Cultivating Habits of Inclusive Teaching Series

In this 5-week series, the working group focused on how varying forms of disability may affect students’ engagement with normative modes of instruction. Drawing on scholarship on inclusive teaching and learning, as well as on a survey circulated to UCI students who identify as having a disability that affects their participation in and experience of education, this group discussed both general and disciplinary-specific strategies for teaching in ways that are inclusive to a wide variety of students.

Each working group session focused on a particular topic, for instance, universal design in the classroom, ableism and microaggressions, and best practices that cultivate habits of inclusive teaching. These discussions explored possible tensions between normative educational “best practices” and accessibility (e.g. in the case of powerpoint slide design) and consider the pros and cons of creating alternative adaptations versus utilizing universal design. Each session will include collaborative problem solving for challenges of creating accessible learning environments.

 

Meeting Schedule (Thursdays, 2:30-4pm in SSPB 1222):

Week 1 (May 2nd): Introduction, Resources, and Ableism

  • This week will involve an introduction to various resources already available for providing accessible/inclusive instruction, a discussion of ableism in academic environments, and collaborative identification of challenges to providing accessible instruction from the position of Teaching Assistant.

Week 2 (May 9th): Concrete Practices and Universal Design

  • In this session we will discuss Universal Design for Learning, identify aspects of universal design instruction that can be cultivated as habits, and brainstorm specific modifications/adaptations to disciplinary learning (the use of graphs and charts, lab instruction, etc.)–feel free to bring specific instances of challenges to accessibility from your own teaching!

Week 3 (May 16th): The Conundrum of Best Practices and Accessibility

  • In this session we will consider the challenges to implementing Universal Design for Learning and interrogate the ways in which some teaching “best practices” can conflict with accessible learning formats. With these contradictions in mind, we will brainstorm strategies for integrating known effective pedagogy with accessible modifications.

Week 4 (May 23rd): Student Survey Results and Habits of Inclusive Teaching

  • In this session we will review results of a survey circulated to students regarding instructor practices that help or hinder accessibility. We will discuss how this feedback might influence our everyday teaching habits. Utilizing survey information about what faculty and TAs do that increases accessibility and considering alternatives to practices identified as inaccessible, we will craft draft lists of accessible teaching practices that could be used by faculty and TAs to cultivate accessible teaching habits.

Week 5 (May 30th): Group Choice – Creating Resources for Instructors/TAs

IIWG Meeting Notes