"It is the little things that can make a major difference"
Often there are little changes in the way you teach or
organize your course that make big difference for promoting inclusiveness.This is particularly true in an online
environment where often students face challenges such as a digital divide. By
adopting a few heuristics to promote an understanding of diversity and equity,
you can help foster a more inclusive learning experience that will result in
higher student success rates.
The embedded webinar includes tips for making your courses more inclusive.It provides the following tips:
An Optional Session 0
Tips for Accommodating Multiple Learning Styles
Threaded Assignments and Scaffolds
The Value of Checklists
Multiple Representations of Content
Inclusive Reflection
Many of these can be an easy as adopting a different document
for organizing content or adding an element within the course design.Likewise, sometimes just being mindful of
vernacular and the fact that we do not all have the same shared experiences can
go a long way.
Principle of Action and Expression - Guideline 2 - Criterion 3
When developing a course using the second principle of Universal Design for Learning, there
are three specific guidelines to assist us.
The second, Expression and
Communication, focuses on how learners effectively communicate and express
their knowledge.
Criterion 3 of this guideline advocates that we construct fluencies with graduated levels
of support for practice and performance.
We should promote the development of a variety of fluencies.
Learners will often need multiple scaffolds, at many different levels, to
accomplish this. To assist them as they practice and inculcate new skills and
knowledge, courses should offer alternatives that vary in the degree of
scaffolding that learners can select to support them. They should have the
freedom to select help when needed or to forgo. Likewise, many opportunities of
performance will assist learners in developing fluencies. Performance helps
learners because it allows them to synthesize their learning in ways relevant
to them personally. For these reasons, it is important to provide options that
build fluencies.
When constructing learning activities, consider:
Providing various models that demonstrate the same outcome through different approaches
Scaffolding activities and assistive structures such that learners can gradually remove the scaffolds as they gain fluency
Providing differentiated feedback that varies per learner. This is particularly easier when working online with personalized learning tools.
Providing multiple examples to demonstrate original solutions to authentic problems.
By following these suggestions, your course will assist
students communicating and expressing their knowledge, as well as being in line
with the Principle of Action and Expression in the Theory of Universal Design
for Learning.
There are two types of biases: explicit and implicit. Explicit
bias is the bias you are aware of and implicit bias is unconscious bias. First
coined in 1995, implicit bias refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that
affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner (Greenwald
& Banaji, 1995).
If you are convinced that you do not have implicit bias –
you wouldn’t know it – it is unconscious. In fact, this aspect makes it so
difficult to self-identify. Implicit bias may run counter to your deeply held
beliefs without you realizing it. It is quite possible that your explicit
biases run contrary to your implicit biases, and you would not be aware of it.
How does this happen?
There are two types of thinking (quick instinctive and
slow/methodical) The former may help us identify patterns more quickly or even
protect us from potential threats that may have helped us survive thousands of
years ago, however it is still fallible.It can also lead to many results that are dangerous and harmful (Kahneman
(2011)).
How can implicit bias be harmful?
Because it is unconscious, it can permeate all aspects of
our society. This impedes notions of fairness or impartiality that will help
promote the best people for jobs.
Studies have revealed that Implicit bias exists in our
healthcare, legal system, workplace and everyday life.Implicit bias in healthcare in the US
contributes to women and racial minorities experiencing:
less accurate diagnoses,
curtailed treatment options,
less pain management, and
worse clinical outcomes
Moreover, the same implicit bias affects communication,
collaboration, performance reviews, as well as promotions.
Implicit bias can show up in areas that you wouldn’t expect.
As it is undetected, it can undermine the success of
institutions as well as being injurious to individuals. By unfairly biasing our
choices, we are promoting unjust behavior that can impede success, such as in
the sciences, because the best person for the job was not actually selected due
to favoritism based on arbitrary qualities.
Research shows that when presented with identical resumes,
various biases occur when changing one variable that is not relevant for
selecting a job.Having an ‘ethnic’
sounding name, or one that is more associated with a minority, will
significantly decrease the chances of being selected to a position. (Klein,
Rose & Waters, 2021) Even more surprising, is that when shown pictures revealing
relative heights, the taller candidate will be greatly advantaged.This advantage is so significant and
consistent, that those under the average height are speculated to make more than
$2000 less a year for every inch below average (Wang et al., 2020). Similar
biases have been recorded for applicants BMI. Thus, many individuals are being
denied equal opportunity while others are afforded positions that they may not
even be as qualified for. Further, their promotion is heavily influenced by
what Rawls’ (1971) would call “morally arbitrary properties”.
Luckily, there is hope.
Orchestras used to be mostly composed of male musicians,
even though admittance should be based on musical skill.When auditions started using blind-review for
musicians, there was a significant increase in female musicians being selected.
A simple way to overcome this implicit bias was to add a curtain between the
judges and the applicant.Does this
solve all problems of implicit bias? No. However, it shows that we can
sometimes modify the process to help correct unfairness and minimally promote
impartiality.
The first step in battling implicit bias is recognizing that
it exists and you also have implicit biases.Only then can we take steps to identify what they may be and how we can
help ensure that these do not unfairly influence important decisions. While
this is not easy, it is critical for promoting a more just and effective
society where we can be better healthcare workers, police officers, teachers,
as well as better people.
References
Bertrand, M., et al. (2005), Implicit Discrimination, 95
American Economic Review 94.
Chapman, E. N., Kaatz, A., & Carnes, M. (2013).
Physicians and implicit bias: how doctors may unwittingly perpetuate health
care disparities. Journal of general internal medicine, 28(11), 1504-1510.
Charlesworth, T. E., & Banaji, M. R. (2019). Patterns of
implicit and explicit attitudes: I. Long-term change and stability from 2007 to
2016. Psychological science, 30(2), 174-192.
Glaser, J & E Knowles Implicit Motivation to Control
Prejudice, 44 Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 164 (2008).
Goldin, C. & C Rouse. 2000. "Orchestrating
Impartiality: The Impact of "Blind" Auditions on Female
Musicians." American Economic Review, 90 (4): 715-741.
Green. A. et al. (2007), Implicit Bias Among Physicians and
Its Prediction of Thrombolysis Decisions for Black and White Patients, 22
Journal of General Internal Medicine 1231.
Greenwald, A. G., & Banaji, M. R. (1995). Implicit
social cognition: attitudes, self-esteem, and stereotypes. Psychological
review, 102(1), 4.
Greenwald, A. G., McGhee, D. E., & Schwartz, J. L.
(1998). Measuring individual differences in implicit cognition: the implicit
association test. Journal of personality and social psychology, 74(6),
1464.
Greenwald, A. G., & Krieger, L. H. (2006). Implicit
bias: Scientific foundations. California Law Review, 94(4),
945-967.
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow.
Macmillan.
Wigboldus, D. H., Sherman, J. W., Franzese, H. L., & A.V.
Knippenberg (2004). Capacity and comprehension: Spontaneous stereotyping under
cognitive load. Social Cognition, 22(3), 292-309.
