Create an Inclusive Environment: Two Quick Resources for the Busy Instructor

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

Arizona State University's charter statement is a powerful reminder that we are here to create an inclusive learning environment for our students. A group of School of Life Sciences (SOLS) faculty recently affirmed that statement by engaging in an all-day, inclusive teaching workshop in San Francisco, hosted by the American Geophysical Union on Sunday, Dec. 8th, 2019. This event, facilitated by Prof. Kimberly Tanner from the Department of Biology at San Francisco State University and Prof. Jeff Schinske from the Department of Biology at Foothill Community College, engaged our faculty in a number of exercises aimed at helping them adopt practices that promote equity and inclusion. The core of the workshop was built upon two excellent and accessible articles:

1. Structure Matters: Twenty-One Teaching Strategies to Promote Student Engagement and Cultivate Classroom Equity

2. Order Matters: Using the 5E Model to Align Teaching with How People Learn.

The first article, “Structure Matters,” is a short, easy read, and it describes twenty-one specific methods that can be used in almost any university classroom, and which are particularly useful in STEM classrooms. These methods include diverse approaches that run the gamut from easy to implement (e.g. Think-Pair-Share, Wait Time, Ask Open-Ended Questions, etc.) to ones that take more time to design and run (e.g. Work in Stations/Small Groups, Collect Assessment Evidence from Every Student in Every Class, Learn All Students’ Names, etc.). Adopting even one of the many methods suggested will help you establish a more inclusive classroom environment.

The second article, “Order Matters,” is also a short and easy read, and it details the 5E Model, a method for developing learning activities that support the fundamental aspects of how people learn: Engagement, Exploration, Explanation, Elaboration, and Evaluation. Each “E” word highlights a specific concept that promotes student learning and is, arguably, required to ensure our students are motivated to learn a skill or topic, are able to practice that skill or topic, and can then demonstrate mastery or proficiency of that skill or topic. The 5E Model is a useful framework for developing student critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.

Both articles serve as distinctive introductions on how to move our teaching practice towards greater transparency, inclusivity, and equity. 

Additionally, within SOLS we are grateful to have Dr. Sara Brownell, a researcher who studies inclusiveness in biology education through the Biology Education Research Lab at ASU. Future plans of further support for SOLS instructors to enhance their inclusive teaching practices are on the horizon, with more information to be shared in the new year. 

Resources

Tanner K. D. (2013). Structure matters: twenty-one teaching strategies to promote student engagement and cultivate classroom equity. CBE life sciences education, 12(3), 322–331. doi:10.1187/cbe.13-06-0115

Tanner K. D. (2010). Order matters: using the 5E model to align teaching with how people learn. CBE life sciences education, 9(3), 159–164. doi:10.1187/cbe.10-06-0082
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guest blogger:
Joshua Caulkins
Assistant Director, Undergraduate Programs
School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University