Courses

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in Teaching and Learning: An Introductory Course in Five Modules  Inclusive Teaching @ UBC (Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology, University of British Columbia) (CC BY-NC).

This course was created for instructors in all disciplines who are interested in developing their capacity to create more inclusive classrooms and learning environments, but are not sure of where to start. The content is also relevant for anyone who is involved in teaching and learning in higher education, including Teaching Assistants, educational developers, or staff who support instructors. While any of the five modules can be taken independently, we recommend that you start with Module 1 to make sure that you are familiar with the basic concepts and vocabulary used in the course. Format: Online Canvas course.

Textbooks

Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education  by Jay Timothy Dolmage (CC BY-NC-ND).

Academic Ableism brings together disability studies and institutional critique to recognize the ways that disability is composed in and by higher education, and rewrites the spaces, times, and economies of disability in higher education to place disability front and center. For too long, argues Jay Timothy Dolmage, disability has been constructed as the antithesis of higher education, often positioned as a distraction, a drain, a problem to be solved. The ethic of higher education encourages students and teachers alike to accentuate ability, valorize perfection, and stigmatize anything that hints at intellectual, mental, or physical weakness, even as we gesture toward the value of diversity and innovation. Examining everything from campus accommodation processes, to architecture, to popular films about college life, Dolmage argues that disability is central to higher education, and that building more inclusive schools allows better education for all. (Description from University of Michigan Press), Includes: Supplementary resources.

Cases on Social Issues: For Class Discussion  by Deirdre Maultsaid and Gregory John (CC BY-NC).

This Open Educational Resource, “Cases on Social Issues: For Class Discussion” includes valuable cases on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion for student use. The critical events portrayed in the cases are realistic and emotional, and feature the experiences of under-represented and marginalized people. These thoughtful, contemporary cases pose ethical dilemmas about social issues that encourage post-secondary students and instructors to have stimulating, inclusive, and compassionate discussions.  Inspired by input from post-secondary students and authored by people usually under-represented in education material, this resource is designed for upper-level undergraduate or graduate students in the humanities, social sciences, business, healthcare, science, agriculture, environmental studies, law and more. Each case is supplemented with modifiable discussion prompts, notes for teaching strategy, and a short reading list. This resource is a work in progress.

Crip Negativity  by J. Logan Smilges ( CC BY-NC-ND).

Leveling a strong critique of the category of disability and liberal disability politics, Smilges asks and imagines what horizons might exist for the liberation of those oppressed by ableism—beyond access and inclusion. Inspired by models of negativity in queer studies, Black studies, and crip theory, Smilges proposes that bad crip feelings might help all of us to care gently for one another, even as we demand more from the world than we currently believe to be possible. Format: online (Manifold)

Diversity and Difference in Communication∗  by OpenLearn Diversity & Difference in Communication (CC BY-NC-SA).

Interpersonal communication in health and social care services is by its nature diverse. As a consequence, achieving good or effective communication whether between service providers and service users, or among those working in a service means taking account of diversity, rather than assuming that every interaction will be the same. This text explores the ways in which difference and diversity impact on the nature of communication in health and social care services.

The book was created for use in a course at Iowa State University, AMD 165 Dress, Appearance, and Diversity in US Society. Examination of dress and appearance practices and experiences of marginalized identities and communities in the United States. Introduction to fashion- and dress-related theories, culture and identity concepts, and social justice concepts and issues in regards to dress, appearance, and fashion in the fashion industry. Meets US diversity requirement. In addition to text, the book also includes learning objectives for each chapter, H5P exercises, downloadable case studies for student assignments, and an aligned syllabus.

Haunting Our Biases: Using Participatory Theatre to Interrupt Implicit Bias  by Kevin Hobbs, Nadia Ganesh, Sheila O’Keefe-McCarthy, Joe Norris, Sandy Howe, and Valerie Michaelson (CC BY-NC).

This project invites learners to deepen their self-awareness about the implicit biases that they hold. In participatory theatre, this kind of invitation for self-exploration can haunt us, leaving a lasting impression that can evoke self-reflexive actions and behaviours.

Humanizing Learning: A Student-Generated Framework∗ co-designed by students, recent graduates, educational developers, librarians, and instructors  (CC BY).

This work explores what humanizing learning is – and isn’t – while centering student voices and the student experience. This is a resource meant for instructors, and is filled with quotes from students and instructors alike.

Inclusive Education: Simple Strategies to Improve Equity and Embrace Diversity  by Alison Flynn and Jeremy Kerr  (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

The fundamental goal of this book is to suggest ways to do better using a framework that aligns with fairly common approaches to conceiving, designing, aand teaching a university-level course. Perfection, which is subjective in this context in any event, should not be the enemy of progress. As instructors, we are uniquely positioned to make a positive difference in students’ lives and careers. It’s worth it.

Inclusive Pedagogies  edited by Christina Page (CC BY-NC-SA)

This resource introduces educators to educational strategies that can foster more inclusive, equitable, and just classroom environments. It aims to create classroom environments that support the needs of diverse learners, while at the same time creating an enhanced learning environment for all.

Interculturalizing the Curriculum∗  by Christina Page (CC BY-NC-SA).

This resource is the third in a series of educator development resources on interculturality. Developed for the KPU Intercultural Teaching Program, this short book engages educators in two main strands of interculturalizing the curriculum: (1) revising curriculum to reflect intercultural learning outcomes, and diverse content from multiple perspectives, and (2) supporting student interculturality development.

Learning to be Human Together: Humanizing Learning  by Student, faculty and staff at OCAD University, Mohawk College, Brock University, Trent University, Nipissing University, University of Windsor, and University of Toronto at Mississauga (CC BY 4.0).

This resource explores the importance of, and processes for, humanizing education. We start by exploring what humanizing teaching and learning means: to acknowledge that our relationships are foundational to the work that we do. It aims to make learning inclusive with connection, access, and meaning-making at its core.

Making Lab Based Courses Inclusive by Allyson MacLean (CC BY-NC-SA).

This resource is meant to provide general guidance on enhancing the accessibility of lab-based courses, with a particular focus on supporting the learning of students with physical disabilities. Individuals with disabilities are under-represented within scientific disciplines, and students with physical disabilities may even be discouraged from taking science-based courses in part due to concerns about the relatively inaccessible nature of scientific laboratories. It is worth emphasizing that while students with disabilities represent a small minority of the overall student population, the implementation of inclusive teaching practices has the potential to benefit learners of all abilities. Uniquely, teaching laboratories are learning environments in which poorly designed spaces and unsafe practices not only have the potential to adversely impact accessibility and learning but, at worst, may represent danger to a student and others in the class.

Media Attributions

• Canada Map Icon by Icons8 (CC BY-ND).
• BC Map by Adamwashere (CC BY-NC-SA).
• Sask map by Wikimedia Commons (Public domain).

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  1. Resources in this chapter are based on OER by Discipline Guide: University of Ottawa (Version 2.0 – June 2022) Copyright © 2022 by Mélanie Brunet and Catherine Lachaîne (CC-BY)