Inclusive Teaching

​​​​​​​ Hockings (2010) defines inclusive teaching as a range of intentional strategies that “engage students in learning that is meaningful, relevant and accessible to all.” The University of Michigan offers a more detailed explanation of inclusive teaching that emphasizes the importance of identifying how systemic inequities and bias influence learning: 

“Inclusive teaching involves deliberately cultivating a learning environment where all students are treated equitably, have equal access to learning, and feel valued and supported in their learning. Such teaching attends to social identities and seeks to change the ways systemic inequities shape dynamics in teaching-learning spaces, affect individuals’ experiences of those spaces, and influence course and curriculum design.” 

Inclusive teaching practices are beneficial for all students and can be applied in any discipline, field, or teaching and learning context. Incorporating inclusive teaching practices requires planning, ongoing reflection, and revision, and will help instructors to create welcoming and productive learning environments. 

Essential Elements of Inclusive Courses

Creating learning experiences that are purposeful, relevant and accessible to all your students requires advanced planning. When designing inclusive courses, you should ask the following questions (adapted from NYU’s “Inclusive Curriculum Design and Assessment Practices” toolkit): 

• Are the learning experiences accessible for all students? 
• Do the course policies take into account the different challenges students may encounter?
  
• Does the course content provide diverse perspectives, including those that are often marginalized?
  
• Are the assessments designed for improvement?
• Do students have the opportunity to demonstrate learning in more than one way?

Use DePaul's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Partners, Resources, and Programs 

DePaul has a valuable set of partners, resources, and programs that you can use to help ensure your classes are inclusive and effective. 

Use Teaching and Learning Frameworks to Design Accessible Courses 

Teaching and learning frameworks can serve as guidelines or conceptual maps to help design learning experiences that are accessible for all students. Read more​ about how to use Backward Design and Universal Design for Learning. 

Set an Inclusive Foundation 

• Help to ensure equitable access to course texts and materials, by using course library reserves and Open Educational Resources (OER). Review some options for learning materials. 
• Use your syllabus and the first days of class to start creating an inclusive learning environment. See The Syllabus for more information on creating an effective syllabus. See The First Day of Class for strategies to help create a respectful and welcoming classroom environment. 

Use D2L Tools to Create Accessible and Inclusive Courses

• Add due dates to help students plan and manage time
• Document student grades and provide feedback in Grades
• Use headings in html pages in Content
• Use a consistent Content organization system 
• Use completion tracking 
  
• Record Zoom lectures 
  
• Pre-record lectures when possible
• Caption your lectures ​

Be an Anti-Racist Educator 

See Being an Anti-Racist Educator for resources to help develop explicit anti-racist agendas in your courses and academic work. As Buffie Longmire-Avital and Peter Felten argue in What Inclusive Instructors Do: Principles and Practices for Excellent in College Teaching, "To be an inclusive instructor is to critique and challenge traditions, systems, and structures that were constructed to exclude and to marginalize" (x).

Diversify Your Curriculum 

Diversifying your course content is one way to foster an inclusive learning environment. See Diversifying the Curriculum for suggestions. 

Consider DePaul Student Diversity and Create a Welcoming Learning Community

DePaul students have diverse social identities. See Diversity and Socia​​l Identities at DePaul​ for more information about DePaul’s student body and for strategies to help you create a welcoming learning community. 

Reflect on Cultural Assumptions and Working with International Students

See Cultural Variations for some tools to help you and students learn more about how culture impacts thoughts, values, beliefs, and actions. 

Identify Unconscious and Implicit Bias 

Facilitate Difficult Discussions