Inclusive Pedagogy FLC Report
Provost Faculty Summit – April 12, 2019
Dave Concepcion and John Anderson - Facilitators
SLIDE 3 - Slide of names of Facilitators and Participants
I thoroughly enjoyed participating in the FLC this year. It is the 4th FLC I’ve participated in and I always learn a lot from the facilitators and colleagues from other departments.
(WHY)
SLIDE 4 – the basic goal of inclusive pedagogy is to create an educational space that works for all students
We want give everyone an equal chance to succeed by reducing the baseline of inequality as much as possible.
This starts by recognizing that the culture that students come from contributes a lot to their success, along with the relationship they have with the teacher.
SLIDE 5 – Start with self-awareness.
Dave Conception and John Anderson guided our group in an attempt to make deep and meaningful reflection on ourselves as teachers and more broadly as people. It helps to be vulnerable if you are attempting a personal transformation but this can be hard to do in a setting with a group of faculty in higher education.
(HOW)
Reflect on your story. We started the workshop by reflecting on our stories and where we came from. Who are you? What are your expectations? How do they impact how you interact with your students? What assumptions are you making, and how is that creating the conditions in class for a person like yourself to succeed if you were a student based on your strengths and interests?
How are you projecting yourself? Just being yourself makes it harder for some students to succeed.
This process made us more conscious of our privileges. For example, I grew up in faculty housing at Stanford University. For me it was not a question of whether I was going to go to college, it was “what would you like to study?” and “which graduate school are you going to go to?” How much privilege you have affects what you can see in your students. It makes it harder for me to relate to those who are the first in their family to go to college, and who are working and going into debt to pay for their education.
Implicit Biases - We went through some online questionnaires that are designed to show you what implicit biases you have. The human mind depends on unconscious mental shortcuts and generalizations just to get through the day. When these shortcuts intersect with identity groups, however, they can be dangerous. Without even realizing it, you have a picture in your mind of what a “good student in the major” looks like, and maybe that picture has a very particular demographic profile. We’re all equipped with brains that work this way, so we all have bias of one form or another. The question isn’t “Am I biased?”” but rather “What are my biases, and what am I going to do about them?”
Expert bias. We are all experts in our field and therefore likely to be operating with expert bias. It’s hard to sympathize with someone who is confused because we aren’t confused. It is natural when you have specialized knowledge to get frustrated when you have to answer the same questions over and over and to start to think less of the people asking the questions.
The kind of people who end up being professors have probably had a certain amount of privilege. It is unlikely that we got here just as a result of luck. Yes, we have all worked hard in order to get positions in academia, but we were fortunate to have landed in places where we could be challenged and there were doors waiting to be opened. Research shows that we tend to explain our behavior based on our external environment, whereas we explain other peoples’ behavior based on their internal traits.
Students enter the class from different backgrounds. The culture they come from is a major determinant of success, perhaps more than readiness or work ethic. Usually in the past I’ve emphasized the importance of having a good work ethic, and assumed that students who didn’t turn their work in on time just didn’t care enough. Later I started to consider their readiness and tried to stop assuming that they had certain skills and knowledge. It has been interesting to examine my attitudes this year. I think this reflection needs to tap into the limbic center of the brain, the non-verbal part that deals with emotions, and is the seat of decision making.
SLIDE 6 – Keys to Inclusive Pedagogy
1. Diversify the curriculum. Choose topics of natural interest to a wider group, using media where students can see themselves.
2. Create a social mood in the classroom where everyone knows and feels that they can share, that they are a person of standing and are respected.
3. Learning activities should give everyone an opportunity to be successful. Don’t assume prior knowledge unless you’ve verified that they have it. Provide instructions and show how to do things.
4. Think about whether the artifacts used for assessment are equally producible by all. Grade anonymously when possible.
5. Are you the kind of person who has reflected on your biases, and put mechanisms in place to counter them. Are you truly learning-centered? Are you working on becoming a better person?
SLIDE 7 – BLACK
(WHAT) – My project
The technical parts of my project included redesigning the syllabus and first day experience to be more welcoming. I’m including the statement “I am committed to being as inclusive as possible. If I do something wrong, I have the capacity to ask forgiveness and learn.” I tell them that if they have difficulties of any sort to come see me before their grade suffers.
I have redone my materials in Canvas with a focus on universal design, submitted a proposal for a conference presentation on inclusive pedagogy, revised one of the main units, and had my materials checked by Carlos Taylor for accessibility. It was interesting to watch a blind person navigate my online course materials and this led me to make changes, like posting handouts as Word files rather than PDFs.
PERSONAL ISSUES
I’d like to thank the Provost for recommending me for tenure. I am awaiting the final decision from the Trustees at their meeting next month. After many years of having my nose to the grindstone and going through re-education in the promotion & tenure process I was looking forward to getting some work-life balance and finally getting involved in the Southside community. Like they say, “be careful what you wish for.” This year I’ve gone through some changes in my personal situation. I moved from a large residence on the Ball State side of the tracks into a smaller, dilapidated house on the other side of tracks. By the way, there isn’t just one set of tracks. I’ve discovered that there at least 5 of them. The roof leaks and we don’t have internet or central heat. I blend in with the people getting online and warming up at the public library. I ride my bike, walk and take the bus to work. I go to the other Walmart, and shop at the other Goodwill. Three policemen banged on my front door in the middle of the night in full battle gear looking for the guy who lived there before I moved in. I had asked that we discuss intersectional identity and pronouns in the FLC because I realized I was behind the curve. I am more comfortable with the issues now and started including my pronouns in my email signature, not because I think that my students don’t know how to refer to me, but as a signal that they are welcome to introduce themselves however they prefer. Now my housemate is transgender and coming off of a heroin addiction and 20 months of homelessness. I’m discovering the “real Muncie” and no longer feel uncomfortable around houses with boarded up windows. My main axis of navigation has shifted from McGalliard and Wheeling to Walnut, Williard, Liberty, and 8th Avenue.
This has been a real “immersive experience”, and the participation in the Inclusive Pedagogy workshop has been helpful by providing a framework to work through the changes I am having in perspective, and coming up with ways to create more inclusive learning spaces in my classes.
I know what I’m dealing with is not anything to the degree of what some of the people who live around me face. I haven’t spent years trying to get through their maze. I still have a cushy job and comfortable office. I have health insurance and a plastic card that I can use to buy whatever I need. I’ve walked less than a mile in my neighbors’ shoes, but I’ve at least tried them on and in the process have become a little more empathetic. I’ve noticed that I am more understanding with my students when they tell me they can’t afford the textbook, or that working full time is making it hard to keep up. Some of my students may be dealing with things I don’t know about, like being housing or food insecure, or are taking care of sick family members or loved ones. I understand better now that if someone turns in an assignment late it may not just be a sign that they have a weak work, ethic or don’t care enough to follow the schedule in the syllabus.
I’ve been reaching out more to students that I see struggling than I did in the past, and try to engage them in coming up with a plan to catch up rather than waiting for them to ask for help. I put a copy of the textbook on reserve in the library and eliminated the requirement to use the TopHat polling software system I had been using, so now there are no extra expenses required to take the class.
And finally, I try to return regularly to the questionsDave proposed in the workshop: “What do each of my students need from me, to do with them, and to do for them, so they can learn as much as possible today?”
Provost Faculty Summit – April 12, 2019
Dave Concepcion and John Anderson - Facilitators
SLIDE 3 - Slide of names of Facilitators and Participants
I thoroughly enjoyed participating in the FLC this year. It is the 4th FLC I’ve participated in and I always learn a lot from the facilitators and colleagues from other departments.
(WHY)
SLIDE 4 – the basic goal of inclusive pedagogy is to create an educational space that works for all students
We want give everyone an equal chance to succeed by reducing the baseline of inequality as much as possible.
This starts by recognizing that the culture that students come from contributes a lot to their success, along with the relationship they have with the teacher.
SLIDE 5 – Start with self-awareness.
Dave Conception and John Anderson guided our group in an attempt to make deep and meaningful reflection on ourselves as teachers and more broadly as people. It helps to be vulnerable if you are attempting a personal transformation but this can be hard to do in a setting with a group of faculty in higher education.
(HOW)
Reflect on your story. We started the workshop by reflecting on our stories and where we came from. Who are you? What are your expectations? How do they impact how you interact with your students? What assumptions are you making, and how is that creating the conditions in class for a person like yourself to succeed if you were a student based on your strengths and interests?
How are you projecting yourself? Just being yourself makes it harder for some students to succeed.
This process made us more conscious of our privileges. For example, I grew up in faculty housing at Stanford University. For me it was not a question of whether I was going to go to college, it was “what would you like to study?” and “which graduate school are you going to go to?” How much privilege you have affects what you can see in your students. It makes it harder for me to relate to those who are the first in their family to go to college, and who are working and going into debt to pay for their education.
Implicit Biases - We went through some online questionnaires that are designed to show you what implicit biases you have. The human mind depends on unconscious mental shortcuts and generalizations just to get through the day. When these shortcuts intersect with identity groups, however, they can be dangerous. Without even realizing it, you have a picture in your mind of what a “good student in the major” looks like, and maybe that picture has a very particular demographic profile. We’re all equipped with brains that work this way, so we all have bias of one form or another. The question isn’t “Am I biased?”” but rather “What are my biases, and what am I going to do about them?”
Expert bias. We are all experts in our field and therefore likely to be operating with expert bias. It’s hard to sympathize with someone who is confused because we aren’t confused. It is natural when you have specialized knowledge to get frustrated when you have to answer the same questions over and over and to start to think less of the people asking the questions.
The kind of people who end up being professors have probably had a certain amount of privilege. It is unlikely that we got here just as a result of luck. Yes, we have all worked hard in order to get positions in academia, but we were fortunate to have landed in places where we could be challenged and there were doors waiting to be opened. Research shows that we tend to explain our behavior based on our external environment, whereas we explain other peoples’ behavior based on their internal traits.
Students enter the class from different backgrounds. The culture they come from is a major determinant of success, perhaps more than readiness or work ethic. Usually in the past I’ve emphasized the importance of having a good work ethic, and assumed that students who didn’t turn their work in on time just didn’t care enough. Later I started to consider their readiness and tried to stop assuming that they had certain skills and knowledge. It has been interesting to examine my attitudes this year. I think this reflection needs to tap into the limbic center of the brain, the non-verbal part that deals with emotions, and is the seat of decision making.
SLIDE 6 – Keys to Inclusive Pedagogy
1. Diversify the curriculum. Choose topics of natural interest to a wider group, using media where students can see themselves.
2. Create a social mood in the classroom where everyone knows and feels that they can share, that they are a person of standing and are respected.
3. Learning activities should give everyone an opportunity to be successful. Don’t assume prior knowledge unless you’ve verified that they have it. Provide instructions and show how to do things.
4. Think about whether the artifacts used for assessment are equally producible by all. Grade anonymously when possible.
5. Are you the kind of person who has reflected on your biases, and put mechanisms in place to counter them. Are you truly learning-centered? Are you working on becoming a better person?
SLIDE 7 – BLACK
(WHAT) – My project
The technical parts of my project included redesigning the syllabus and first day experience to be more welcoming. I’m including the statement “I am committed to being as inclusive as possible. If I do something wrong, I have the capacity to ask forgiveness and learn.” I tell them that if they have difficulties of any sort to come see me before their grade suffers.
I have redone my materials in Canvas with a focus on universal design, submitted a proposal for a conference presentation on inclusive pedagogy, revised one of the main units, and had my materials checked by Carlos Taylor for accessibility. It was interesting to watch a blind person navigate my online course materials and this led me to make changes, like posting handouts as Word files rather than PDFs.
PERSONAL ISSUES
I’d like to thank the Provost for recommending me for tenure. I am awaiting the final decision from the Trustees at their meeting next month. After many years of having my nose to the grindstone and going through re-education in the promotion & tenure process I was looking forward to getting some work-life balance and finally getting involved in the Southside community. Like they say, “be careful what you wish for.” This year I’ve gone through some changes in my personal situation. I moved from a large residence on the Ball State side of the tracks into a smaller, dilapidated house on the other side of tracks. By the way, there isn’t just one set of tracks. I’ve discovered that there at least 5 of them. The roof leaks and we don’t have internet or central heat. I blend in with the people getting online and warming up at the public library. I ride my bike, walk and take the bus to work. I go to the other Walmart, and shop at the other Goodwill. Three policemen banged on my front door in the middle of the night in full battle gear looking for the guy who lived there before I moved in. I had asked that we discuss intersectional identity and pronouns in the FLC because I realized I was behind the curve. I am more comfortable with the issues now and started including my pronouns in my email signature, not because I think that my students don’t know how to refer to me, but as a signal that they are welcome to introduce themselves however they prefer. Now my housemate is transgender and coming off of a heroin addiction and 20 months of homelessness. I’m discovering the “real Muncie” and no longer feel uncomfortable around houses with boarded up windows. My main axis of navigation has shifted from McGalliard and Wheeling to Walnut, Williard, Liberty, and 8th Avenue.
This has been a real “immersive experience”, and the participation in the Inclusive Pedagogy workshop has been helpful by providing a framework to work through the changes I am having in perspective, and coming up with ways to create more inclusive learning spaces in my classes.
I know what I’m dealing with is not anything to the degree of what some of the people who live around me face. I haven’t spent years trying to get through their maze. I still have a cushy job and comfortable office. I have health insurance and a plastic card that I can use to buy whatever I need. I’ve walked less than a mile in my neighbors’ shoes, but I’ve at least tried them on and in the process have become a little more empathetic. I’ve noticed that I am more understanding with my students when they tell me they can’t afford the textbook, or that working full time is making it hard to keep up. Some of my students may be dealing with things I don’t know about, like being housing or food insecure, or are taking care of sick family members or loved ones. I understand better now that if someone turns in an assignment late it may not just be a sign that they have a weak work, ethic or don’t care enough to follow the schedule in the syllabus.
I’ve been reaching out more to students that I see struggling than I did in the past, and try to engage them in coming up with a plan to catch up rather than waiting for them to ask for help. I put a copy of the textbook on reserve in the library and eliminated the requirement to use the TopHat polling software system I had been using, so now there are no extra expenses required to take the class.
And finally, I try to return regularly to the questionsDave proposed in the workshop: “What do each of my students need from me, to do with them, and to do for them, so they can learn as much as possible today?”