What is Inclusive Teaching?
Inclusive teaching fosters a learning atmosphere in which students from diverse backgrounds enjoy equitable access to education and are fully engaged in their learning journey. Inclusive pedagogies acknowledge the varied viewpoints and abilities of students and appreciate their unique experiences. This emphasizes the importance for educators, librarians, and staff to purposefully craft approaches that not only enhance accessibility to learning but also promote active participation.
Florian (2015) defines inclusive pedagogy as an:
“approach to teaching and learning that supports teachers to respond to individual differences between learners but avoids the marginalization that can occur when some students are treated differently.”
Inclusive Teaching and Learning Strategies
The importance of Inclusive teaching and implementing learning strategies
Conventional educational methods prioritize authority, which can inadvertently exclude students from equity deserving groups, communities or those who do not see themselves adequately represented in the curriculum.
Watts states
“the goal of inclusive pedagogy is to help all students feel like a valued member of the classroom because of the unique background and perspective they bring to the experience.”
Librarians and instructors can employ various strategies to foster an inclusive environment in their classrooms. By doing so, they will enhance the educational experience for all students regardless of their race, gender, socio-political background, or equity deserving identities.
Trauma-Informed Approach and Pedagogy
What is a Trauma-Informed Approach?
Trauma is defined as, “results from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances experienced by an individual as physically or emotionally harmful or life-threatening with lasting adverse effects on the individual’s functioning and mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being.”(SAMHSA, 2014)
Traumatic events of the past or present, or any experiences that cause harm or effect on an individual’s physical or emotional being can cause negative effects in individuals.
The Trauma-Informed Practice Guide developed on behalf of the BC Provincial Mental health and Substance Use Planning Council, recommends adapting a trauma-informed approach where libraries can create safe, welcoming spaces that foster academic growth, personal well-being, and meaningful connections.
- Safety: Safety in a university setting involves creating secure environments throughout campus, including classrooms and libraries. It encompasses clearly designated entry and exit points, quiet spaces for neurodivergent individuals, and a welcoming atmosphere for all. Providing training and skill development opportunities for employees is a key aspect of this principle.
- Trustworthiness and Transparency: The second principle centers on fostering trust, respecting patron, and student privacy, and promoting transparency and accountability in past practices while moving away from harmful deficit thinking.
- Peer Support: The Peer Support principle provides patrons- faculty, staff, students with a platform to reflect on and enhance self-awareness regarding their personal experiences and how these connect with others, thereby fostering empathy and compassion when assisting individuals who have experienced trauma.
- Collaboration and Mutuality: The fourth principle emphasizes employees’ engagement in teamwork, feedback, and institutional decision-making, thereby reducing power imbalances between library staff, faculty and students or patrons. This involves collaborating with student groups and community organizations to create a more cooperative environment.
- Empowerment, Voice and Choice: This principle focuses on amplifying the voices of underrepresented and equity deserving students in library services and university-wide instruction. Collaborating with student groups and community organizations is essential to foster a collaborative environment in line with this principle.
- Cultural, Historical, and Gender Issues: Aligned with UDL principles, this principle prioritizes gender-inclusive facilities like washrooms, adopts an intersectional approach in program and service delivery, and makes equity, diversity, and inclusion the foundational principle in all university initiatives.
Echo Explains Trauma, the Brain, & Survival Responses
Trauma, the Brain, & Survival Responses
Trauma Informed Education
Practical, evidence based strategies for challenging students with Dr. Kay Ayre