What Inclusive Instructors Do

"The authors have created an essential resource for college instructors by bridging the gap between theory and practice. Their practical, adaptable guidance is informed by a national faculty survey and integrated with evidence from the educational literature. The book addresses why inclusive teaching matters and goes beyond classroom practices to consider inclusive institutional culture. Instructors and administrators at all types of institutions will benefit from this timely approach to a critical topic."

Jennifer Frederick, PhD, Executive Director of the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, Yale University

"This book is a timely and extraordinarily comprehensive resource for supporting instructors who wish to engage with inclusive teaching. Every facet of what makes teaching inclusive is unpacked and brought to life with quotes and examples from real instructors across different disciplines and institutional contexts, and the reflection questions embedded within each section create a natural way for instructors to engage more deeply with the text and think about applications in their own teaching. No stone is left unturned in connecting the practices shared and the research on why and how those practices support inclusion, making this a most valuable resource for instructors at any stage in their teaching careers."

Catherine Ross, PhD, Executive Director, Center for Teaching and Learning, Columbia University

“This book is an invaluable resource for anyone aiming to engage in the ‘ongoing process’ of what inclusive instructors do. The range of faculty voices that appear throughout the book provide inspiration and confirmation – this is something faculty do across the disciplines and in many teaching contexts. The concrete advice and reflective questions have helped us – and, we are confident, will help you – to be more inclusive and intentional in teaching.

We take four core lessons from this book. What do inclusive instructors do?

1. They take responsibility for making their teaching and their curriculum inclusive.
2. They continue to learn about both their students and teaching.
3. They care about and for each and every student they teach.
4. They change their teaching based on evidence about the practices that support and challenge all students to thrive.

Those may seem simple, but the work of inclusive instructors is seldom easy. Take a deep breath. It’s time to get to work.”

Buffie Longmire-Avital and Peter Felten, Elon University

"The recent push in the United States to ban the teaching of Critical Race Theory in preK–12 and postsecondary education has added another layer of risk and challenge to discussing equity and inclusion in instruction. In higher education, we have systemic, persistent inequities that are often reinforced and reproduced through teaching practices. This tense policy environment poses a unique challenge for college and university faculty seeking to challenge systemic forms of inequity, such as racism in instruction. Faculty spend a significant portion of the work week engaging in teaching, a professional practice for which many received little or no preparation. Yet, faculty often work in fraught political environments which makes talking about inclusion in teaching of minoritized student populations both critical and risky. Given these conditions, Tracie Marcella Addy, Derek Dube, Khadijah A. Mitchell, and Mallory E. SoRelle’s What Inclusive Instructors Do: Principles and Practices for Excellence in College Teaching provides a resource for faculty to learn about the fundamentals of inclusion in postsecondary teaching.

What Inclusive Instructors Do presents information on the what, why, how, and for whom of inclusive teaching practices, while integrating activities with which readers can engage throughout the book to learn more about their own postsecondary context. The authors divided What Inclusive Instructors Do into three sections: Part 1 - Evidence Supporting Inclusion and Major Principles; Part 2 - The Practice of Inclusive Teaching; and Part 3 - Developing and Sustaining a Culture of Inclusive Teaching. The integration of information and activities makes this book a great resource for faculty learning communities, departments, and other university stakeholder groups to use in efforts to build capacity for inclusive instruction on their campuses. As the authors state, “Being an inclusive instructor is a continual process that involves making active, intentional pedagogical choices for each iteration of every course taught” (p. 151). The authors argue that excellence in college teaching requires the intentional use of inclusive practices, and their book provides a primer to help instructors bridge what often feels like a chasm between theory and practice.

What Inclusive Instructors Do is an important contribution to the scholarship on equity and excellence in higher education, and a very timely one as well. Throughout the book, the authors hold collaboration up as a through line in building more inclusive instructional environments across the levels of an institution. In the epilogue, the authors extend their call for collaboration in building capacity for inclusive instruction to administrators and students, in addition to instructors. The authors also reinforce the work involved in fostering an institutional commitment to inclusive teaching through strategic planning and incentive structures."

Teachers College Record

"Inclusive instructors are those who commit daily to prioritizing the removal of barriers for all students, and they are continually reflecting on and refining their practices so they can do that more effectively. What Inclusive Inclusive Instructors Do provides significant guidance to foster growth along that journey."

Christine Simonian Bean - , The Journal of Faculty Development

Foreword—Buffie Longmire-Avital and Peter Felten

Preface

Acknowledgments

Part One: Evidence Supporting Inclusion and Major Principles

1) The What and Why of Inclusive Teaching
2) What Do They Know About Being Inclusive?

Part Two: The Practice of Inclusive Teaching
3) How Do They Design an Inclusive Course?
4) How Do They Make Students Feel Welcome?
5) How Do They Conduct Class Inclusively?

Part Three: Developing and Sustaining a Culture of Inclusive Teaching
6) Using a Tool to Support Inclusive Teaching
7) Concluding Thoughts

Epilogue: Developing and Sustaining a Culture of Inclusive Teaching
Appendix A: Study Methodology
Appendix B: List of Chapter Reflection Questions
Appendix C: Welcome Statement Example
Appendix D: Syllabus Quiz Example
Appendix E: Stereotype Content Model-Driven Reestablishment of a Welcoming Classroom Worksheet
About the Authors
References
Index

Tracie Marcella Addy

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 to her 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

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

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 research and leadership in governmental service addresses the causes and consequences of cancer and COVID-19 health disparities in underrepresented populations.

Mallory SoRelle

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.

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