LAKERS TOGETHER: View the university’s COVID-19 response. Also, be sure to complete the online daily self-assessment.
Inclusive Excellence
To support an inclusive learning environment at GVSU, we invite faculty to engage with the resources described below. Whether you have a few minutes to spare or are looking for a multi-day institute, we offer all faculty the opportunity to continue to grow, learn, explore on their own, or engage with peers.
edX Teaching & Learning in the Diverse Classroom is now SELF-PACED!
This FREE Self-Paced Course will employ real stories, reflection, and key research to help faculty learn how to create and sustain inclusive, student-centered learning environments.
U.S.–based and higher education-centered, this is a five-module, self-paced course that offers an inclusive teaching framework with multiple entry points for reflection and exploration of the research on learning and diversity. Anchored in the lived experiences of students and instructors, including your own, we invite you to explore strategies for inclusive course design, student-centered pedagogical practices, facilitating learning across difference, and change efforts that support student engagement, achievement, and belongingness. Come with a course of your own in mind, and design for inclusion as you make your way through Teaching & Learning in the Diverse Classroom.
Visit the edX Teaching & Learning in the Diverse Classroom Course webpage to learn more!
The NCFDD virtual mentoring program is an independent online professional development training, and mentoring community dedicated to supporting successful career transitions. Graduate students, faculty at all ranks and career stages, unit heads, administrators, and staff can activate their personal accounts by following the steps outlined below.
- Go to www.facultydiversity.org/join
- Under "Select Your Institution," choose "Grand Valley State University"
- Select "Activate my Membership"
- Complete the registration form using your GVSU email address
- Check your GVSU email account to find a confirmation/welcome email. Click "Activate Account" in the email.
Your membership allows you to access tools to increase research and writing productivity and improve work-life balance. Some of these tools include:
- The weekly Monday Motivator
- Monthly Core Curriculum Webinars
- Monthly Guest Expert and Multi-Week Course Trainings
- Access to the 14-Day Writing Challenge each semester
- Access to the Dissertation Success Curriculum for advanced graduate students
- And more!
What a virtual tour of all that NCFDD has to offer? Register for a NCFDD Virtual Orientation—held on September 4th from 9–9:30 a.m. or 12–12:30 p.m.
Please contact Dana Munk (munkd@gvsu.edu) if you have questions or concerns.
NCFDD Fall Discussion Series
LEARN AND ENGAGE WITH COLLEAGUES
This series will bring faculty and staff together for iterative conversation on selected NCFDD webinars. Registrants will have the opportunity to participate in the live webinar or view the recorded version PRIOR to attending the discussion session. These sessions are independent of one another—register for the topics that interest you the most.
You will have to activate your institutional membership in order to access the webinars (live or recorded). Please see the general NCFDD information block for instructions on how to activate your membership.
Registration links are provided in the description box for each topic.
These sessions will be facilitated by the Pew FTLC and Human Resources.
Fall 2020 NCFDD Fall Discussion Series
Developing Anti-Oppressive Communities: Supporting Black Students and Mentees (September 11 at 12pm)
DEVELOPING
ANTI-OPPRESSIVE COMMUNITIES: SUPPORTING BLACK STUDENTS AND MENTEES
September 11th at 12pm
This webinar will provide attendees with opportunities to identify and reflect on their privileges and biases and how these impact their ability to effectively serve as teachers and scholars. The presenter will discuss strategies for identifying and combating anti-Black racism in classrooms and research groups, how to most effectively support Black students and colleagues, and how to proactively contribute to diverse and inclusive campus communities, whether those be classrooms, research teams, labs, or committees. The presenter will also address how the unequal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn and the recent racist killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Ahmaud Arbery impact black research assistants and postdocs and the role of faculty and PIs in supporting Black mentees during the present historical moment.
Participation in this program requires you view the Developing Anti-Oppressive Communities: Supporting Black Students and Mentees NCFDD Webinar PRIOR to attending the discussion session on September 11th. We will NOT be viewing this webinar as a group. Webinars can be viewed LIVE (by registering with NCFDD) or you can view the recorded version (requires you to activate your NCFDD Membership).
Cultivating Your Network of Mentors, Sponsors & Collaborators (Sept. 25th at 12pm)
CULTIVATING
YOUR NETWORK OF MENTORS, SPONSORS & COLLABORATORS
September 25th at 12pm
- Do you have a reliable and strong network of mentors?
- Are you struggling to cultivate mentoring relationships?
- Do you know the difference between a mentor and a sponsor?
- Are you moving to a new stage of your career and wondering how to find new mentors and sponsors that are appropriate to the next level?
If so, join us for a webinar that will help you:
- Map your current mentoring network
- Identify your unmet needs
- Plan how to expand your existing network to meet your current needs
Participation in this program requires you view the Cultivating Your Network of Mentors, Sponsors & Collaborators NCFDD Webinar PRIOR to attending the discussion session on September 25th. We will NOT be viewing this webinar as a group. Webinars can be viewed LIVE (by registering with NCFDD) or you can view the recorded version (requires you to activate your NCFDD Membership).
REGISTER for Cultivating Your Network of Mentors, Sponsors & Collaborators Discussion Session
How to Engage in Healthy Conflict (October 30th at 12pm)
HOW TO ENGAGE IN HEALTHY CONFLICT
October 30th at 12pm
- Do you often feel drained by departmental drama?
- Do feel unclear how to handle conflicts that arise in your department?
- Are you unsure when, where, and how to manage conflict with people who will be voting on your tenure?
Academics are notoriously conflict avoidant and the inability to manage conflict can result in negative physical, emotional, and relational consequences for tenure-track faculty. So why not learn early in your career to master the SKILL of healthy conflict so that you can effectively manage conflicts as they arise and avoid carrying around all of the negative energy, anger and resentment in your mind and body. In this webinar, you will learn:
- How conflict-management is an essential part of thriving in the Academy.
- How to decide when to push-back and when to pull back in the face of conflict.
- The difference between healthy and unhealthy conflict.
- How to get clear about the role that power plays in resolving departmental conflicts.
- Ten tips for engaging in healthy conflict.
Participation in this program requires you view the How to Engage in Healthy Conflict NCFDD Webinar PRIOR to attending the discussion session on October 30th. We will NOT be viewing this webinar as a group. Webinars can be viewed LIVE (by registering with NCFDD) or you can view the recorded version (requires you to activate your NCFDD Membership).
REGISTER for How to Engage in Healthy Conflict Discussion Session
Wellness and Technology (November 20th at 12pm)
WELLNESS AND TECHNOLOGY
November 20th at 12pm
We’re spending more time on social networks, viewing media, and checking our notifications, “likes”, and text messages… and it’s making us feel unhappy, stressed, and lonely.
So how do we “outsmart our smartphones”? How do we stop using our phones in ways that hurt our happiness, start using our phones in ways that boost our happiness, and build the skills we need to cultivate happiness in the context of an increasingly digital world?
In this webinar you’ll discover seven science-based steps for boosting happiness in the digital age and learn practical strategies for developing healthier their digital habits.
Participation in this program requires you view the Wellness and Technology NCFDD Webinar PRIOR to attending the discussion session on November 20th. We will NOT be viewing this webinar as a group. Webinars can be viewed LIVE (by registering with NCFDD) or you can view the recorded version (requires you to activate your NCFDD Membership).
How to Challenge Race and Gender Bias in Student Evaluations (December 11th at 12pm)
HOW TO CHALLENGE RACE AND GENDER BIAS IN STUDENT EVALUATIONS
December 11th at 12pm
Studies consistently show that student evaluations are biased against women faculty and faculty of color. Yet, higher education institutions continue to lean heavily on students’ evaluations of teaching for hiring and promotion decisions. This webinar is designed for faculty and administrators to better understand how student biases become transformed into institutional inequalities based on race and gender. The webinar provides administrators and faculty in leadership positions with a range of potential solutions for eliminating or minimizing the negative impacts of biased student evaluations. Recognizing that institutional change takes time, however, the webinar also provides strategies for empowering women faculty and faculty of color on how to advocate for themselves, particularly in situations where they are not being fully supported.
Participation in this program requires you view the How to Challenge Race and Gender Bias in Student Evaluations NCFDD Webinar PRIOR to attending the discussion session on December 11th. We will NOT be viewing this webinar as a group. Webinars can be viewed LIVE (by registering with NCFDD) or you can view the recorded version (requires you to activate your NCFDD Membership).
REGISTER for How to Challenge Race and Gender Bias in Student Evaluations Discussion Session
Post-Election Campus Conversation
Friday, November 6th
12–1 p.m.
In anticipation of a highly charged 2020 presidential election, FTLC and the Civil Discourse Program are hosting a post-election Campus Conversations designed to offer faculty a space to (1) process reactions to the election results and (2) identify productive paths forward with students and each other as we all settle in to the realities of the next four years. Our capacity to navigate complicated and emotionally-charged conversations with students is impacted by the intensity of our own, personal reactions. Join us for this campus conversation aimed to support campus healing, so that the current political divide doesn't become a campus divide as well.
Facilitator: Dr. Lisa Perhamus, Director of the Civil Discourse Program
Teaching and Learning in the Diverse Classroom EdX Course
NEW DELIVERY FORMAT—FREE Self-Paced Course
Through real stories, reflection, and key research, learn how to create and sustain inclusive, student-centered learning environments.
U.S.–based and higher education-centered, this is a five-module, self-paced course that offers an inclusive teaching framework with multiple entry points for reflection and exploration of the research on learning and diversity. Anchored in the lived experiences of students and instructors, including your own, we invite you to explore strategies for inclusive course design, student-centered pedagogical practices, facilitating learning across difference, and change efforts that support student engagement, achievement, and belongingness. Come with a course of your own in mind, and design for inclusion as you make your way through Teaching & Learning in the Diverse Classroom.
You will explore:
- Your formative experiences as a learner, teacher, and member of your discipline
- Strategies and exercises helpful in communicating effectively, facilitating discussion, and modeling inclusivity when unexpected issues arise
- Research, frameworks, and models that help us understand why and how diversity and inclusion matter in teaching and learning
Learn more and register at the EdX Teaching & Learning in the Diverse Classroom webpage
History of Structural Inequality in the U.S. (Self-paced Course)
The Robert and Mary Pew Faculty Teaching and Learning Center invites all faculty to consider enrollment in a self-paced online learning opportunity meant to expand knowledge regarding structural inequality in the United States. This innovative short course comprises faculty-led video presentations, resources and strategies and personal reflection.
Those who enroll and participate in the series will:
- increase their understanding of the history of structural inequality in the U.S.
- gain tools for teaching about inequalities related to topics in the course
- identify interdisciplinary connections to their course content and disciplinary expertise
- gain skills in inclusive teaching practices
- have the opportunity to earn a digital badge
Topics covered in this series include:
- History of Inequality for African Americans in the U.S.
- History of Inequality for Asian Americans in the U.S.
- History of Genocide and Structural Inequality for Native Americans in the U.S.
- History of Inequality for Latino Americans in the U.S.
- History of Inequality for LGTB Identities in the U.S.
- History of Inequality Related to Immigration to the U.S.
- History of Religious Oppression in the U.S.
- History of Inequality for Women in the U.S.
- Identity Based Privilege in the U.S.
- Income Inequality in the U.S.
This series is housed on an Blackboard site. To enroll in the course and access the online materials, please email the Pew FTLC (pewftlc@gvsu.edu).
SELF-PACED COURSE
Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI)
START WITH AN INVENTORY OF WHERE YOU ARE NOW
The intercultural Development Inventory® (IDI®) assesses intercultural competence—the capability to shift cultural perspective and appropriately adapt behavior to cultural differences and commonalities. Intercultural competence reflects the degree to which cultural differences and commonalities in values, expectations, beliefs, and practices are effectively bridged, an inclusive environment is achieved, and specific differences that exist in an organization or institution are addressed from a "mutual adaptation" perspective. Success in achieving goals is better served when individuals can more deeply understand culturally-learned differences, recognize commonalities between self and others, and act on this increased insight in culturally appropriate ways that facilitate goal accomplishment among diverse individuals and groups.
The Intercultural Development Inventory is a 50-item questionnaire available online that can be completed in 15–20 minutes. The IDI Individual and Group Profile Report presents information about how individuals and organizations make sense of and respond to cultural differences and commonalities. The IDI can be integrated into curriculum design, assessment, professional development, and research. Cost to complete the survey is $18 per faculty member and $12 per student.
Please contact Dana Munk (munkd@gvsu.edu) for an IDI consult. Learn more by visiting the Intercultural Development Inventory webpage.
20 Minute Mentor Commons Inclusive Excellence Online Workshops
The 20–minute mentor commons are video-based programs designed to answer specific questions related to teaching and learning. They deliver actionable insights in highly focused 20–minute presentations designed to fit busy schedules. Below is a list of inclusive-excellence-focused topics that caught our eye.
Please contact the Pew FTLC (pewftlc@gvsu.edu) to learn how to access this amazing resource.
GOT 20 MINUTES?
2020-2021 Twenty Minute Mentor Commons Inclusive Excellence Online Workshops
What Culturally Responsive Teaching Techniques Can I Use to Improve Learning?
WHAT CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING TECHNIQUES CAN I USE TO IMPROVE LEARNING?
This 20-minute program is designed to teach participants how multiculturalism impacts the classroom in a variety of ways with a variety of learning outcomes. Instructors learn to account for the multitude of cultures in the classroom by teaching in a culturally responsive way that ensures that all students have the same opportunity to learn.
Don't have access to the 20-Minute Mentor Commons library? Contact us (pewftlc@gvsu.edu) to have the access instructions sent to you.
Why is Intercultural Competence Important and How Can it Improve my Teaching?
WHAT IS INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE AND HOW CAN IT IMPROVE MY TEACHING?
This 20-minute program is designed to teach learners what intercultural competence is, why it’s important, and how to build it in both faculty and students. Explore some of the cultural differences instructors are likely to face in the classroom along with myths surrounding intercultural competence. Participants will learn to reflect on their own assumptions that they bring to the classroom, as well as strategies to overcome assumptions and foster a more culturally responsive approach to teaching.
Don't have access to the 20-Minute Mentor Commons library? Contact us (pewftlc@gvsu.edu) to have the access instructions sent to you.
How Do I Use Controversial Issues to Build Cognitive Skills in My Students?
HOW DO I USE CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES TO BUILD COGNITIVE SKILLS IN MY STUDENTS?
Every instructor has faced at least one, and in today’s politically charged climate, you might have seen several. They’re hot moments—those occasions when classroom discussion turns combustible and threatens to burst out of control. Whether they’re inspired by course material, classroom dynamics, or outside issues, hot moments can disrupt teaching and degenerate into personal attacks. Or they can enhance student learning. This 20-minute program shows you how to promote student growth and development by digging—with great fairness and respect—into all those topics you’re not supposed to talk about.
Don't have access to the 20-Minute Mentor Commons library? Contact us (pewftlc@gvsu.edu) to have the access instructions sent to you.
Three Secrets to Building Diverse and Inclusive Online Learning Environments
THREE SECRETS TO BUILDING DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE ONLINE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
How can you create a safe space where students from a variety of backgrounds are open to sharing their experiences and viewpoints? By applying the culturally responsive teaching practices detailed in this 60-minute online seminar, you’ll be able to build more effective learning experiences and increase student engagement in online environments.
Don't have access to the 20-Minute Mentor Commons library? Contact us (pewftlc@gvsu.edu) to have the access instructions sent to you.
Effective Diversity and Inclusion Strategies
EFFECTIVE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION STRATEGIES
A truly inclusive campus requires strong leadership and organizational change management. What should your institution be doing to ensure a comfortable, safe, and equitable campus environment for ALL? In this 60-minute online seminar, you’ll explore how to effectively lead and create institutional change, ensuring your institution is a diverse and successful learning community.
Don't have access to the 20-Minute Mentor Commons library? Contact us (pewftlc@gvsu.edu) to have the access instructions sent to you.
Recruiting a Racially Diverse, Culturally Competent Faculty
RECRUITING A RACIALLY DIVERSE, CULTURALLY COMPETENT FACULTY
The success of students of color on your campus requires a renewed commitment to recruiting culturally competent faculty members to teach them. Learn how your institution can foster greater diversity and inclusion. The presenters deliver clear-cut strategies your school can use to increase the racial diversity of final applicant pools as you approach the crucial task of hiring new faculty members.
This 90-minute online seminar is offered in partnership with the Social Justice Training Institute.
Don't have access to the 20-Minute Mentor Commons library? Contact us (pewftlc@gvsu.edu) to have the access instructions sent to you.
Online Engagement and Assimilation Strategies For Nontraditional and Marginalized Students
ONLINE ENGAGEMENT AND ASSIMILATION STRATEGIES FOR NONTRADITIONAL AND MARGINALIZED STUDENTS
Have you sometimes found it difficult to get the online participation you were hoping for? If so, you are not alone. It may be a bit unsettling to hear, but it is common for some students to feel marginalized despite your best intentions to educate in the most inclusive way possible. In this 60-minute online seminar, you’ll learn about the impact of community and inclusion on online student success from a national at-risk education expert.
Don't have access to the 20-Minute Mentor Commons library? Contact us (pewftlc@gvsu.edu) to have the access instructions sent to you.
Free Evidence-Based Tools for Teaching and Learning About Race
ACUE Inclusive Teaching Toolkit
ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITY EDUCATORS (ACUE) INCLUSIVE TEACHING TOOLKIT
To support instructors in creating inclusive learning environments, ACUE is excited to introduce a set of FREE resources—including videos and downloadable planning guides—that can be immediately put to use to benefit both faculty and their students. These evidence-based practiced are tailored for online teaching but are also relevant to the physical classroom.
"Talking About Race" Nation Museum of African American History and Culture Education Resource
Faculty are an influential part of students' learning and development. They, too, have an important role in communicating history and culture. What and how the history of race in America is presented is an opportunity to engage in thoughtful, respectful, and productive conversations. Talking about race, although hard, is necessary. This resource provides easy to incorporate, evidence-based tools to inspire and guide conversation.
MTV's Look Different
In partnership with the Kirwin Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohiuor State University, this MTV educational program provides evidence-based tools to teach and learn about implicit bias.
Inclusive Excellence Teaching Institute
Inclusive teaching involves a deliberate effort by faculty to create a learning environment that attends to and supports he needs of students with a variety of backgrounds, learning interests, and abilities. Inclusive pedagogical strategies shape the dynamics in teaching-learning spaces, affect individual's experiences in those spaces, and influence course and curriculum design. Inclusive teaching attends the range of identities in the classroom and helps all students feel equally valued.
The Inclusive Excellence Teaching Institute is specifically designed to provide Affiliate and Tenure-Track faculty at all ranks with a transformative space to learn and strategize about inclusive excellence in teaching and learning. The Institute will encourage an atmosphere of cultural humility through the examination of social identity and bias. Motivational frameworks, barriers to learning for diverse student learners and proactive strategies will also be introduced. Essential pedagogical approaches that promote an inclusive classroom environment will be modeled and explored. Through pre-assigned readings, access to group Bb site, and facilitated discussions, participants will begin the process of transforming their courses/curriculum, units and colleges.
This three-day institute will take place in Spring 2021. Be on the lookout for more information.
THREE-DAY INTENSIVE INSTITUTE: COMING SPRING 2021
Inclusive Teaching Tips and Strategies
Inclusive teaching involves a deliberate effort by faculty to create a learning environment that attends to and supports the needs of students with a variety of backgrounds, learning interests, and abilities. Inclusive pedagogical strategies shape the dynamics in teaching-learning spaces, affect an individual's experiences in those spaces, and influence course and curriculum design. Inclusive teaching attends the range of identities in the classroom and helps all students feel equally valued.
As you think ahead to next semester, here are a few questions to consider:
- Does your syllabus portray an inclusive and welcoming learning environment?
- Do you have a plan for getting to know students and fostering student-student interaction?
- Do your instructional strategies include basic Universal Design for Learning (UDL) concepts?
- Do you have a plan for disseminating content in multiple ways such as printed text, images, audio and video vs just lecturing from slides?
- Will you provide students with multiple ways to express their comprehension and mastery of topics vs just assigning lengthy exams and papers?
- How do you plan to tap into students' interests, challenge them appropriately, and motivate them to learn?
ONE INCLUSIVE THING:
Responding to Cultural Diversity in the Classroom at GVSU
2019, Issue 3
Click the image above to download the PDF version
Inclusive Focused Upcoming Events
Spring 2021 Personnel Portfolio Workshop (May 3-June 4)--VIRTUAL WORKSHOP
May 3, 2021 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
SPRING 2021 PERSONNEL PORTFOLIO WORKSHOP (MAY 3-JUNE 4, 2021)--VIRTUAL/ONLINE This workshop will BEGIN on May 3rd but runs through June 4th. The format of this workshop was revised to accommodate...
Resources
If you would like to be more inclusive in your teaching, here are a few useful resources to help you get started:
Creating Accessible Course Content