Weekly Tip: Inclusivity in the Classroom

What is inclusive teaching? How do you implement inclusive strategies into course content? According to Inclusive Teaching Strategies (pdf) from Yale’s Center for Teaching and Learning, inclusive teaching can be defined as pedagogy that addresses the needs of all students and includes all students with a variety of backgrounds, learning modalities, and abilities. Building your course structure and content with inclusiveness in mind can foster student belonging and create a stronger community.

If inclusiveness is considered before the course content and space are created, all students can have an equitable experience.

Here are a few guidelines to follow while developing a virtual course:

• Use multiple means of presenting content
• Provide more than one avenue for completing coursework
• Use multiple ways to engage students
• Use inclusive language in all course content
• Always consider accessible fonts and colors
• If using technology tools outside of Blackboard or Canvas, ensure accessibility is integrated

Check out these resources for more ideas on how to create an inclusive virtual course:

• The Biggest Barriers to Inclusive Education
• Use inclusive language
• Create an Inclusive syllabus
• Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Training on 6/29/2020 (video)
• Set clear expectations
• Universal Design for Learning Serves All Students
• Inclusive Teaching Practices Toolkit
• WSU Color and Contrast
• WebAim Contrast Checker
• Color Safe Text and Background Checker
• WSU Specific Colors
• WSU Faculty Led Workshop on Inclusive Pedagogy (video)| Transcript (pdf)