The Office for Inclusion and Diversity is offering instructional faculty, including graduate teaching assistants, a series of Inclusive Pedagogy Workshops this fall. The courses are designed as hybrid online/self-paced content with one or more scheduled zoom sessions for open discussion. All courses earn credits toward the Computer Refresh requirement for faculty members. 

Participants should enroll through the TLOS Professional Development Network site. Individual courses include:

Inclusive Pedagogy: How Student Identities Matter
Opens: September 7
This online course, composed of a series of micro-learning sessions, explores how student identities matter in the classroom. Through nine mini-modules using scenarios, short readings, and information on campus resources, participants discover equitable practices that accommodate the diversity of student identities related to ability, wellness,  socioeconomic status, veteran status, religion, and gender identity and expression. You can now complete this course and earn a digital badge for Inclusive Teaching.

Inclusive Pedagogy Pathway

Opens: September 7
This course introduces participants to the core principles of inclusive pedagogy: facilitating respect and hospitality for all, creating an environment where everyone learns, and fostering cultural competence; and then provides an inclusive teaching rubric with specific standards for measuring how inclusive one’s teaching may be. Participants use the rubric to assess their current efforts, as well as develop and implement a concrete plan of action for making their teaching more inclusive.

Anti-Racist Teaching
Opens: September 21
Zoom Session: September 30, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Bettina Love writes, “Antiracist teaching is not just about acknowledging that racism exists, but consciously committing to the struggle of fighting for racial justice.” This session is for faculty, particularly white faculty, who want to deeply consider the impacts and dynamics of race and ethnicity in the classroom. The session examines how well-meaning instructors bring racism into the classroom, and offers strategies for teaching toward racial justice, regardless of your discipline.

Fostering a Growth Mindset
Opens: October 12
Zoom Session: October 23, 2:30 to 4:00 p.m.
Students’ beliefs about learning and intelligence influence their ability to persist in academic disciplines where they encounter difficulty. Students who view intelligence as innate, and failure as a threat to their identity are more likely to panic, give up, or cheat when the work is harder than anticipated. Students from groups stereotyped on the basis of social identity experience stress when asked to perform challenging tasks that converge with stereotypes about their group, and as a consequence, may underperform.  Professors can counter the effects of stereotype threat and a fixed view of intelligence by fostering a growth mindset.  A growth mindset affirms that intelligence is malleable, learning is effortful, and failure can prompt development. By the end of this session, participants will have proven strategies for reducing stereotype threat that can be implemented in their courses.

Fostering an Inclusive Classroom Environment
Opens: September 14
Zoom Session: September 25, 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.
Research shows that a positive classroom climate favorably impacts students’ persistence, channels energies toward learning, and engenders emotions that advance learning. One of the first steps toward creating a positive classroom climate is establishing community guidelines with your students. This session workshops the process of writing and communicating guidelines that foster community and accountability among students.

Handling Difficult Conversations in the Classroom
Opens: September 28
Zoom Session: October 7, 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.
We want our students to grapple with challenging and controversial topics, but are we prepared to facilitate discussions when these topics evoke strong opinion and emotional response? By the end of this session, participants will learn proactive strategies for creating classroom environments that foster dialogue. Participants will practice using tools that reduce tension, promote engagement, and develop critical communication skills.  Recommended prerequisite: Fostering an Inclusive Classroom Environment

Reducing Implicit Bias in the Classroom
Opens: October 26
Zoom Session: November 4, 2:00 to 3:30 p.m.
Implicit bias is pervasive. We all carry biases rooted in assumptions formed over time, yet these biases may not align with our professed values of fairness and equity. We know that implicit bias has real-world effects. How then can we reduce its influence in our teaching, advising, and assessing of students? The session provides steps for managing and reducing implicit bias on both personal and organizational levels.

To learn more about the Inclusive Pedagogy Workshop series, contact Michele C. Deramo, Ph.D., assistant provost of diversity education and programs in the Office for Inclusion and Diversity, at 540-231-6877 or deramo@vt.edu.

Submitted by Shaila Mehra, Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, on behalf of the Office for Inclusion and Diversity