Exploring Inclusive & Equitable Pedagogies : Creating Space for All Learners

Inclusive and equity-minded pedagogy is inspired by a rich array of theories including Black feminist thought, critical race theory, cultural humility, cultural competence, disabilities studies, universal design for learning, and critical information literacy. When we base our instruction on inclusive and equitable pedagogies, we endeavor to connect authentically with students as well as to connect classroom learning to the context of their lives. We share power with students, centering them and their varied learning preferences, and strive to create a culture of care, empathy, and humility both in and out of the classroom. When we clearly share our objectives and expectations for a learning experience, students may better understand us and the learning context we aspire to create.

In Exploring Inclusive & Equitable Pedagogies: Creating Space for All Learners, seven thorough sections across two volumes examine:
 

1. Anti-Racist Approaches
2. Intentional Information Literacy
3. Engendering Care and Empathy
4. Community Building
5. Universal Design for Learning: An Important Benchmark
6. Instructor Identity and Positionality
7. Professional Development

 
Chapters cover topics including dismantling, reexamining, and reconstructing notions of authority in information literacy instruction; teaching technology inclusively; using primary sources to research queer and feminist histories; cocreating knowledge practices with students; prioritizing accessibility in synchronous and asynchronous learning environments; cultural humility, funds of knowledge, and information literacy instruction with first-generation students; designing and managing inclusive group projects; and much more.
 
To become the instructors our students need, we must adopt the mindsets and develop the underlying skills to enact inclusive and equitable teaching and learning. Exploring Inclusive & Equitable Pedagogies offers reflections, practices, and models that deepen our collective understanding of equitable and inclusive theories and practices and present new grounding for both our individual teaching and our instruction programs.
 

Robin Brown, BSFS, MLS, MA is professor and head of public services for the library at Borough of Manhattan Community College (CUNY). She identifies as a person with disabilities and has published significant work on universal design for learning and disabilities studies. She identifies as a white, cis gender person and acknowledges that she has benefited from privileges on many different levels.
 
Elizabeth Foster, MSLS, is the social sciences data librarian at the University of Chicago. She serves as the subject expert for sociology and provides research and instructional support for data-driven research. Her research interests include anti-racist pedagogy, reflective practice, and data privacy.
 
Melissa N. Mallon (she/her), MLIS, is associate university librarian for teaching & learning at Vanderbilt University. She has published, presented, and taught professional development courses in the areas of online learning, instructional design, and the impact of information and digital literacies on student learning. Her previous books include Partners in Teaching & Learning: Coordinating a Successful Academic Library Instruction Program (2020); The Pivotal Role of Academic Librarians in Digital Learning (2018); and the co-edited volume, The Grounded Instruction Librarian: Participating in the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (2019). Positionality Statement: I identify as a white, cis-gendered woman, which affords me an acknowledged place of privilege. Through my teaching and research, I strive to use this privilege to give voice to those that may be underrepresented or unheard in both libraries and higher education. I strive to lead with empathy and humility, and endeavor to not stop listening and learning.
 
Jane Nichols provides research and instructional support as a humanities librarian and a liaison to the Undergrad Research & Writing Center at Oregon State University. Reflecting the variety of roles she has taken over her career, she has published and presented on myriad topics aimed at improving library services and spaces for all. Her scholarship extends to editing “The Americas” volume of Women’s Lives around the World: A Global Encyclopedia. A white, cis-gendered queer lesbian, she lives and works in the traditional homelands of the Marys River or Ampinefu Band of Kalapuya.
 
Ariana Santiago (she/her) is the head of open education services at the University of Houston Libraries. She has published, presented, and contributed professional service in the areas of open educational resources, information literacy, and library outreach. Ariana earned an M.A. in applied learning and instruction from the University of Central Florida and an M.A. in library and information science from the University of South Florida.
 
Maura Seale is the history librarian at the University of Michigan, providing research and instructional support for students and faculty in the history department. Maura holds an M.S.I. from the University of Michigan School of Information, an M.A. in American studies from the University of Minnesota, and a graduate certificate in digital public humanities from George Mason University. Her research focuses on critical librarianship, library pedagogy, political economy and labor in libraries, and race and gender in libraries. She is the co-editor, with Karen P. Nicholson, of The Politics of Theory in the Practice of Critical Librarianship (2018). Her work can be found at www.mauraseale.org and she welcomes comments via @mauraseale.