Inclusive Pedagogy Toolkit

This week, I would like to share this 2021 resource from the Georgetown University Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship entitled, "Inclusive Pedagogy Toolkit." Many of you have already designed your courses integrating purposeful, accessible, universal design, perhaps including some of the prior resources that I have shared from the University of Michigan's Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (2019); or How to Make Your Teaching More Inclusive by Sathy and Hogan (2019). In the new Georgetown toolkit, they "offer concrete suggestions for designing inclusive, antiracist learning environments through five key interconnected aspects of teaching and learning relevant to all courses."

The five key aspects include Content, Pedagogy, Assessment, Climate and Power. The Pedagogy area reminds us that our "course design choices should encompass explicit learning goals, transparent assignments and criteria, and engaging active learning activities that stimulate and challenge students to bring their strengths to the table." This section also provides links to specific resources:

• Offer multiple, diverse, and active ways to know, engage, and contribute;

• Be explicit about pedagogical decisions;

• Prepare for challenging moments by establishing classroom expectations and guidelines;

• Develop strategies to address challenging classroom moments directly; and

• Examine your own biases so that they won’t unconsciously influence your approach or reaction to students.

In addition, their Assessment section reminds us that "inclusive assessment includes considerations of purpose and intent of the practice; clear criteria; motivation and retention; and formative, low-stakes opportunities that allow students to monitor their own progress. Inclusive assessment is about being thoughtful so that you can measure student learning."

• Be explicit about your assessment criteria and how they relate to learning outcomes with successful examples;

• Think beyond tests and papers; give students multiple ways to reflect and demonstrate their learning;

• Create opportunities for students to make their learning visible; and

• Create low-stakes opportunities for students to practice before they are asked to perform.