Tips to Make Your Classroom More Inclusive for LGBQT+ Students

 Why do I keep seeing people list pronouns on their email signatures? Can I use the word queer? What’s a deadname?

As ASU is defined by who we include and how they succeed, we need to make sure that this includes everyone in the classroom, including students with identities that are invisible. Even though society tends to assume that everyone is straight and cis-gender, current estimates of individuals who identify as members of the LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) community range from 10-20% of the population. Specifically in biology classrooms at ASU, about 9-16% of undergraduates report having an LGBTQ+ identity on surveys.

What challenges might a biology classroom present for LGBTQ+ students? Instructors and fellow students may inadvertently make incorrect assumptions that may cause some LGBTQ+ students to feel uncomfortable. For example, individuals may mis-gender transgender students and non-gender binary students in class. This could be done by using a student’s deadname, defined as someone’s birthname that they no longer use, or by using the wrong pronouns to describe someone. Additionally, an instructor may make an assumption that doesn’t apply to some LGBTQ+ students. For example, asexual students, or students who do not experience physical and/or sexual attraction, may be uncomfortable having biology instructors make broad generalizations about how evolutionarily everyone is motivated by sex (many of us have heard the phrase “the urge to merge is strong” … but it is not true for everyone). For lesbian students, making sweeping generalizations about women being romantically interested in men can be offensive.

We encourage biology instructors to be thoughtful about the spectrum of LGBTQ+ identities in their classrooms and to not make assumptions of their students that may, at the best, be inaccurate and, at the worst, be offensive. How can you be more inclusive? Recently, a group of LGBTQ+ biologists and allies developed a list of recommendations to help biologists be more inclusive of LGBTQ+ individuals and published it in CBE Life Sciences Education.

In the Classroom

Many of these recommendations are applicable to the classroom specifically:

1. Learn the LGBTQ+ acronym and the language surrounding the identity. Don’t know where to start? Don’t worry, there is a helpful glossary in the paper! (See Table 2).
2. Create opportunities for students to share the names and pronouns that they use. Surveying students about their name and pronouns or inviting students to reach out to instructors or TAs if their name and identity on the roster does not match how they identify allows for the classroom to be more inclusive. 
3. Meaningfully advocate for your students. If you’re afraid to become an ally for the LGBTQ+ community because you might make a mistake, don’t let that stop you! We all make mistakes; it’s how we learn. Many LGBTQ+ student assume that if people aren’t forthright in their support of the LGBTQ+ community, then they are against them. As such, displaying a pride flag, going to a Safe Zone training and displaying the sticker, or simply putting in words of support into your syllabus (e.g. this class strives to be inclusive of the members of the LGBTQ+ community) are great ways to show your support. 
4. Make your teaching inclusive. Try to avoid using pop culture references and humor that might be offensive to certain students. Also try to provide students with LGBTQ+ science role models and incorporate positive and well-rounded examples of the LGBTQ+ identity into your curricula. 

For specific ideas about how to carry out these recommendations, please see “Fourteen Recommendations to Create a More Inclusive Environment for LGBTQ+ Individuals in Academic Biology.”

Become More Inclusive

Here is an easy-to-share set of recommendations for biology instructors to be more inclusive of LGBTQ+ students:

    Be thoughtful about the language used regarding the LGBTQ+ community.

1. Learn what the acronym LGBTQ+ encompasses and use the term appropriately.
2. Learn the specific vocabulary around the LGBTQ+ identity.
   
   
   Create opportunities for people to describe who they are and avoid assuming people’s identities, names, and pronouns.
   
   
3. Foster safe environments for individuals to reveal their LGBTQ+ identities.
4. Be careful not to assume the gender or partner preference of individuals.
5. Create opportunities for individuals to choose to reveal their pronouns and names.
   
   
   
   Meaningfully advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.
   
   
6. View mistakes as learning opportunities.
7. Overtly support the LGBTQ+ community.
8. Familiarize yourself with LGBTQ+ community and campus resources.
   
   
   Create an inclusive biology classroom.
   
   
9. Be thoughtful about the use of humor and pop culture in the classroom
10. Present LGBTQ+ role models in science.
11. Discuss the full range of gender and sexuality in biology class.
12. Incorporate positive and well-rounded examples of LGBTQ+ identity into the curricula.

References

• Cooper, K. M., Auerbach, A. J., Bader, J. D., Beadles-Bohling, A. S., Brashears, J. A., Cline, E., . . . Brownell, S. E. (2020). Fourteen Recommendations to Create a More Inclusive Environment for LGBTQ+ Individuals in Academic Biology. CBE—Life Sciences Education, 19(3). doi:10.1187/cbe.20-04-0062

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Post author:

Sara Brownell is a neuroscientist turned full-time education researcher, who teaches undergraduate biology while studying biology education at Arizona State University in the School of Life Sciences. As a science faculty member with education specialty, she uses both qualitative and quantitative data to better understand how undergraduate biology students learn and how instructors can develop more effective ways to teach.

Professor Brownell's interests in undergraduate biology education are broad, but her current work focuses on three main avenues. She investigates the impact of undergraduate research experiences on students, specifically students enrolled in course-based research experiences. She develops a programmatic assessment for biology majors that focuses on the core concepts of biology. She also explores issues related to access and equity in undergraduate biology, specifically the experiences of women, religious students, LGBTQIA, and transfer students.