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Tip sheet for promoting inclusive learning
Note: the ideas below draw from the wisdom and experiences of numerous educators.
They are offered as suggestions and invitations rather than as ‘rules to follow.’
Special thanks to colleagues at Middlebury College’s Center for the Comparative
Study of Race and Ethnicity, and the Center for Teaching, Research, and Learning for
their contributions to this tip sheet.
1. Strive for incremental changes and learning in your courses
2. Consider establishing ground rules/ shared expectations/agreements with the
class at the outset of a course. Document how the group wants to address hard
interactions and awkward moments.
3. Class Climate: across your course integrate and make explicit practices that
demonstrate a commitment to value diversity and inclusiveness.
4. Confirm that physical spaces, materials, equipment, and activities are
accessible to all users.
5. Consider having nameplates that can be used across the term of the course.
Invite participants to call one another by the names they have offered.
Preferred gender pronouns might also be included on the nameplates.
6. Creating multiple opportunities for people to introduce themselves to other
members of the class may help promote community and learning connections
7. Encourage regular interaction between professor(s) and students, and among
students.
8. Provide printed materials early. As much as possible, provide printed materials
in electronic format.
9. Offer visual descriptions and interpretations of visual materials (such as
photographs, maps, graphs, and illustrations)
10.Mistakes will happen. This comes with risk taking. Learn from these and
continue to grow.
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11.Ask for clarification or reframing of an idea or question offered rather than
assume the full meaning or motivation of an expression; encourage others to do
the same.
a. Example: “I’m sorry, I’m not sure what you mean by [the
term/reference/idea expressed]. Can you explain that?
b. Example: “I’m not sure I’m following that point/idea/question. Can you
say more?”
12.Work with silence: space doesn’t always need to be filled with talking and
silence sometimes may allow others to process more deeply and then
contribute ideas.
13. Try not to speak when your back is to the room (such as when you’re writing
on a board). Model face-to-face communication.
14. Make sure sources are in widely accessible formats
a. Example: Films have captions; audio files have transcripts; websites and
digital documents—like PDFs—comply with universal design principles
15.Provide an explicit moment for students/audience members to examine a visual
source before you begin talking about it (this includes text on PowerPoint
slides, and images accompanying presentations/lectures/discussions).
16. Separate the person from the issue or the statement: address and engage
critically with the issues or ideas expressed rather than critique the human
being who expressed the idea.
17. Invite others to share alternate perspectives
a. Note: Avoid calling on a specific student because of their perceived or
actual identities. Resist assuming that someone is an expert on a subject
because of their perceived or actual identities.
18.Be honest: if you don’t know about something, don’t try to bluff.
19.Welcome the expertise of others in the classroom
20.Consider ways to gather feedback and assessment from students (on
accessibility, engagement with issues of diversity, and inclusion)
21.Consider and clarify terms you use.
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a. Example: words like ‘we’ suggest a universal experience but often
silence or dismiss people who have different
experiences/values/viewpoints.
b. Example: define key vocabulary, mathematical expressions, and
symbols, and consider alternate ways representations of the
terms/concepts/symbols (such as images rather than text, or different
words to complement symbols).
22. Share how your own understandings and engagements with the issue(s) under
consideration has/is evolving and the work you’ve done to come to this place
of understanding.
23. Assess the value and relevance of materials, including complementary visual
aids; consider removing unnecessary or distracting components, saving time to
engage more fully with the priority sources and topics.
24. Model flexibility in teaching approaches, assessment, assignments, and
interactions.
a. Example: if the group is engaged in difficult conversation, don’t stop
them. Sometimes this may be a more meaningful learning experience
than the activities you had planned.
b. Consider alternate ways knowledge can be conveyed [by you and by
students]
25. Attend to the pace of communication: rushing through information can create
learning barriers.
26.Keep a tips/reflection journal. Often great ideas for responses to awkward
moments occur after that moment has passed. Document the idea—you might
be able to use it next time.
27. Examine your curricula and look for opportunities to integrate more diverse
topics, scholars, and/or activities that encourage thoughtful engagement.
28. Exchange ideas with colleagues from this workshop and across your college—
keep the learning interactive and sustained.