Episode 30. Inclusive Excellence: Content Is Not Enough! with Oscar Fernandez
Our current students in higher education are more diverse than ever before by a variety of demographic measures. Unfortunately, many of these demographics groups perform less well than the majority as measured by average GPA and graduation rate. In this episode we talk with Dr. Oscar Fernandez, Associate Professor of Mathematics at Wellesley College about Inclusive Excellence, an effort to create a community of faculty, staff, and students who are engaged in the continuing process of increasing institutional capacity for the inclusion of all students and supporting students efforts to excel.
Episode 24: Inclusify Your Teaching: Learning is for Everyone with Drs. Kelly Hogan and Viji Sathy
In higher education our introductory classes are more diverse than ever. That’s great! Our graduating classes? Less diverse. That’s bad! Faculty play a critical role in this loss of diversity and therefore have a responsibility to address the issue. In this episode, Dr. Viji Sathy and Dr. Kelly Hogan, authors of “Inclusive Teaching: Strategies for Promoting Equity in the College Classroom” (2022) discuss a wide range of evidence-based practices that can help our most challenged, our most diverse students succeed, improving classroom equity. Please listen, then take action!
Episode 23: Strangers in a Strange Land: How Black Students Succeed at a Primarily White Institution with Dr. Julie Stanton
Higher education is recognizing the importance and value of diversity and inclusivity in our institutions, our classes, our majors, and in the workforce. Along with this recognition are efforts to increase the success and graduation rates of all students with particular attention to our historically excluded, minoritized, marginalized, and first generation students. Many approach this work from a perspective of deficits: students aren’t succeeding because of what they are missing. An alternative perspective is anti-deficit: recognizing what students are doing to succeed. For example: Instead of the deficit perspective: “Why don’t certain groups of students persist?” One might reframe the question and ask “How do certain groups of students manage to persist and earn degrees despite any number of negative forces that are working against them?“. Dr. Julie Stanton, Associate Professor in the Department of Cell Biology at University of Georgia in Athens Georgia talks about her Participatory Action Research project that informs us about strategies that black students use to succeed at a primarily white institution. Please listen for an engaging and fascinating discussion of community cultural wealth.
Episode 20: The Benefits of Diverse Role Models: The Scientist Spotlights Initiative with Jeff Schinske
In this episode, I have a conversation with Jeff Schinske, Professor of Biology of Foothill College, part of the California Community College system about the impacts of the NIH-funded Scientist Spotlights Initiative. The Scientist Spotlights Initiative (SSI) empowers middle/high school, college, and university science educators to implement inclusive curricula that help ALL students see themselves in science. The SSI provides access to easy-to-implement assignments/activities that link course content to the stories of counter-stereotypical scientists.
Episode 11: The Why and How of Inclusive Teaching with Tracie Addy
Dr. Tracie Marcella Addy, Associate Dean of Teaching and Learning at Lafayette College discusses her 2021 book “What Inclusive Instructors Do. Principles and Practices for Excellence in College Teaching”. In this episode, we discuss why instructors and institutions should embrace inclusive practices. We also discuss practices that improve engagement, persistence, and success. Wherever you are on your journey of providing the best learning environments for all your students, listen to this episode for new perspectives, support, motivation, ideas, and possibly a new book to add to your book club or journal club.
Episode 9: Deep Teaching with Bryan Dewsbury
Enjoy a conversation with Dr. Bryan Dewsbury about an approach to inclusive instruction that goes beneath the mechanics of your courses. We don’t talk about what your syllabus looks like, how you engage students in your learning environments, or how you assess students. Instead we discuss an approach to inclusive instruction that first and foremost focusses on the criticality of developing an enriched and enhanced understanding of your students. The ideas we discuss in this episode have the power to change your relationship with your students allowing you to develop an inclusive classroom that enriches the personal development of all your students. In this episode, we do not discuss what your students need to learn, we do not discuss what your students need to be able to do. We talk about issues that address the question “Who do you want your students to be”.