the end, this kind of teaching does not promote harmony because it fails to take seriously the real differences in worldviews between and among people and help them learn to wrestle with those differences in peaceful and productive ways. It is true that human beings share many characteristics such as the need for food, shelter, security, community, etc., but it is also true that there are often significant differences between and among individuals and groups.
To explore the other myths and misconceptions discussed by the University of Alberta, go to  Teaching for Diversity: Myths and Misconceptions (http://teach4diversity.ca/myths-and-misconceptions/).
How do We Actualize Diversity in Practice?
Here are some strategies to consider making your courses more diverse.
Re-evaluate your teaching materials
Ask yourself: who are the authors of the articles, textbooks, and videos assigned to students in my courses? Is there an opportunity to add diverse thinkers and creators to my course materials? Are there inventors, scientists, or theorists I can bring to this course whose names do not sound of European descent? This practice may involve googling authors to find out more about them – believe me, it’s time well-spent!
Also, as you teach your course and know who your students are, seek materials that will be relevant to them based on their backgrounds. For example, if you have nursing students who recently arrived from the Philippines, look for resources that will prompt the learners to reflect on their prior experience in the home country versus the nursing practice here in Canada. This practice will help learners to draw on their experience and learn more deeply while appreciating your care for their complex identities.
Incorporate diverse visuals
When incorporating visuals in your course, make sure they positively represent various groups and that they are diverse and representative of your student body. How about inviting your students to supplement the course materials with relevant visuals that will depict their identities?
For example,
Disabled and Here Collection (https://affecttheverb.com/collection/) with free and inclusive images celebrating disabled Black, Indigenous, and people of colour.
The Gender Spectrum Collection: Stock Photos Beyond the Binary (https://genderphotos.vice.com/)
Free Plus-Size Stock Photos (https://canweallgo.com/plus-size-stock-photos/) with photos of plus-size people doing everyday things.
Plan for a diversity of perspectives
When planning your course, incorporate a plethora of activities that will engage students in exchanging their perspectives and learning from one another. You should be part of such conversations to encourage conversational and respectful learning.
According to Jennifer Brant (2013) (https://journals.library.brocku.ca/teachingandlearning/index.php/home/article/view/405), who is KanienâkehĂĄ:ka (Mohawk), an asynchronous discussion forum can be a safe space for cross-cultural learning. The author appreciated the time she could take to formulate thoughts in a respectful way in response to controversial topics. To achieve a safe discussion space, she emphasized the role of the instructor to moderate and protect the exchange of views from harmful triggers.
Getting to Know Your Students
[Transcript for Video: Lauraâs Approach to Getting to Know her Students]
Getting to know your learners and developing relationships is a pillar in best practices within education. Never mind EDI. There are multiple ways in which you can do this in your classrooms. And we’ve provided a few strategies. But I wanted to speak specifically about one of the ways in which I get to know my learners, whether I have 27 learners in my classroom or over 220. Using the online platform offered by my institution, I invite my learners to share who they are. I model in a post, who I am, where I am from and of, what brings me to the Faculty of Education, and what I hope we’re going to do together. I then invite all of the learners to do the same. In this activity, I get a sense of who is in the classrooms that time, beyond the numbers in which we have assigned them or their university emails, I get a sense that who has just joined us, who are newcomers, who are Indigenous, who are single mothers, who are struggling with their education and have come numerous times to complete their degrees. All of this they share willingly because I have shared of myself. And then I have a sense of who is in that space when I’m lecturing or when I’m speaking to various things that we’re learning, I can lead into their real-world experience. I can ensure that I am providing links or comments or photographs or all of these things that will include them in that space. I have genuinely either heard them if we get a chance to do a circle and share or that I have read each of their responses. It takes time, of course, respond to every single student, especially if there’s 220. But I assure you that it is time well spent. I have, in my own experience a richer connection with those learners. I’ve had repeat students come back and take classes multiple times with me because we have a relationship and a bond, in which I acknowledge them as a person and an individual in a very large institution. I invite all of you to do the same.
[Transcript ends]
Your Reflection on Diversity
Pause and think: What are you already doing that would be considered a teaching practice that acknowledges diversity? Based on this lesson, what is one new practice you can implement into your course next term? Take 2 minutes to type some thoughts.
âŠ
In the next step, you will consider inclusion in your teaching.
Inclusion
Definition of Inclusion
What is inclusive teaching? What is it not? Have you been designing your course in inclusive ways and did not even realize it?
Let’s look at the equality versus equity cartoon again.
As demonstrated in this cartoon, equality is demonstrated by a one-size-fit-all approach where learners get the same level of support regardless of their needs. Equity necessitates a differentiated approach, where everyone gets supports they need to achieve the learning goals. Liberation means that we as educators have created learning spaces without barriers to help achieve equitable participation in education. As you can see, various levels of intentionality are needed to create an inclusive classroom. How do you imagine the fourth image to represent inclusion?
Pause and think: How do you imagine the fourth image to represent inclusion?
Context and Usage
According to UBC and Queen’s University (https://bit.ly/3bsR98I), inclusive teaching:
âInvolves deliberately cultivating a learning environment where all students feel that they belong because they are treated equitably, have equitable access to learning, and feel valued and supported in their pursuit of knowledge.â
Inclusion is achieved through continuous proactive and intentional processes meant to ensure that all learners feel academically and intellectually supported and welcomed into the space, creating a sense of being included. Learners who may have been historically excluded due to race, gender, and/or sexuality, for example, are respected and valued for their perspectives.
What does inclusive teaching and learning look like?
Here you will find some suggestions on how to make the learning environment more inclusive for your learners.
Inclusive pedagogy
Learning Objectives
Clearly state the learning objectives in your course syllabus. What will the learners be able to do upon completion of the course/lesson/unit?
The learning objectives should focus on what the learners need to achieve rather than the format of submission, e.g., write an essay. Use verbs such as ‘express’ instead of ‘write’ to enable flexibility in assessment to address diverse students’ needs. Read more about separating the means from the ends (http://udloncampus.cast.org/page/planning_goal).
Assignments
Engage students in work that is meaningful to them. This means that all activities and assignments have a purpose, which should be clearly explained to students. Why are students to complete a particular assignment? How does it link to and help them achieve the learning objectives? How does it relate to the real world, their lives, and their community?
Inclusive identities
Pronouns matter
Cultivate an inclusive classroom for 2SLGBTQIA+ learners. For example, you can do it by introducing yourself and including your pronouns. You could say “my pronouns are…” or “I identify as…” You may also invite your students to share their pronouns, but you should emphasize it is their choice to do so. Learn more about what pronouns are and why they matter (https://pronouns.org/).
Use inclusive language such as everybody, folks, or an individualâs name. If unsure of an individualâs pronouns, use the gender-neutral pronoun ‘they/them’. Apologize when you make a mistake.
Look up references to ensure authors’ correct pronouns are used in instructional materials. You might recall that I have used ‘she’ when referencing Jennifer Brant in planning for a diversity of perspectives section of this module. According to Jennifer Brant’s Twitter profile (https://twitter.com/brant_jenn), the author identifies as she/her. Using correct pronouns will demonstrate your care about and respect for students’, colleagues’, and scholars’ diverse identities.
Terminology matters
Using inclusive language involves using accurate and current terminology when referring to members of diverse groups. Here are some examples:
âOverweightâ and âobeseâ â use individuals in larger bodies, fat people, or students of size (https://sapro.moderncampus.com/blog/10-vital-ways-to-support-fat-students-on-campus) instead.
âGayâ or âLGBTâ â use 2SLGBTQIA+ (https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/TLI/writing-for-diversity) instead. However, the best approach is to use the individual identities such as queer and trans.
âNativeâ or âAboriginalâ â use Indigenous people or, when possible, be more specific when taking about Indigenous people (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEzjA5RoLv0)
âPerson with autismâ â use autistic person instead (https://neuroqueer.com/person-first-language-is-the-language-of-autistiphobic-bigots/)
Because language is always changing, donât forget to regularly check to ensure that the terminology you are using remains current.
Pronunciation matters
Do you know how to pronounce your studentsâ names? A name is part of oneâs identity, so it is important to know how to pronounce it correctly. How about asking a student how to pronounce their name and writing it down in a way that would be helpful to you? For more tips, read pronouncing studentsâ names correctly: the whys and hows (https://bit.ly/3QgRM41).
Inclusive materials
Heading structure
Use a proper heading structure (1, 2, 3, etc.) in your documents and an accessibility checker to verify your documents are accessible. For more information, visit RRC Polytech’s Accessible Documents (https://www.rrc.ca/accessibility/assistive-technology/creating-accessible-documents/) pages. For UMLearn users, use the Panorama tool available in UMLearn to verify the accessibility of your uploaded materials.
Hyperlinks and underlining
Hyperlinks should be meaningful as standalone information; do not use ‘here’ or ‘click here’. You could incorporate the hyperlink description into a sentence or provide the website title as the hyperlink description. For printing purposes, you could add the hyperlink in brackets after the descriptive link, as we did in this document.
Also, reserve underlining for hyperlinks; do not use it to emphasize text. Could the text you want to underline become a section heading? (Boise State University, n.d.) (https://bit.ly/3oSF53I)
Alternative formats of materials
Provide alternate formats of your materials, e.g., closed captions and downloadable transcripts for multimedia, alt-text and detailed captions for images (https://poet.diagramcenter.org/how.html). To consider needs of learners living in areas with unreliable internet access or those who like to study with physical copies, provide downloadable versions of the readings and other instructional materials. As an example, you can download and/or print the content of this module as a downloadable PDF file.
Navigation of materials
If you use a learning management system as a central hub of your course activity, make sure the navigation is simple and clear. In this Teaching in Higher Ed podcast about supporting ADHD learners (https://bit.ly/3zwI4Um), Karen Costa recommends adding the word ‘current’ to the unit title to help students navigate the course easily.
On Accommodations
In this video, I share why and how I approach accommodations in my teaching and learning design.
Note: The audio dissipates for a brief second at 0:49-0:50. Please use the closed captions to compensate for the loss of my sound there. As you can see, I have recorded the video in my home, not in a studio. Our students will also film their video assignments outside of high-quality studio conditions. Creating equitable video means being able to accept variances in quality that is dependent on available technology. To alleviate sound disruptions, closed captions and the transcript are provided, which can also be used to address other learning needs and preferences.
[Transcript for Video: Lauraâs Approach to Accommodations]
Taanshi kiya everyone, I just wanted to reach out and talk a little bit more about inclusive education and how we have the power to create environments that work for all of our learners. As in the unit, you’ve seen that when we create these kinds of spaces, it works for all. It’s not just those who require an accommodation. When I’m creating my course and creating the online platform that like Nexus or UMLearn that we’re going to use. I think about how best could the learners use this resource? How can I provide space for my learners to be able to acquire the knowledge that I’m hoping that they leave with. When they leave the course. When we receive our accommodation letters from Accessibility Services. They have some common threads to them, regardless of the learner. One of them is around time. So when we think about the purpose of time and the constraints and the due dates that we place, we really have to consider what is it about the time and the timing of that assignment that is so important to us as instructors. And how can we best accommodate our learners? We also have to think about the purpose of exams and testing. Often those who need accommodations require an accommodation to get and receive more time when we’re creating our exams and our spaces to have those exams. I think that we really need to look at, well, what are we trying to have the learner demonstrate what is important to us as an educator that they leave with. Is it that they weren’t able to rote memorize many of the facts that you’ve shared with them? Or is it that they’re able to utilize the things in which you have taught them. If that’d be the case, that may be designing the exam looks a little bit differently. Maybe it’s a take-home exam. Maybe it asks deeper questions. Maybe it isn’t about remembering dates or facts, maybe it is using the formulas as opposed to memorizing the formulas. So when we start thinking about the accommodation letters that we have received in the past. And then we start to think about, well, how can I do and inclusive design to my course that will just naturally accommodate all these learners. Those are two of the things that I know that I do. I also am very cognizant of the fact that not everyone can take up instruction by just simply reading it and they need to hear it. So in my platform at both of the institutions I’ve had the opportunity to teach at. I record videos of me going over the assignments again. Maybe you did do it in class. Maybe you have very clear instructions on the online portal. But some learners, they need time to absorb that. They need to hear it more than once. So, I record it, and I put it in the folder for them to see with the rubric and the instructions. It’s these small little things that show that we care to our learners. All of our learners, regardless of the accommodations needed for a few, that will help everyone in your class. Providing your PowerPoints in the portal afterwards or even before, if you can, with the notes already written, that they would’ve had to take down as quickly as possible. It eliminates the need to have note takers in the class. It eliminates the anxiety that the students might be feeling that they won’t be able to capture everything that is important from the lecture. It is these small things that we can do that again help all of our learners. I’m hopeful that you’ll look into your practice and look at what it is that you’re already doing and what is already being reported to you from Accessibility Services as things that need to be addressed and try to address them for all learners, not just a few who have letters. Kawaapamitin mina! I hope to see you soon.
[Transcript ends]
Your Reflection on Inclusion
Pause and think: Take 2 minutes and think about what you’ve learned in this lesson on inclusion. How would you define it? How can you make your teaching more inclusive based on the ideas provided in this lesson?
âŠ
In the next step, you will watch a summary video and my closing message and review the additional study material and references.
Module Summary
The following video Equity vs. Equality (https://youtu.be/5HD_z4zp93Q) not only provides valuable information about equity and equality but stands as an example of how to bring diversity into your classroom.
Congratulations!
Wahwaa! Maamaskaach! (Awesome! Amazing!) you have completed the first module in your journey to learn more about Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.
In this module, you have learned:
to define equity, diversity, and inclusion
why we are here and why we do the equity work
to incorporate teaching and learning strategies and activities that promote equity, diversity, and inclusion
Creating curiosity about how we can become better educators for all of our learners is the goal of this module. Reflecting on our own practice and asking what we are doing right and where we can improve is all part of being reflective educators driven by our passion for teaching.
Congratulations on starting this journey with Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion today.
-Laura Forsythe
Learn More
Accessibility
OER Accessibility Series and Rubric (https://alg.manifoldapp.org/projects/oer-accessibility-series-and-rubric), licensed CC-BY
âThe OER Accessibility Evaluation Rubric is an evaluation tool for faculty, librarians, instructional designers, and other stakeholders in open educational resources to determine the accessibility of the OER they are creating and/or adopting for use in their courses.â
Note: This tool can be used to evaluate the accessibility of all courses and materials, as it promotes accessibility for all learners. As it is licensed under the Attribution – Creative Commons licence, you can modify it to suit your needs.
Development of the AASPIRE Web Accessibility Guidelines for Autistic Web Users (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6485264/)
âThe guidelines offer recommendations for increasing the physical, intellectual, and social acceptability of websites for use by autistic adults.â
Following the WCAG web accessibility standards is deemed insufficient in addressing the needs of learners on the autistic spectrum. This paper offers concrete guidelines how to design instructional materials for online and hybrid courses.
‘Making Lab-based Courses Inclusive’ (https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/inclusivelabs2/) is an open book published Dr. Allyson MacLean, University of Ottawa. It provides considerations for increasing accessibility of labs and student testimonials.
Free PDF accessibility checker (https://pdfua.foundation/en/pdf-accessibility-checker-pac) – this is a useful tool for anyone who writes learning materials and saves them as PDF files or scans pages from various sources. It is a free tool that provides an in-depth analysis in relation to WCAG and PDF/UA accessibility standards. It also offers a screen reader preview so that you can check if your file will make sense for someone who uses screen reader software.
Course Design Considerations
Simple strategies to improve equity and embrace diversity (https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/inclusiveeducation/) – This open book by Alison Flynn and Jeremy Kerr talks about how to prepare for a more inclusive course. It contains recommendations for writing an inclusive syllabus, office/student hours, assessment, content and classes, etc.
Course Design Considerations for Inclusion and Representation (https://www.qualitymatters.org/qa-resources/resource-center/articles-resources/course-design-inclusion-representation-white-paper), a white paper published by Quality Matters.
Designing Assessments for an Intercultural Class (https://www.algonquincollege.com/lts/designing-assessments-for-an-intercultural-class/) from Algonquin College offers a video and text-based explanation of how to create assessment for diverse cohorts. Diagnostic, formative, and summative assessment types along with the Universal Design for Learning principles are discussed with practical examples of how they can be implemented in courses. Some suggestions for adding intercultural components to assessment are also provided.
Learner Experiences in Higher Education
Indigenous learners – Getting to know the experience of diverse learners helps us as educators understand the various obstacles that challenge them in our classrooms. What I Learned in Class Today: Aboriginal Issues in the Classroom (https://intheclass.arts.ubc.ca/video/) engages discussions and reflections on how to address issues faced by Indigenous learners in post-secondary.
Diverse learners – What I Wish My Professor Know (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pmJNuxyvpA) offers us an insight into some of the issues First-Generation and/or Low-Income Partnership students have experienced at Stanford.
Miscellaneous
Roumy Cheese Analogy for Inclusive Education (https://blog.mahabali.me/pedagogy/roumy-cheese-analogy-first-draft-of-visual-feedback-welcome/) reflects the notion that “different causes of inequity (e.g. racism, ableism, heteropatriarchy) require a variety of different interventions (e.g. culturally relevant pedagogy, UDL, trauma-informed pedagogy) in order to meet the needs of diverse students. Black peppercorns in Roumy cheese represent ways in which some interventions meant to support one group of learners may harm another group” (Maha Bali, 2021.
Supporting multilingual learners – this open book on inclusive pedagogies (https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/inclusivepedagogies/chapter/facilitating-classroom-communication-with-multilingual-students/) by Christina Page at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) in BC offers strategies for supporting multilingual learners. For example, you might want to avoid using metaphors or culturally specific terms. If you can’t avoid using such terms, ensure that all students understand their meaning by providing an explanation or asking students to explain the meaning of the concept. There are many more useful tips in this book.
Interculturalizing the Curriculum (https://kpu.pressbooks.pub/interculturalizingcurriculum/) is a resource on interculturality.
“Developed for the KPU Intercultural Teaching Program, this short book engages educators in two main strands of interculturalizing the curriculum:
Revising curriculum to reflect intercultural learning outcomes, and diverse content from multiple perspectives, and
Supporting student interculturality development.”
Embracing weight diversity – All inclusion conversations must include body diversity topics to address the needs of students- and colleagues-of-size. For example, what kind of chairs do you have in your classroom? 10 Vital Ways to Support Fat Students on Campus (https://sapro.moderncampus.com/blog/10-vital-ways-to-support-fat-students-on-campus) provides great advice to consider in your teaching support and advocacy for students with larger bodies.
To read more about how weight bias has been discussed in courses, explore this Fat Studies 101 (https://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/968) article by Patti L. Watkins. This fat studies reading list (https://dashaunharrison.com/fat-studies-body-and-desirability-politics-a-reading-list/) was prepared by a fat, Black, non-binary person DaâShaun Harrison.
Writing your own territorial acknowledgment (https://www.ualberta.ca/centre-for-teaching-and-learning/teaching-support/indigenization/land-acknowledgements.html) – University of Alberta’s resources on going beyond the script and writing your own land acknowledgement) for your course.
References
Bali, M. (2021) âAnticipatory Compassionate Design in Muslim Fastingâ, Reflecting Allowed [Online]. Available at https://blog.mahabali.me/pedagogy/anticipatory-compassionate-design-in-muslim-fasting/ (Accessed 20 July 2022).
Boise State University (n.d.) âUnderlined Textâ, Webguide [Online]. Available at https://www.boisestate.edu/webguide/accessibility/mastering-web-accessibility/underlined-text/ (Accessed 20 July 2022).
Brant, J. R. (2013) âTranscending Boundaries: An Aboriginal Womanâs Perspective on the Development of Meaningful Educational Opportunities and Online Learningâ, Teaching and Learning, vol. 7, no. 3 [Online]. DOI: 10.26522/tl.v7i3.405 (Accessed 21 July 2022).
Brant, J. (n.d.) https://twitter.com/brant_jenn [Online]. Available at https://twitter.com/brant_jenn (Accessed 9 September 2022).
Brock University | Centre for Pedagogical Innovation (n.d.) Role of Reflection [Online]. Available at https://brocku.ca/pedagogical-innovation/resources/experiential-education/role-of-reflection/ (Accessed 21 July 2022).
Center for Story-based Strategy (n.d.) Tools & Resources NEW [Online]. Available at https://www.storybasedstrategy.org/tools-and-resources (Accessed 6 July 2022).
Disabled and Here (n.d.) Disabled And Here: free stock images (with attribution) [Online]. Available at https://affecttheverb.com/collection/ (Accessed 21 July 2022).
Ep.6.23 Equity vs. Equality (n.d.) Directed by Jostens [Film]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HD_z4zp93Q Accessed 09 September 09 2022.
First Peoples Principles of Learning (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.fnesc.ca/first-peoples-principles-of-learning/ Accessed 18 July 2022.
Interaction Institute for Social Change | Artist: Angus Maguire” Illustrating Equality VS Equity – Interaction Institute for Social Change : Interaction Institute for Social Change
Kampen, M. (2020) 7 Ways to Support Diversity in the Classroom [With Examples] [Online]. Available at https://www.prodigygame.com/main-en/blog/diversity-in-the-classroom/ (Accessed 6 July 2022).
Könings, K. D., Mordang, S., Smeenk, F., Stassen, L. and Ramani, S. (2021) âLearner involvement in the co-creation of teaching and learning: AMEE Guide No. 138â, Medical Teacher, vol. 43, no. 8, pp. 924â936 [Online]. DOI: 10.1080/0142159X.2020.1838464 (Accessed 9 September 2022).
Monash University, Deakin University and The University of Melbourne (n.d.) Feedback for Learning â Closing the assessment loop [Online]. Available at https://feedbackforlearning.org/ (Accessed 20 July 2022).
Peck, C. L., Ingram, L.-A., Herriot, L., Joshee, R., Pashby, K., Sears, A., Thomson, L. and Varma, M. (n.d.) Myths and Misconceptions [Online]. Available at http://teach4diversity.ca/myths-and-misconceptions/ (Accessed 6 July 2022).
Poet Training Tool: A Benetech Initiative (n.d.) Poet Image Description – How to Describe [Online]. Available at https://poet.diagramcenter.org/how.html (Accessed 3 August 2022).
Poley, M. (n.d.) Plus Size Stock Photos [Online]. Available at https://canweallgo.com/plus-size-stock-photos/ (Accessed 22 September 2022).
Pronouns.org Resources on Personal Pronouns (n.d.) Pronouns.org Resources on Personal Pronouns [Online]. Available at https://pronouns.org (Accessed 9 September 2022).
Queenâs University (n.d.) Assessment Types: Diagnostic, Formative and Summative [Online]. Available at https://www.queensu.ca/teachingandlearning/modules/assessments/09_s2_01_intro_section.html (Accessed 22 September 2022).
RRC Polytech (n.d.) âAccessible Documentsâ, Student Accessibility Services [Online]. Available at https://www.rrc.ca/accessibility/assistive-technology/creating-accessible-documents/ (Accessed 9 September 2022).
Stachowiak, B. and Costa, K. (2021) Supporting ADHD Learners, with Karen Costa [Online]. Available at https://teachinginhighered.com/podcast/supporting-adhd-learners/ (Accessed 9 September 2022).
UBC and Queenâs University (n.d.) 1.2 What Do We Mean By âInclusive Teachingâ?âŻ: Inclusive Teaching [Online]. Available at https://canvas.ubc.ca/courses/31444/pages/1-dot-2-what-do-we-mean-by-inclusive-teaching?module_item_id=1203083 (Accessed 6 July 2022).
UDL on Campus: Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education (n.d.) Learning Goals [Online]. Available at http://udloncampus.cast.org/page/planning_goal (Accessed 9 September 2022).
What is a Critical Reflection? Introducing the âWhat, So What, Now Whatâ Model (n.d.) Directed by U of G Library [Film].
Winkelmes, M.-A. (2013) âTransparent Assignment Templateâ, [Online]. Available at https://tilthighered.com/assets/pdffiles/Transparent%20Assignment%20Template.pdf.
Xu, X., Robinson, N. and Winters, N. (2021) Pronouncing studentsâ names correctly: the whys and hows [Online]. Available at https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/pronouncing-students-names-correctly-whys-and-hows (Accessed 3 August 2022).
https://genderphotos.vice.com/ (n.d.) The Gender Spectrum Collection by Broadly: Stock Photos Beyond the Binary [Online]. (Accessed 21 July 2022).
http://udloncampus.cast.org/page/assessment_udl (n.d.) UDL On Campus: UDL and Assessment [Online]. (Accessed 2 August 2022).
Your evaluation of this module (6 mins, anonymous survey)