What Inclusive Instructors Do: Principles and Practices for Excellence in College Teaching

Inclusive instruction is teaching that recognizes and affirms a student's social identity as an important influence on teaching and learning processes, and that works to create an environment in which students are able to learn from the course, their peers, and the teacher while still being their authentic selves. It works to disrupt traditional notions of whosucceeds in the classroom and the systemic inequities inherent in traditional educational practices.―Full-time Academic Professional, Doctorate-granting University, Education

This book uniquely offers the distilled wisdom of scores of instructors across ranks, disciplines and institution types, whose contributions are organized into a thematic framework that progressively introduces the reader to the key dispositions, principles and practices for creating the inclusive classroom environments (in person and online) that will help their students succeed.

The authors asked the hundreds of instructors whom they surveyed as part of a national study to define what inclusive teaching meant to them and what inclusive teaching approaches they implemented in their courses.

The instructors’ voices ring loudly as the authors draw on their responses, building on their experiences and expertise to frame the conversation about what inclusive teachers do. The authors in addition describe their own insights and practices, integrating and discussing current literature relevant to inclusive teaching to ensure a research-supported approach.

Inclusive teaching is no longer an option but a vital teaching competency as our classrooms fill with racially diverse, first generation, and low income and working class students who need a sense of belonging and recognition to thrive and contribute to the construction of knowledge.

The book unfolds as an informal journey that allows the reader to see into other teachers’ practices. With questions for reflection embedded throughout the book, the authors provide the reader with an inviting and thoughtful guide to develop their own inclusive teaching practices.

By utilizing the concepts and principles in this book readers will be able to take steps to transform their courses into spaces that are equitable and welcoming, and adopt practical strategies to address the various inclusion issues that can arise.

The book will also appeal to educational developers and staff who support instructors in their inclusive teaching efforts. It should find a place in reflective workshops, book clubs and learning communities exploring this important topic.

Tracie Marcella Addy is Associate Dean of Teaching and Learning at Lafayette College. Dr. Addy directs the Center for the Integration of Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship and serves in other leadership capacities. She enjoys working with instructors across all divisions and ranks to develop and administer programming related to the teacher-scholar model, from classroom teaching to the scholarship of teaching and learning. She has experience teaching at a diverse array of institution types. In addition toher leadership roles she performs scholarship on learner-centered practices including active learning and inclusive teaching. Dr. Addy also publishes educational materials and serves as an associate editor for various journals.

Derek Dube is Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Saint Joseph (CT). As a faculty member in the Department of Biology, who has taught both in-person and online in undergraduate and graduate settings, to both Biology majors and non-majors alike, Dr. Dube has had the opportunity to work with students from broad demographic, socioeconomic, and educational backgrounds in the classroom, as research mentees, and in his role as Director for the Center for Student Research and Creative Activity. In addition to his research in the field of biology, Dr. Dube spends significant time developing and publishing educational materials and research studies around best-practices in teaching.

Khadijah A. Mitchell, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Biology and Peter C.S. d'Aubermont, M.D. Scholar of Health and Life Sciences at Lafayette College. As a teacher scholar, Dr. Mitchell advocates for education and health equity. She has taught undergraduate and graduate STEM and public health courses at a range of institutions, from selective liberal arts colleges to doctoral research universities. She integrates research findings from her laboratory into each class,and take ideas generated in the classroom back to the laboratory. Her teaching scholarship centers on creating spaces for students from all backgrounds to participate in the biomedical enterprise. Dr. Mitchell’s award-winning researchand leadership in governmental service addresses the causes and consequences of cancer and COVID-19 health disparities in underrepresented populations.

Mallory SoRelle is an Assistant Professor of public policy at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. Her research and teaching interests explore how public policies influence intersectional forms of socioeconomic and political inequality in the United States. She has experience teaching undergraduate and graduate students across a variety of educational settings including doctoral granting institutions, a liberal arts college, and a degree-granting prison education program. Dr. SoRelle holds a PhD in American Politics from Cornell University, a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and a BA with honors from Smith College.