Tips for Implementing Nonbias Pedagogy

From UCSB English Department Knowledge Base

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This handout was compiled by the 2007-2008 English Department Lead TAs, Andrea Fontenot and Caroline Hong.

Contents 1 Tips for Recognizing, Supporting & Incorporating Diversity in Your Classroom 1.1 In General 1.2 In Facilitating Discussion 2 Diversity Resources 2.1 Web Resources 2.1.1 At UCSB 2.1.2 On the WWW 2.2 Print Resources

[edit] Tips for Recognizing, Supporting & Incorporating Diversity in Your Classroom

[edit] In General

• In all the classes you teach, no matter the discipline, emphasis, content, classroom, know that you will be dealing with diversity.
• Be aware and sensitive of the fact that your students have extremely complex identities [ethnic, socioeconomic, gender, sexual, religious, etc.], so don’t stereotype, pigeonhole, or make assumptions.
• Be aware of your labels and pronouns in how you address your students and talk about the course material.
• Remember student names and pronounce them correctly. Write them down phonetically if you have to.
• Never put a student in a position where s/he is forced to out her/himself.
• Don’t make students spokespersons for any aspect of their complex identities.
• Do your homework and educate yourself on issues of diversity, e.g., know vocabulary like the current terms for racial/ethnic groups or genders and sexualities, the definition of affirmative action, the basics of white privilege, etc.
• Go beyond the basics of prejudice, discrimination, and –isms, e.g., help students to recognize institutional racism and to be aware of what role they play and how they can make a difference.
• Don’t be afraid to own your ignorance.

[edit] In Facilitating Discussion

• Make your classroom a safe space and create a community. Establish ground rules on the first day, e.g., no disrespect, no profanity, etc. Have students help you create those ground rules and make sure everyone agrees on them collectively.
• You can’t overestimate the importance of open dialogue. The most fruitful part of teaching sections is always discussion. Facilitate rather than dominate. And be as flexible as you can. Try not to shut down conversations. Take advantage of teachable moments.
• Offer lots of praise and validation. Let them know that their ideas, opinions, participation are important, valuable, and essential to a successful section.
• Don’t feel like you have to speak every time a student speaks. Let them engage with one another. Help them do that if you need to.
• Learn to be okay with silence. And if verbal communication isn’t working out, find an alternative way to communicate. If a discussion is getting particularly heated, sometimes it helps to stop and have everyone write down what they’re thinking.
• Their participation is key, but know that not all students are created equal. Try to diversify your teaching methods, as well as the perspectives and examples you provide.
• Be aware and sensitive of cultural differences when it comes to classroom behavior, e.g., speaking aloud, eye contact, personal space, etc.
• Be aware of your classroom dynamics, e.g., students who monopolize the conversation, students who never speak, women and certain ethnic groups who may (or may not) be less open to discussion.
• Be okay with resistance. Plant the seed, even if you won’t be the one to reap the harvest.
• Be aware that not everyone can afford the same things, especially when it comes to money and time.
• When possible and appropriate, create relationships with your students. Encourage them to come to office hours. Be a role model. Be a mentor.

[edit] Diversity Resources

[edit] Web Resources

[edit] At UCSB

• EDKB Wiki’s on Diversity
• Diversity @ UCSB
• UCSB English Department's Race and Pedagogy Project
• UCSB English Department's Affirmative Action and Diversity Project
• Office of Instructional Consultation's Resources on Instruction & Diversity
• Diversity Webcourse on Moodle
• Educational Opportunity Program (EOP)
• MultiCultural Center
• Women’s Center
• Resource Center for Sexual & Gender Diversity
• Academic Personnel’s Diversity Links
• Disabled Students Program (DSP)
• ADA Handbook – Resources for Persons with Disabilities
• Voice of the Shuttle (VoS) Minority Studies Page
• Voice of the Shuttle (VoS) Gender and Sexuality Studies Page

[edit] On the WWW

• Diversity & Complexity in the Classroom (UC Berkeley)
• Diversity Web: A Resource Hub for Higher Education
• Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence
• ACE Center for Advancement of Racial & Ethnic Equity
• CRLT Multicultural Teaching
• Civil Rights Project at UCLA
• AACU Diversity
• Diversity at Virginia Tech

[edit] Print Resources

• Aguirre, Jr., Adalberto. Women and Minority Faculty in the Academic Workplace: Recruitment, Retention, and Academic Culture. (ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report, Volume 27, Number 6) San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000.
• Aragon, Steven R. Beyond Access: Methods and Models for Increasing Retention and Learning Among Minority Students. (Series: New Directions for Community Colleges) San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000.
• Baez, Benjamin. Affirmative Action, Hate Speech, and Tenure: Narratives about Race, Law, and the Academy. New York: RoutledgeFalmer, 2002.
• Banks, James A. and Cherry A. McGee Banks, eds. Handbook of Research on Multicultural Education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001.
• Duarte, Eduardo Manuel and Stacy Smith. Foundational Perspectives in Multicultural Education. New York: Longman, 2000.
• Enns, Carolyn Zerbe, and Ada L. Sinacore, eds. Teaching and Social Justice: Integrating Multicultural and Feminist Theories in the Classroom. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2005.
• Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970). New York: Continuum International, 2000 (revised ed.).
• García, Mildred, ed. Succeeding in an Academic Career: A Guide for Faculty of Color. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2000.
• hooks, bell. Teaching to Transgress: Education As the Practice of Freedom. New York: Routledge, 1994.
• Howell, Annie, and Frank Tuitt, eds. Race and Higher Education: Rethinking Pedagogy in Diverse College Classrooms. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Educational Review, 2003.
• Jacobs, Lila et al. The Politics of Survival in Academia: Narratives of Inequity, Resilience, and Success. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2002.
• Johns, Ann M., and Maureen Kelley Sipp, eds. Diversity in College Classrooms: Practices for Today’s Campuses. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2004.
• Kailin, Julie. Antiracist Education: From Theory to Practice. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2002.
• Kumashiro, Kevin. Troubling Education: Queer Activism and Antioppressive Pedagogy. New York: RoutledgeFalmer, 2002.
• Loreman, Tim. Inclusive Education: A Practical Guide to Supporting Diversity in the Classroom. London: RoutledgeFalmer, 2005.
• Lowe, Jr., Eugene Y., ed. Promise and Dilemma: Perspectives on Racial Diversity and Higher Education. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1999.
• Talburt, Susan. Subject to Identity: Knowledge, Sexuality, and Academic Practices in Higher Education. New York: SUNY Press, 2000.
• TuSmith, Bonnie and Maureen T. Reddy, eds. Race in the College Classroom: Pedagogy and Politics. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 2002.
• Vargas, Lucila, ed. Women Faculty of Color in the White Classroom: Narratives on the Pedagogical Implications of Teacher Diversity. New York: Peter Lang, 2002.
• Watson, Lemuel W. et al. How Minority Students Experience College: Implications for Planning and Policy. Sterling: Stylus Publishing, 2002.