Inclusive Teaching Seminar

Conversations about inclusive teaching are increasingly more common on college campuses. Instructors are tasked with understanding and responding to issues of diversity in their classrooms and with articulating their own approach to teaching with an inclusive framework. How can we create classroom environments that set up all students for success? How can we help our students learn through the diversity of experiences and perspectives they bring to the classroom?

Join us for an in-depth series of workshops coordinated with Inclusive Teaching: Supporting All Students in the College Classroom, a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) produced by the CTL that explores the principles and frameworks that define an inclusive teaching practice. The discussion series consists of 6 sessions, each one debriefing a module of the MOOC.

How to participate

CTL offers the Inclusive Teaching Seminar periodically; it last ran in Fall 2022. Seminars running during the current and upcoming semesters are listed here. See Please email any questions to CTLgrads@columbia.edu.

Who

Graduate students and postdocs…

  • who want to reflect on their inclusive teaching experiences and practices.
  • who want to engage with scholarship on inclusive teaching and apply it to their practice.
  • who are committed to creating inclusive classroom environments.

Program Goals

  • Develop a learning community for reflection with graduate students and postdocs
  • Create an inclusive environment where participants can explore and reflect on their positionalities and biases
  • Build confidence in participants’ ability to develop, share, and discuss their personal approaches to inclusive teaching

 

Learning Objectives

By the end of this seminar, participants will be able to:

  • Systematically reflect on inclusive teaching and learning
  • Apply concepts and ideas from the literature on inclusive teaching to practice
  • Provide and integrate peer feedback into their own inclusive teaching practice
  • Develop inclusive teaching strategies and articulate their approach to inclusive teaching

Sessions

Click on the toggles below to read descriptions.

Inclusive Teaching Seminar Convening (Oct. 12)

Unlike subsequent sessions, this convening is restricted to graduate students and postdocs who have been admitted to the Inclusive Teaching Seminar.

Prior to this session: Participants are expected to have completed the Overview of Inclusive Teaching Module of Columbia University CTL’s Inclusive Teaching MOOC (approximately 45 minutes). 

During this session: We will dig deeper into the definitions of inclusive teaching offered in the online module and debrief our experiences reflecting on our own identities and identifying assumptions that we may bring to the classroom. Expectations for seminar participation, featuring completion of an action plan and statement of inclusive teaching, will also be discussed. By the end of the session, participants should be able to:

  • Identify and reflect on teacher and learner identities and their relationship to inclusive teaching
  • Describe key terms in inclusive teaching scholarship
Inclusive Teaching 1: Establishing and Supporting an Inclusive Course Climate (Oct. 19)

Prior to this session: Participants are expected to have completed Module 1 of Columbia University CTL’s Inclusive Teaching MOOC (approximately 45 minutes). If you have not had a chance to complete the Overview of Inclusive Teaching Module, we highly recommend reviewing its content as well.

During this session: We will reflect on the considerations for establishing and supporting an inclusive course climate and its impacts on student learning offered in the online module and debrief our own experiences or plans for enacting such ideas in the classroom. By the end of the session, participants should be able to:

  • Identify elements of inclusive and dis-inclusive course climates
  • Describe how course climate impacts student learning

Register for this session

Inclusive Teaching 2: Setting Explicit Expectations (Oct. 26)

Prior to this session: Participants are expected to have completed Module 2 of Columbia University CTL’s Inclusive Teaching MOOC (approximately 45 minutes). If you have not had a chance to complete the Overview of Inclusive Teaching Module, we highly recommend reviewing its content as well.

During this session: We will reflect on the considerations for setting up clear expectations and cycles of feedback for motivation offered in the online module and debrief our own experiences or plans for enacting such ideas in the classroom. By the end of the session, participants should be able to:

  • Describe or explain why setting clear and equitable expectations is necessary for all students to succeed in a course
  • Recognize how your cultural frame of reference shapes expectations of student behavior and performance in the classroom
Inclusive Teaching 3: Promoting Diversity and Inclusion through Course Content (Nov. 2)

Prior to this session: Participants are expected to have completed Module 3 of Columbia University CTL’s Inclusive Teaching MOOC (approximately 45 minutes). If you have not had a chance to complete the Overview of Inclusive Teaching Module, we highly recommend reviewing its content as well.

During this session: We will reflect on the considerations for reflecting diversity through content,  scholarly voices of interrogation, and student perspectives offered in the online module and debrief our own experiences or plans for enacting such ideas in the classroom. By the end of the session, participants should be able to:

  • Describe the value of including diverse perspectives (sources, voices, representation, disciplines) in course content
  • Identify strategies to include diverse perspectives into the curriculum and classroom
Inclusive Teaching 4: Designing All Course Elements for Accessibility (Nov. 9)

Prior to this session: Participants are expected to have completed Module 4 of Columbia University CTL’s Inclusive Teaching MOOC (approximately 45 minutes). If you have not had a chance to complete the Overview of Inclusive Teaching Module, we highly recommend reviewing its content as well.

During this session: We will reflect on the considerations for reflecting upon accessibility of course elements using lenses of Universal Design offered in the online module and debrief our own experiences or plans for enacting such ideas in the classroom. By the end of the session, participants should be able to:

  • Describe key components of Universal Design for Learning
  • Identify ways to incorporate multiple modes of representation, action and expressions, and engagement into course design
  • Reflecting upon accessibility of course elements and identify areas of growth using lenses of Universal Design and inclusive teaching
Inclusive Teaching 5: Cultivating Critical Self-Reflection (Nov. 16)

Prior to this session: Participants are expected to have completed Module 5 of Columbia University CTL’s Inclusive Teaching MOOC (approximately 45 minutes). If you have not had a chance to complete the Overview of Inclusive Teaching Module, we highly recommend reviewing its content as well.

During this session: We will reflect on the considerations for establishing a critically reflective practice and routine for self-reflection offered in the online module and debrief our own experiences or plans for enacting such ideas in the classroom. By the end of the session, participants should be able to:

  • Identify ways to engage in self-reflection about inclusive teaching practices
  • Develop a plan to solicit multiple forms of feedback about your inclusive teaching practices

Seminar Facilitators

Mark Phillipson, Ian Althouse

Contact

Email CTLgrads@columbia.edu with any questions about this seminar.