Why?

Students have a wide variety of backgrounds, identities, and accessibility needs, many of which may not be visible. Students from underrepresented groups continue to be enrolled at lower rates at UC Berkeley than they are present in California’s population and, when they do enroll, equity gaps in graduation rates persist [1]. Thoughtful teaching practices and course design can help to close equity gaps and enable all students to thrive [2]

How?

Resources 

Watch a 3 minute video about growth mindset.

Read an article on fostering trans inclusion in the classroom (5 minute read) or watch a short video on why pronouns matter (2 min).

Check out some resources and tips for inclusive teaching in large courses (2 minute read).

Look into Twenty-one teaching strategies to promote student engagement and cultivate classroom equity (long read, but includes short list of actionable tips).

Determine your students’ accessibility needs using this example survey from NYU.

Read an article including more accessibility tips (5 minute read).

Brush up on faculty resources related to the UC Berkeley Disabled Students’ Program (DSP).

References:

  1. Fink, A., Cahill, M. J., McDaniel, M. A. et al. (2018). Improving general chemistry performance through a growth mindset intervention: selective effects on underrepresented minorities. Chemistry Education Research and Practice, 19, 783-806. https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2018/RP/C7RP00244K#!divAbstract

  2. Theobald, E. J., Hill, M. J., Tran, E. et al. (2020). Active learning narrows achievement gaps for underrepresented students in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math. PNAS 117(12) 6476-6483. https://www.pnas.org/content/117/12/6476

  3. Canning, E. A., Muenks, K., Green, D. J., & Murphy, M. C. (2019). STEM faculty who believe ability is fixed have larger racial achievement gaps and inspire less student motivation in their classes. Science Advances 5(2), eaau4734. https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/2/eaau4734.abstract

  4. Russell, S. T., Pollitt, A. M., Li, G., & Grossman, A. H. (2018). Chosen name use is linked to reduced depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behaviors among transgender youth. Journal of Adolescent Health 63(4) 503-505. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29609917/

  5. Harrison, C., & Tanner, K. (2018). Language matters: considering microaggressions in science. CBE Life Sciences Education 17(1). https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.18-01-0011

  6. Estrada M., Young G. R., Nagy, J., et al. (2019). The influence of microaffirmations on undergraduate persistence in science career pathways. CBE Life Sciences Education 18(3). https://www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/cbe.19-01-0012

  7. Tanner, K. (2017). Structure matters: twenty-one teaching strategies to promote student engagement and cultivate classroom equity. CBE Life Sciences Education 12(3). https://www.lifescied.org/doi/full/10.1187/cbe.13-06-0115

  8. Latham, A., Hill, N. S. (2013). Preference for anonymous classroom participation: linking student characteristics and reactions to electronic response systems. Journal of Management Education 38(2). 192-215 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1052562913488109 

  9. Tobin, K. (1987). The role of wait time in higher cognitive level learning. Review of Educational Research 57(1) 69-95. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3102/00346543057001069?casa_token=jV2z-WgLVhEAAAAA:AoPpaTrAwhymloEpylpwYpamcpYlme1g5h42QldsHi9ZbfkKGYU73RvWJLQDX4WPiwIem9kE2z8MuQ

  10. Piontek, M. E. (2008). Best practices for designing and grading exams. CRLT Occasional Papers, University of Michigan 24. http://crlt.umich.edu/sites/default/files/resource_files/CRLT_no24.pdf