Counseling@Northwestern The Hub

We adopt the Northwestern Principles of Inclusive Teaching (Northwestern University Office of the Provost, 2021) detailed below, as we strive to:

• adopt inclusive pedagogies – strategies that invite more people into the learning experience in an accessible and respectful way (p. 5). 
• recognize inclusive teaching requires continuous learning and adaptation on the part of the instructor (p. 5). 

1. We consider our own and our students’ social identities and their implications for learning. Our educators: 
   1. engage in work around their personal racial, ethnic, and multicultural identity development
   2. to reflect on how their identities impact their teaching (p. 7).
2. We establish and communicate clear course standards and expectations. Our educators: 
   1. reflect critically on what we want our students to be able to do, know, and value by the end of the course, and we explain why this matters.
   2. examine the syllabus for what may be getting communicated to students.
   3. avoid assumptions about students’ prior understanding in terms of both foundational knowledge and tasks.
   4. create communal guidelines on the first day of class.
   5. communicate expectations about what it means to participate in the discussion, whether in small or large groups or in face-to-face or online environments.
   6. clarify assessment criteria.
   7. communicate a balance of rigor and empathy in both words and actions— as we hold our students to high but achievable standards (p. 9).
3. We offer varied ways for students to demonstrate their learning and knowledge. Our educators utilize asset-based pedagogy and promote motivation to learn by:
   1. helping students reflect on what they bring to a task
   2. providing students with autonomy and choice
   3. offering students ways to develop competence and self-efficacy.
   4. offering alternative assessments that allow our students to relate more clearly to the context.
   5. providing multiple opportunities and choices for informal expression.
   6. ensuring varied means of expression are accessible and equitably affirmed and highlighted (p. 11).
4. We communicate sources of support for learning by reducing the barrier of students’ having to request information about academic support. Instead, our educators:
   1. learn about academic support and resources
   2. identify and make connections with course-and-discipline-relevant resources
   3. include a statement in the course syllabus about external sources of academic support
   4. emphasize the purpose and importance of office hours
   5. direct students to campus resources for support
   6. incorporate resources in course assessments or activities
   7. invite representatives from campus resources to the classroom (p. 13).
5. We Cultivate a welcoming and inclusive course climate. Our educators:
   1. become aware of any biases or stereotypes they may unconsciously hold and treat each student as an individual.
   2. are attentive to terminology and model inclusive language, behavior, and attitudes.
   3. convey the same level of confidence in the abilities of all their students and are mindful of low-ability cues.
   4. structure opportunities for collaboration and interaction with peers.
   5. facilitate and encourage group dialogue.
   6. turn discord and tension into a learning opportunity.
   7. avoid microaggressions.
   8. intervene when microaggressions arise.
   9. examine course content while crafting an inclusive curriculum (p. 15).
6. We consider diverse teaching and learning frameworks and methods. We consider a host of flexible, research-informed frameworks and methods (p. 19).
7. We assess our inclusive teaching. We assess, or self-evaluate, our inclusive teaching practices and pedagogical choices as well as solicit perspectives from students and others, such as faculty colleagues and learning and teaching center experts. Our educators:
   1. reflect on their own experiences as a learner and a teacher.
   2. reflect on their inclusive teaching strategies.
   3. seek student feedback in a variety of forms beyond end-of-term student evaluations.
   4. solicit feedback from peers.
   5. solicit feedback from external evaluators (p. 23).
8. We stay current with inclusive teaching literature and strategies. Our educators: 
   1. read inclusive, cross-discipline pedagogy literature
   2. read literature that specifically addresses teaching in their field.
   3. encourage department discussion by bringing in a speaker on developing pedagogies of inclusivity in our field
   4. to familiarize themselves with the works cited in the Northwestern University inclusive teaching practices guide (p. 25).