On Monday April 19th we held the first the of six workshops in the "Collaborative Connections" workshop series. Here is a condensed version of what we did.
Message to participants:
In this first workshop we will develop a mindset for all of our future interactions in a effective collaborative community. Instead of discussing diversity as something we should know about in order not to offend people, we will instead focus on why how we as an academic community benefit and thrive from diversity.
In the first part of the workshop we will identify how we as individuals contribute to the diversity in this room, and in other academic settings and discuss how this can affect us as learners. In the second part we will create techniques to use in the classroom to make the learning environment more accessible to others.
We have identified the following learning goals for this workshop:
Since today we are going to be talking about topics that are sometimes
emotionally charged, we thought it would be a good idea to establish some community agreements concerning how we communicate with each other in the classroom.
(Last three agreements were contributed by participants)
Next we are going to do an activity that is intended to generate discussion about diversity. We are going to ask you a few questions, but you don't need to answer them if you don't feel comfortable doing so. As we ask the questions, feel free to look around the room and see ow others are responding.
As you answer I will count and write down a number for each category. Please raise your hand if you....
identify as female,
identify as male,
identify as African American,
identify as Asian,
identify as Hispanic,
identify as white,
are an international student.
Now everyone turn to your neighbor and discuss what just happened, and if it evoked an emotion, how did it make you feel?
Themes that came up:
- many don't like being put in categories
- many felt the categories not represent their personal identity (categories were missing)
- the categories were unclear, ethnicity, nationality, and cultural identity are different, and this list does not acount for that
- it was uncomfortable to be placed into a category
- it was uncomfortable watching to see what categories each identified with
Here is how the University talks about diversity:
From the UCD Student Affairs Research site:
What types of diversity are missing? What are all the different ways people can identify that might change their perceptions?
Students then wrote a bunch of different ways we can be diverse. Instead of talking about specific labels (ex: queer, straight, bisexual, gay...) we instead talked about avenues of diversity (ex: sexual orientation). We are sure there are more, but in the 10 minutes we gave this is the extensive list we and the participants came up with. We had them come up and write them on the board. Here they are in no particular order:
health, primary language, family’s educational backgroud, major, level of sports participation, military service, personality, family position, region of origin, sex, coping style, gender, aspirations, relationship status, learning style, reproductive status, age, educational status, major/minor, hometown/place of origin, Familial college history, reason you are in school, perspectives, political orientation, ethnicity, experience, motivation, beliefs, orals, background, class, race, religion, ability, self-expression style, educational heritage, sexual orientation, minority experience
Now we are going to create a diversity web. We are going to circle each word on the board that represents a strong part of our identity, and link them together if they are related. For instance, my gender (female) is a strong part of my identity, and this influences my perspectives. Because my gender sets me apart in my major, I feel I have different motivations, and reasons for being in school than my peers. Circling and linking these items provides a visual representation for how different types of diverse avenues intersect and overlap.
Here is what our board looked like after many participants represented how they contribute to diversity.
So why does this all matter anyway? It seems like we all contribute to diversity in some way, why should we examine all the ways in which students in your classroom can be diverse? There are a lot of reasons, but one way we can quantify it is by looking at student prospected retention.
The three items in red are directly related to community, which you can facilitate in your classroom by being inclusive. But it's not only important to be inclusive because students will be more likely to feel comfortable and therefore remain in school, there are some really easy ways your classroom can benefit from diversity.
How is diversity in the classroom beneficial?
Participant generated responses:
- Students can learn from different experiences & perspectives
- It makes class more interesting to hear diverse opinions
- By recognizing diversity, you can make learning more widely accessible
- Students are exposed to different ways of thinking (both philosophical, and with problem solving)
- This makes the classroom more robust
- Students bring complementary knowledge to the table
- It can encourage debate and inspire change
- It makes students more well rounded to be exposed to different perspectives
- Students are exposed to different problem solving approaches
Next we will talk a little more explicitly about how diversity effects our classrooms. We will split into 4 groups, and each group will have one of the five terms: Teach, Learn, Research, Communicate, or Collaborate.
In your groups you will discuss how diversity in the classroom and on campus affects your group's term.
Finally we will apply what we have learned in our groups by turning them into a skit. Each group will use some of the ideas generated in their small groups concerning their term, (Teach, Learn, Research, Communicate, or Collaborate) and connect it to a positive classroom benefit.
Skits are difficult to recount, but the main themes were students benefitting from different learning styles, and students not being able to participate without being part of a community.
We will now pass out a hand out that offers a number of strategies you can use to promote inclusion in your classroom.
HANDOUT:
These ideas are intended to help you work effectively with the broad range of students enrolled in your classes. They are based on current research and on teaching practices of faculty.
- Become aware of any biases or stereotypes you may have absorbed. For example, some faculty and TAs on occasion collectively call undergraduates 'unmotivated,' or even 'uneducated.'
- Treat each student as an individual. Try not to project your experiences with, feelings about, or expectations of an entire group onto any one student. For example, some TAs occasionally have trouble with lying or cheating students, but this does not mean it should be assumed most would do this if given the opportunity.
- Monitor the climate in your classroom. Ask students to let you know if you inadvertently offend them. If your class is small, consider opening up a dialogue with each student individually (either via email or short 5 or 10 minute office hour appointments) so you may know a little more about your students. Conduct a mid quarter evaluation to let your students weigh in about the classroom environment. Consider adding questions such as these to your course evaluations:· Does the instructor treat students equally and evenhandedly?· How comfortable do you feel participating in this class? What makes it easy or difficult for you?· Do you have suggestions for encouraging open and candid discussion in class?
- Recognize the complexity of diversity. Avoid making assumptions about students based on only one of their groups characteristics and neglecting the complexities in their lives and experiences.
Communicating and Fostering Respect
- Be attentive to terminology. Terminology changes over time, and individuals within groups can disagree about preferred designations. Ask your students which terminology they prefer. For example, some students may prefer 'African American' whereas others may prefer 'black'. Some Asian Americans may prefer to be identified not by a continent, but by the nationality of their ancestors – 'Thai American', or 'Japanese American.' Learn about groups other than your own.
- Convey the same level of confidence in the abilities of all your students. Students who believe that they belong to a stigmatized group can result in underperfromance. “Stereotype threat” occurs when a student’s anxieties about confirming a negative stereotype can cause the student to perform poorly. Convey your clear conviction in each student’s intellectual potential.
- Be evenhanded in acknowledging students’ accomplishments. Praise students for good work, but avoid lavish displays that may make students uncomfortable (“why is s/he so surprised that I’m doing well?”) Note in some cultures being singled out for personal accomplishments is neither valued or appreciated.
- Be aware of possible misinterpretatioins of students’ nonverbal behaviors. Many behaviors vary across cultural groups.
Pedagogical Approaches
- Use inclusive language and examples. For example, use ‘parenting’ rather than ‘mothering’, ‘house of worship’ rather than ‘church’, ‘partner’ rather than ‘boyfriend’. Avoid comments that diminish students’ perspectives (“don’t be so sensitive”) or make assumptions about students’ lives (“when your parents were in college…”). Draw examples from a variety of cultural and social contexts.
- Learn to correctly pronounce students’ names.
- Look for opportunities to give personal attention and validation to students.
- Assign group work and collaborative learning activities. Group work can reduce prejudice and bias by giving students opportunities to interact with others from different backgrounds.
Course Content and Material
- Try to select texts and readings whose language is gender neutral and free of stereotypes. Aim for an inclusive curriculum. Try to structure your course so that students view concepts, themes, and events from diverse perspectives.· Assign texts and readings that reflect scholarship and research about previously underrepresented groups.· Discuss the contributions made to your field by historically underrepresented groups.· Describe how recent scholarship about gender, race, sexual identity, and class is changing your field of study.
- Do not assume that all students will recognize cultural, literary, or historical references familiar to you.
- Bring in guest lecturers.
Class Discussion
- Emphasize the importance of considering different approaches. Show students different viewpoints and encourage them to evaluate their own beliefs.
- Make it clear that you value all comments.
- Encourage all students to participate in class discussion. Try to prevent any one group of students from monopolizing the discussion. Solicit alternate viewpoints.
- Speak up if a student makes a distastefull remark-even jokingly. Students make take your silence as condoning the behavior.
- Do not treat students as spokespersons for their demographic group. Asking a student to speak for his/her entire group ignores the heterogeneity of viewpoints among members and reinforces the idea that every member is an authority on his/her group.
Assignments and Exams
- Be sensitive to students whose first language is not English.
- Help students form study teams. Peer support is an important factor in student persistence in school. By arranging for times and rooms where groups can meet you can encourage students to make friends beyone their personal networks.
- Give assignments and exams that recognize students’ diverse backgrounds and special interests.
- Use a variety of names in classroom examples and test questions.
END HANDOUT
Final thoughts: Please think about all we have discussed today and think of one change you are going to make in your classroom.
Homework:
}Reflect on what happened for you during this workshop
}Think about what ‘being inclusive’ means to you. Email a paragraph to tac@ucdavis.edu with the subject ‘being inclusive’
Also visit these difficult questions:
}If you treat everyone identically, are you favoring everyone?
}Is it possible to “level the playing field in the classroom”? What does this mean? Should you try?
Thanks for coming!
In order to illustrate how different presentation styles can be utilized for different learning goals, Sarah D gave an example of a freshman seminar she hopes to teach on "The Amazing World of Ants." The main goal of this seminar would be to awaken students to the fascinating behavior, ecology, and life history of ants and make them excited about these animals, rather than afraid of them. In order to do that, she would be best served by being enthusiastic and exciting when presenting information. Sarah A gave a contrasting example of a class she has taught in Gender Studies on sexual assault. It would behoove her to assume a more serious tone in a class of this sort and place an emphasis on making people feel comfortable enough to discuss such serious issues.
In order to illustrate how different presentation styles can be utilized for different learning goals, Sarah D gave an example of a freshman seminar she hopes to teach on "The Amazing World of Ants." The main goal of this seminar would be to awaken students to the fascinating behavior, ecology, and life history of ants and make them excited about these animals, rather than afraid of them. In order to do that, she would be best served by being enthusiastic and exciting when presenting information. Sarah A gave a contrasting example of a class she has taught in Gender Studies on sexual assault. It would behoove her to assume a more serious tone in a class of this sort and place an emphasis on making people feel comfortable enough to discuss such serious issues.
