Promoting Equity in the Classroom

Be aware of your own biases

Everyone has some sort of bias. Being aware of and reflecting on your own bias is the most effective way for that bias to not influence your teaching in the classroom (Hammond, 2014). Try using these reflection prompts to think critically about how your biases may impact students in your class. Consider taking an Implicit Bias training with the office of Diversity and Inclusion.

Use students' names and pronouns

Learn students' names whenever possible and pronounce them correctly. Using name tags can help you and the other students learn names. You can have students create audio or video introductions that include the correct pronunciation of their name or have them phonetically spell their name to help you learn the correct pronunciation. Tell students to feel free to correct you during or outside of class if you ever mispronounce their name. Do not only ask some students how to pronounce their name.

Give your pronouns when you introduce yourself and give students the option of sharing their pronouns if they are comfortable. Student sharing can be done as part of an introduction in class, in an online discussion board, or in a student information survey. Do not require that students give their pronouns because some students may not feel comfortable sharing their gender identity with the class or may be questioning their gender identity. Ensure all students in the class use correct pronouns when referring to one another.

Do not assume students have certain background knowledge or skills

Students come to the classroom with a variety of different backgrounds and experiences. When instructors assume that students have certain skills or background or cultural knowledge, it can cause students who do not have those skills or knowledge to be confused and then disengage from the class. The following strategies can help instructors ensure that all the students in the class have the skills or knowledge required to be successful in the course:

• Have students complete a pre-course survey that assesses background knowledge. Provide supplemental materials or instruction for areas where students need more background knowledge.
• Teach students how to read in the discipline. Reading academic papers is an acquired skill and each discipline has different norms for how papers are structured and what strategies are most effective for reading and understanding the content, so students need to be taught those skills to achieve the course objectives.
• Teach discipline-specific skills such as writing, formatting, formal presentations, problem-solving, etc.
• Define vocabulary, acronyms, and symbols for students.

Be attentive to struggling or marginalized students

Instructors should initiate contact as soon as they notice a student is struggling. Students who belong to marginalized groups are often less likely to reach out for help when they need it (Winograd & Rust, 2014), so reaching out to all students who are struggling can be particularly beneficial for these students. Reasons you might reach out can include:

• A student performed poorly on the first major assignment or exam
• A student has a sudden decrease in performance or stops turning in assignments
• A student stops attending class or logging into Canvas
• A previously engaged student starts seeming upset or quiet in class

Paying attention to student behaviors can help you identify when help is needed and provide support for students when it is most beneficial. The ‘Message students who’ feature in Canvas can help make the outreach process easier. When reaching out, use inclusive rather than punitive language. For example, 'I noticed that you have not been as active in the course as you used to be. Is there anything I can do to help you catch back up?' Is a lot more likely to get a positive response than 'If you don't turn in your assignment by midnight, you will receive a 0'.

Teach students how to learn

College students commonly use study techniques that are not the most effective (Gurung, 2005) because they often perceive those study techniques to be more effective (Soderstrom & Bjork, 2015). In reality, these techniques feel easier and give less effective feedback to students in areas where they are struggling, leading them to falsely think they have mastered material (Karpicke, Butler, & Roediger, 2009). Students who belong to marginalized groups are particularly likely to not have had the opportunity to learn effective study techniques (e.g., Stebleton & Soria, 2013). Teaching students study skills helps them learn more effectively and can reduce achievement gaps. Teach an array of study techniques so students can use the technique that works the best for their needs. Provide explicit instructions for how to implement the study strategies. Incentivize the use of good study strategies by offering extra credit or building the use of the strategies into assignments. Some great resources you can share with students are this video series by Stephen Chew and these resources from UNL's Center for Academic Success and Transition.

Promote a growth mindset

Having a growth mindset means thinking about intelligence as something malleable that can be improved with effort (Dweck, 2006). Promoting a growth mindset benefits the learning of all students, but particularly students from marginalized groups who are more likely to doubt their own abilities to succeed (Yeager et al., 2019). In this video, Carol Dweck talks more about the growth mindset and her research on how it impacts learning.

Instructors can promote a growth mindset in several ways:

• Teach students about how intelligence is malleable and can be improved with practice. Discussing how people's brains change when they learn new information and providing examples of successful people in the field that worked hard to achieve their success can be great ways to help students understand the growth mindset.
• Normalize struggling in the course. Use the not-yet framing. This means that, for skills that need to be developed, emphasize that students cannot do it yet, but they will be able to with work.
• This workshop from the CTT gives additional practical advice on helping your students develop a growth mindset.

Reduce the effects of negative stereotypes

Stereotype threat occurs when a person has an often-unconscious fear that their behavior will fulfill a negative stereotype of a group they belong to (Steele & Aronson, 1995). That fear then impairs their performance on the task. For example, stereotype threat has been shown to reduce the academic performance of African American students and the math performance of cisgender women (Nguyen & Ryan, 2008). There are a variety of strategies that instructors can implement that can reduce or eliminate stereotype threat in their students.

• Frame tasks and skills in ways that are not relevant to group stereotypes. For example, framing a task as a problem-solving task rather than a math problem will lead to less stereotype threat for women.
• Make students' social identities less salient. Avoid having students think about or report their social identities and avoid grouping them by social identities when completing tasks where negative stereotypes about a group exists.
• Encourage a growth mindset. Teach students that intelligence and skills are malleable and can be increased with practice.
• Encourage self-affirmation. For example, have students reflect on their strengths or ways in which they have improved.
• Emphasize that you have high standards and that students are capable of meeting those high standards.
• Provide role models for marginalized students.
• Teach students about stereotype threat and its effects. Learning about stereotype threat helps reduce its negative impact on performance.
• Challenge the negative stereotypes. Present relevant evidence about the accuracy of the stereotype and why the stereotype is harmful.

Teach students appropriate terminology

In issues related to diversity, terminology is particularly important because of how language can harm or empower people (e.g., Stout & Dagsupta, 2011). For example, when reading a mock job interview where “he” was used, women felt less of a sense of belonging, less motivation, and more emotionally disengaged than when more inclusive language was used. Teach students the appropriate terminology, why that terminology is used, and why other terminology is not appropriate. It can be useful to share guidance from professional organizations in your discipline, for example the Inclusive Language Guidelines from the American Psychological Association or the Inclusive Storytelling guidance in the Associated Press Styleguide. Warn students in advance if outdated terminology is used in course materials.

Addressing Academic Integrity

Students have a variety of different perspectives and backgrounds that can impact their previous training in and perception of academic integrity. International students in particular may come from a culture where norms of citation and definitions of plagiarism are very different than what you use in your course. Brown University created a resource that discusses how to address and teach academic integrity in inclusive ways.

Reduce textbook costs

The cost of textbooks can create equity gaps for students who are low in socioeconomic status. Open education resources (OER) can be used to offer texts at no cost to students. In some courses, a paid text may still be the best educational resource but consider other strategies to reduce costs like allowing students to use previous editions of the text. Older editions are often less expensive and can save students money as long as they are getting all the information that they need from the book. This library guide gives more information about how to find and use OER resources at UNL.

Accessibility of materials

For students to effectively learn, they need to be able to fully access all course materials. When choosing materials, ensure that they meet accessibility guidelines. For example, textbooks should have an audio version available so students who are visually impaired can still access the information. This also helps other students, like those with busy schedules who may need to listen to the textbook while doing other things. See the Accessibility and UDL Instructor Resource and the Accessibility Essentials Checklist for more information on how to make your courses more accessible.

Vary the level of interaction

Social interactions can be valuable for the learning process, but without intentional structuring, they may be challenging for some groups of students. Try incorporating a variety of activities that could be done as individuals, pairs, small groups, large groups, or as a full class. Design activities so that all students will be involved in some way to avoid only a few students contributing to discussion. Providing a structure for activities where each student is playing a particular role encourages active participation from everyone. For example, assign each student in the group with one of four roles: facilitator, arbitrator, note-taker, or devil's advocate.

• This NPR podcast talks about the importance of correct name pronunciation for fostering a belonging.
• This page from Virginia Commonwealth University explores the impact of high textbook costs on student success in more detail.