Inclusivity
Creating an inclusive classroom means designing spaces, practices, and content that meet the diverse needs of all students—both visible and invisible. As and Kelly Hogan highlight in "," inclusive teaching involves designing courses that engage all students, remove barriers, and foster belonging, especially for those traditionally underserved.
Key elements of inclusive teaching:
- Fostering belonging: Creating a welcoming environment where all students feel valued.
- Providing equitable access: Ensuring materials and resources are accessible to everyone.
- Removing barriers: Identifying and eliminating obstacles to student success.
A Call to Action
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed and magnified systemic inequities, showing that education cannot return to "." Instead, we need a new standard where equity and inclusion are integral to teaching. This requires:
- Acknowledging racism: Recognizing its presence within institutions and its impact on students.
- Taking responsibility: Higher education leaders must commit to change and action.
- Shared efforts: Anti-racism must be a collective responsibility, not one borne solely by people of color.
Together, we can create classrooms that reflect equity, inclusion, and a commitment to improving the student experience.
Actions You Can Take to Create an Inclusive Classroom:
- Include underrepresented scholars in course materials.
- Design activities that reflect multiple perspectives.
- Treat your classroom as a global learning community with interconnected experiences.
- Regularly seek student input about their classroom experience rather than waiting for end-of-term feedback.
Explore the Creating an Inclusive Classroom (PDF) resource, developed with CU Boulder faculty, to examine your course structure and make meaningful improvements. Learn more about trauma-sensitive teaching, Black Lives Matter, microaggressions, and stereotype threat in this section.
Take Action:
CTL micro-credentials offer CU Boulder instructors opportunities to engage in sustained inquiry and skill-building around a teaching topic. Please view our new programs highlighted below.
hosted by the Center for Teaching & Learning provides a meeting space and inclusivity network email list to share collective wisdom and create new knowledge on topics related to diversity, inclusion, equity, social justice, and human interaction. Anyone is welcome to attend!
Listen to our Inclusive Educators Podcast on Apple or Spotify as we explore one of the most critical questions college instructors are asking today: how do we become more inclusive instructors?
which offer highlights about national and local leadership in equity and inclusion, information about the Inclusive Community of Practice meeting and upcoming campus events.
The CTL offers individual consultations and department and group trainings. Schedule a consultation today! One-on-one consultations allow individualized and confidential consultations free of charge to educators on the CU Boulder campus, focused on equity-minded teaching practices and specific strategies to foster a sense of belonging in your classroom. A department or unit can request a training which is tailored to the specific needs of the discipline.
We offer suggestions and resources that can open doors for underserved students to access your course and feel a sense of belonging in your classroom.These resources include strategies for creating an inclusive classroom, with specific attention to syllabus design, determining access needs, engaging with classroom agreements to address course climate, building community, reflective & transparent assignments, and supporting international students.
Our newsletter is published monthly during the academic year and includes timely teaching strategies and resources, updates, and upcoming events of interest to the campus teaching community.
Campus Resources
This course, developed by Shawn O'Neal and Jennifer Ho, is an introduction to the topic of race and racism in the United States.
Learn how CISC supports community-based learning, social action and intersectional identity development that fosters a growth mindset and encourages peer-to-peer advocacy.
Learn how ODECE’s programs, scholarships and partnerships create a culture where all students can succeed and help to build a culture of belonging and engagement among students, staff and faculty.
These events promote the wellness of young people and the systems and adults who support them through interdisciplinary research-practice partnerships.
The Office of Information Technology (OIT) has launched a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) micro-credential that offers an introduction to the principles of UDL—a framework that can help participants build flexibility into any learning experience to optimize the success of diverse learners.