How Does My Background Influence My Teaching?

Faculty, staff, and students do not leave their values, cultures, genders, and ethnicities at the door when they enter to teach and learn, but rather bring all of those identities with them into the learning experience. Cultural competence is a personal awareness of one’s own worldview that grows when you critically examine your ideas, assumptions, and values; articulate where and how your worldview has developed; and share your own background and experiences with students. It is also fostered when you expand your knowledge of other cultures. Use one of the provided resources to assess your current level of cultural competence.

• Resource: Cultural Competence Self-assessment Checklist
• Resource: Cultural Competence Self-assessment Tool

We are all located at the intersection of multiple identities. Intersectionality refers to how your different identities (e.g., race, gender, religion, age, sexual orientation, ability or disability, socioeconomic status) intersect and affect your lived experience and well-being. The importance of one identity over another changes with time and with circumstances. It’s important to understand both your multiple identities and how intersectionality impacts your classroom. Use the Social Identity Wheel Activity to learn more about your own intersectionality or learn more about this topic in the recommended reading.

• Resource: Social Identity Wheel Activity
• Resource: Intersectionality in Action: A Guide for Faculty and Campus Leaders for Creating Inclusive Classrooms and Institutions by Peter Felten & Brooke Barnett (2023). ISBN: 9781000981377.

Implicit bias refers to attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions unconsciously. We all have biases. They can be favorable or unfavorable and are activated involuntarily causing us to have feelings and attitudes about other people based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, gender, ability level, age, or appearance. They develop over the course of our lifetime beginning at a very early age through exposure to direct and indirect messages. It’s important to understand any biases you have of which you may be unaware and how they may unintentionally create a barrier to learning for others. To understand some of your own biases, take one of the tests developed by Project Implicit at Harvard University. You can also learn more by watching the Jennifer Eberhardt TedTalk or reading her book.

• Resource: Harvard Implicit Association Test
• Resource: Ted Talk by Jennifer Eberhardt
• Resource: Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do by Dr. Jennifer L. Eberhardt (2019). ISBN: 9780735224933

How Inclusive is My Course and What Can I Do to Improve It?

To assess how inclusive your classroom is, you should use a multi-faceted approach that includes self-reflection, gathering direct student feedback, and requesting peer feedback on your teaching practices. No single method provides a complete picture, so examining data from different sources is most effective. Once you gather this data, it should help you identify what you can do to improve your classroom’s inclusiveness. Use any of the provided tools to gather this data.

Engage in self-reflection by using a self-assessment rubric or teaching reflection survey to examine your teaching practices to identify areas for growth.

• Resource: Equity-Focused Teaching Strategies Reflection
• Resource: Inclusive Teaching Higher Education Rubric
• Resource: Inclusive Teaching Strategies Reflection
• Resource: Inclusive Teaching Checklist

Gather direct student feedback on your course materials and teaching practice using brief classroom climate surveys, mid-semester feedback forms, or “check-in” discussions. Ask specific questions about students’ sense of belonging, whether they feel comfortable participating, and if the course material reflects diverse perspectives.

• Resource: Classroom Community Scale
• Resource: Mid-semester Feedback Form

Peer feedback could be provided by asking a colleague to observe your class while paying attention to student engagement during discussions (Who speaks most often? Who is hesitant to speak? Do you consistently call on the same students, or do you encourage participation from a wide range of voices?)

• Resource: Grinnell College Protocol for Effective Peer Observations
• Resource: Observing Inclusive Instruction Checklist

Additional Resources for What I Need to Know

• Resource: Northwestern Principles of Inclusive Teaching