Teaching Every Student

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Teaching Every Student

• Catherine Ross, Ph.D.
• Institute for Teaching Learning
• University of Connecticut

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At UConn we believe that diversity enriches our
learning environment, the strength of our
workforce, and the lives of our entire community.
it is our obligation to create the best possible
educational environment for our students.
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How can we (faculty and teaching assistants)
foster learning environments in which diversity
becomes one of the resources that stimulates
learning?
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The portion we see of human beings is very
small their forms and faces, voices and
wordsbut beyond these, like an immense dark
continent, lies all that has made them.
Freya Stark The Journeys Echo
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In the Classroom

• How it feels from where the students sit

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Classroom Biases

• The faculty have low expectations for us.
• Since I am Latino, whenever I went into office
  hours, I always felt like the professors were
  thinking You know, he cant keep up with the
  class.
• I wasnt doing well in the course and the
  professor said, Oh well, drop the course.
  Theres nothing I can do for you and theres
  nothing you can do.
• (CRLT Occasional Papers, No. 7, University of
  Michigan)

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Classroom Biases

• The faculty do not understand that we are
  different from the white middle and upper-middle
  class students they are used to.
• One of my TAs was talking about students
  having to work and he said, None of you have to
  work to earn money because you can write home to
  your parents. I was working 35-40 hours a week
  and I felt really bad.

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Classroom Biases

• The faculty do not care about usor reach out to
  us..or have time for us.
• Because my first language is not English, I
  take a little longer to understand something that
  is said, maybe about 2-3 minutes longer. Once I
  got into a verbal disagreement with one of my
  TAs, and he said that he didnt care if I did not
  understand, he didnt have time for me.

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Classroom Biases

• The faculty single us out as experts and
  spokespersons for our racial group.
• An Asian article came up in class and the
  teacher looked at me and said, Im sure XXX will
  have much to say about this next article.
• (CRLT Occasional Papers, No. 7, University of
  Michigan)

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Classroom Biases

• Minority undergraduates at UConn
• In a class of 25 there were 5 minority
  students. Each time a minority would speak, the
  teacher would laugh.
• Students come to a class with different prior
  knowledge. It is better if the teacher explains
  some things rather than assuming the students
  know it from high school.

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Classroom Biases

• Minority undergraduates at UConn
• Some TAs disrespect the students. Oftentimes,
  only the minorities in the class are given oral
  quizzes. The minorities feel hounded by the TAs.
• As a minority there are certain expectations
  placed on you--either to know or to not know
  something this is stereotyping.

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Classroom Biases

• Minority undergraduates at UConn
• It is extremely hard to be the only minority
  in class. There was a history class on slavery
  and the student is expected to be a
  representative. Everyone kept looking at her and
  she felt singled out. Try to keep the class
  general.

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Classroom Biases

• Minority undergraduates at UConn
• When white students dont do well on a test and
  ask for an extra credit assignment, it is given
  to them. When a student of color asks for extra
  credit, the teacher says there is no extra
  credit.

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Classroom Biases

• Minority undergraduates at UConn
• If minorities are having trouble in class, it
  is because they are not trying. You are made to
  feel that when you ask the professor for help,
  you are bothering them.

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Classroom Biases

• Minority undergraduates at UConn
• In classrooms students of color dont feel
  comfortable because they may be the only minority
  and that makes them feel isolated. You feel as
  though because you are a black person, you
  shouldnt be asking questions.

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Classroom Advice

• Minority undergraduate advice
• It is extremely helpful when teachers set up
  group workshops.
• It would be good if they would teach the material
  without rushing.
• (Curriculum Infusion Committee, March 2007)

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Classroom Advice

• Minority undergraduate advice
• Teachers need to understand that people learn in
  different ways.
• It is good to ask students if they have any
  questions.
• Communication is the most important thing!
• (Curriculum Infusion Committee, March 2007)

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What can a TA do?

• More than you think

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The Syllabus

• Setting the tone
• -Institutional values www.diversity.uconn.edu
• -Instructor values personal
• -Students with disabilities
• -Expectations for communication

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The Syllabus

• -Instructor values
• I am committed to providing you with an
  excellent course experience within an atmosphere
  of mutual respect and trust. I value academic
  excellence, academic integrity, and respect for
  one another.I expect all those participating in
  this course to abide by UConn policies
  concerning academic integrity, anti-harassment,
  and anti-discrimination(p. 19, Branch,
  Mullennix, Cohn, 2007)

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The Syllabus

• -Students with disabilities www.csd.uconn.edu
• The University is committed to achieving equal
  educational opportunity and full participation
  for persons with disabilities. It is the policy
  that no qualified person be excluded from
  participating in any University program or
  activity, be denied the benefits of any program
  or activity, or other wise be subjected to
  discrimination

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The Syllabus

• Guidelines for communication
• We should respect diverse points of view. We do
  not need to come to agreement on any particular
  issues we can agree to disagree.
• Our use of language should be respectful of other
  persons or groups. As your instructor, I will NOT
  let injurious statements pass without comment.

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The Syllabus

• Guidelines for communication
• You need not represent any group, only yourself.
• If you feel uncomfortable with any aspect of the
  class environment, it is your responsibility to
  discuss it with the instructor.
• (Branch, Mullennix Cohn, 2007)

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Classroom Guidelines

• Create opportunities for all students to
  participate
• Dont call on first student to raise hand
• Use pair and share techniques first to encourage
  more students to answer

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Classroom Guidelines

• Create opportunities for all students to
  participate
• How many of you would share your thoughts on this
  question with us?
• Use group work to ensure everyone participates

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Classroom Guidelines

• Rectify language patterns or examples that
  exclude or demean
• Use both he and she and encourage students to do
  same
• Watch gender-specific examples write your
  congressman

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Classroom Guidelines

• Rectify language patterns or examples that
  exclude or demean
• Dont make assumptions about students families
  or socioeconomic status
• Avoid comment about students social activities
  that tacitly assume all students are
  heterosexual.

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Classroom Guidelines

• Use case studies, examples and anecdotes from a
  variety of cultural and social contexts.
• Mid or end of semester evaluation
• To what extent did the instructor foster a class
  environment in which diverse points of view were
  respected?

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Classroom Guidelines

• Convey same respect and confidence in abilities
  of all your students.
• Instructor expectations self-fulfilling
• Dont try to protect any group of students
• Be evenhanded in acknowledging good work.
  (Tools for Teaching, Davis, 1993, p. 41)

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Reflective Practice

• Questions to ask yourself

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All good people agree,And all good people
say,All nice people, like us, are WeAnd
everyone else is They.But if you cross over the
sea,Instead of over the way,You may end by
(think of it!) looking on WeAs only a sort of
They!Rudyard KiplingWe and They
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Reflection Questions

• How do your own experiences, values, beliefs and
  stereotypes influence your knowledge and
  understanding of groups that are different from
  your own?
• Do I expect that Asian students will do better?
• Do I assume that all students of color are alike?

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Reflection Questions

• Do I imagine that Latinos will express their
  opinions in non-academic language?
• Do I assume Asian women are likely to be quiet?
• Do I expect students of color to participate
  less?

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Reflection Questions

• How do your own experiences, values, beliefs and
  stereotypes inform the way you interact with
  students whose racial background is different
  from your own?
• Am I afraid of students whose background differs
  markedly from mine?

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Reflection Questions

• Do I rationalize or tolerate lack of
  participation from minority students more than I
  would from other students? Do I think their
  silence means ignorance?
• If an issue involving race comes up, do I assume
  a student of color will know the most about it?

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Reflection Questions

• Am I afraid that students of color might not be
  fully competitive with other students? How do I
  define fully competitive?
• Am I uncomfortable when students of color become
  emotional in the classroom?

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Reflection Questions

• How do your own experiences, values, beliefs and
  stereotypes influence the way you behave in the
  classroom?
• - Do I call on all students equally?
• - How open am I to multiple modes of discourse?

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Reflection Questions

• Am I impatient with students who are non-native
  English speakers? Do I equate language
  proficiency with intelligence?
• Do I respond to white students responses, or
  male students responses as if they had more
  intellectual weight?

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In Summary

• the most serious barrier to taking learning
  seriously lies in our failure to take individual
  differences seriouslybut learning is about
  individuals, and improving learning is about
  understanding what goes on in the mind of the
  learner.
• (What Do We Know about Students Learning and How
  Do We Know It?, K. Patricia Cross, 2005)

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In Summary

• Does this mean we have to change what we do to
  suit each and every student, or that students can
  demand that we do things in ways they like?
• NO!

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In Summary

• Teaching is about that meeting point of well
  conceived collective standards and goals that
  apply to all, plus the awareness that the all
  is composed of individuals. (S. Schafer,
  Professor of history)

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In Summary

• To continue this conversation
• Lunchtime Seminar (www.fdp.uconn.edu)
• Creating Inclusive Classes
• by Dr. Cathleen Love
• Monday, 9/17 11-1, CUE 318

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Endnotes

• Prepared by
• Catherine Ross, Institute for Teaching
  Learning, catherine.ross_at_uconn.edu
• Bibliography
• Branche, J., J. Mullennix E. Cohn. (2007).
  Diversity Across the Curriculum. Bolton, MA
  Anker Publishing.
• Cross, K. P. (2005) What Do We Know About
  Students Learning and How Do We Know It?.
  Center for Studies in Higher Education.
  University of California, Berkeley, CSHE.7.05.
• Davis, B.G., (1993) Tools for Teaching. San
  Francisco Jossey-Bass.
• Derek Bok Center for Teaching Learning,
  Teaching in Racially Diverse College Classrooms,
  Harvard University.
• Saunders, S. and Kardia, D. Creating Inclusive
  College Classrooms. Center for Research on
  Learning and Teaching (CRLT), University of
  Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.