Longer Term Goals

The iterative process of course design isn't anything new for instructors. For those with experience teaching, whole course design overhauls aren't a reality, nor especially effective. Small changes over time lead to a bigger impact. Developing inclusive teaching practices should be included in those small changes. While the prior page lists some elements you can do quickly, the following are longer term changes that you should consider to make part of your plan. 

Assess the diversity of your course materials

As you finish teaching this quarter and begin next, use a critical eye on the course materials you use. Are diverse perspectives included? Are the images used in your materials reflect the diverse student body at CCS? Are there opportunities to introduce more voices to your lesson materials? How are minority groups portrayed in the course materials?

Survey Your Students

Develop and deploy anonymous student surveys to assess a variety of parts of your course. Ask what you can personally do to help students do better. Ask about challenging assignments. 

Set Clear Expectations

Review grading criteria and work to establish rubrics, TITLed assignment instructions, and examples of student work. Setting clear expectations for students greatly increases their abilities to complete challenging assignments. The TILT framework is a researched strategy to educating adult learners by effectively communicating to students the importance of assignments and why they are being asked to complete them. If you tell students not just WHAT they are supposed to do in an assignment, but also WHY they are doing it and HOW they know if they are doing it well, they typically perform better. These components (known as task, purpose, and criteria) are what make up the pillars of assignment transparency. 

Teaching with transparency helps students understand the why and how of their learning. Research from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Transparency in Learning and Teaching Project (TILT) has shown that when students understand the task, its purpose, and the criteria for evaluating their work, they are more motivated and feel the work is more relevant.  

Assess Early and Often

Develop more formative assessments early in the term. Consider creating an assessment within the first three days of the course to identify who is having trouble getting started in your course.