CIDR staff consult with faculty and TAs on any question related to teaching and learning, and in some cases instructors seek us out with questions directly related to
diversity and inclusive teaching. In all cases, we are committed to raising questions related to understanding students, recognizing how students differ from one another and from the instructor, and making teaching decisions that reflect an understanding of students’ diverse experiences, backgrounds, and identities.
Other ways that CIDR consultants help faculty develop and maintain an inclusive learning environment include observing class sessions, helping instructors assess how students are experiencing their classes, and working with instructors to gather and interpret student feedback. By getting another perspective on their teaching or looking closely at students’ perceptions, many instructors are better able to identify and address diversity issues in their classes. See the Consulting section of our web site for more information about the variety of ways that we work with instructors on teaching and learning.
We also recognize the impact that faculty and TA identity has on teaching and learning. We are committed to acknowledging the unique background and experiences that each faculty member and TA brings to his or her class, but we also want to address the particular issues that arise when students question an instructor’s authority or credibility based on their perceptions of the instructor’s identity. Through a variety of partnerships, we are continually working to develop our expertise in this area and to broaden the discussion of faculty and TA diversity at UW.
CIDR has developed a wide variety of resources to help faculty and TAs consider teaching and learning issues related to diversity. In the early 1990’s, CIDR produced “
Teaching in the Diverse Classroom,” a video which is still widely used throughout the country to help faculty and TAs understand how students’ diverse identities and backgrounds influence their experiences in university classrooms.
More recently, CIDR has developed the Inclusive Teaching Web Guide, which presents resources, examples, insights from faculty, and stories from students in order to help members of the UW teaching community accomplish their goal of teaching more inclusively. CIDR has also produced issues of the CIDR Bulletin that address Inclusive Teaching, Disability as Diversity, and other topics which help instructors consider who their students are and how students are experiencing their class – for example, What Helps Students Learn?, Learning from Student Feedback, and More and Better Class Participation.
In addition to resources that have been developed by CIDR, we also collect resources on diversity in higher education from other institutions throughout the country, many of which are linked from our Resources page on Diversity and Inclusive Teaching. Also, thanks in part to support from the UW Center for Curriculum Transformation, we have been able to develop a Diversity Collection in the CIDR Reading Room. This collection focuses on incorporating diversity through classroom practices and curriculum transformation. It also includes literary, historical, and fiction titles.
Self-Study on Diversity
CIDR staff recently engaged in a self-study to examine how our expressed commitments to diversity are carried out in our actual practices. The self-study and follow-up actions, which took place over a two-year period, are summarized in these documents:
Other direct outcomes of the self-study include other materials identified elsewhere on this page, including the Inclusive Teaching Web Guide and content of TA Conference Workshops developed by CIDR staff.
Partnerships for Diversity
CIDR regularly collaborates with others at UW on diversity issues and initiatives, including the Center for Curriculum Transformation, GO-MAP, the Office of Minority Affairs, and Disability Resources for Students. CIDR has also recently partnered with Faculty Council on Instructional Quality and the Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs on diversity-related projects, including both the Faculty Conversations Project, an initiative to launch faculty learning communities on the topic of diversity, and the development of a classroom climate assessment instrument.
Selected CIDR Staff Publications and Presentations on Diversity
Grooters, S., & Lenz, L.R. (2006, October). Strategies for Addressing Graduate Student Diversity in TA Preparation. Roundtable discussion at the 31st Annual POD Conference in Portland, OR.
Jacobson, W., & Reddick, L. (2005). An alignment perspective on inclusive teaching and learning. In D. Wulff & Associates (Eds.), Aligning for Learning: Strategies for Effective Teaching. Bolton, MA: Anker Press.
Reddick, L., Jacobson, W., Linse, A. & Yong, D. (2005). An inclusive teaching framework for science, technology, engineering, and math. In M. Ouellett (Ed.),Teaching Inclusively: Diversity and Faculty Development. Stillwater, OK: New Forums Press.
Linse, A., Jacobson, W., & Reddick, L. (2004/05). Teaching for diversity and inclusiveness in science, technology, engineering, and math. Essays on Teaching Excellence, Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education.
Arora, A. (2005, October). Critical and Feminist Pedagogies: Possibilities and Challenges. Paper presented at the 30th Annual POD Conference in Milwaukee, WI.
Borgford-Parnell, J., & Jacobson, W. (2005, May). An array of programs aimed at making STEM disciplines inclusive communities for both students and faculty. Poster presented at the 2005 Diversity Forum of the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, & Learning in Madison, WI.
Jacobson, W., & Lowell, N. (2005, October). Developing and Piloting a Campus Climate Assessment Instrument. Paper presented at the 30th Annual POD Conference in Milwaukee, WI.
Jacobson, W., & Reddick, L. (2005, May). "It should be clear to students that I treat everyone the same" and other strategies that don't work very well. Workshop presented at the 2005 Diversity Forum of the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, & Learning in Madison, WI.
Ouellett, M., Jacobson, W., & Fraser, E. (2004). Research into diversity, diversity into research. Paper presented at the 298h Annual Conference of POD (the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education) in Montreal, Quebec.
Lawrence, M. (2003, June). Reworking End-of-Term Evaluation Forms in Response to Diverse Contexts. Presentation session at 2003 American Association for Higher Education Assessment Conference, Seattle, WA.
Reddick, L., Linse, A., Jacobson, W., & Luna, P. (2003, October). A Case for Inclusive Teaching in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Courses. Session presented at the 28th Annual Conference of the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education (POD), Denver, CO.
Jacobson, W., Arora, A., Borgford-Parnell, J., & O’Dell, B. (2002, February). Developing a Practical Guide to Inclusive Teaching Practices. Paper presented at the 15th Annual Conference of the Washington Center for Improving Undergraduate Education.
Jacobson, W., Borgford-Parnell, J., Frank, K., Peck, M., & Reddick, L. (2001). Operational Diversity: Saying what we mean, doing what we say. To Improve the Academy, 20, 128-149.
Jacobson, W., Borgford-Parnell, J., Frank, K., Peck, M., & Reddick, L. (2001, April). Collaborative Development and Uses of an Inclusive Practices Portfolio. Paper presented at the Conference of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in Seattle, Washington.
Jacobson, W., & Frank, K. (2000, November). Operational Diversity: Saying what we mean, doing what we say. An organizational development case study presented at the 25th Annual Conference of POD (the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education) in Vancouver, British Columbia.
