Inclusive Pedagogy

Introduction

As you plan your courses, it is important to be deliberate and explicit about creating an inclusive environment. While inclusion and equity are important goals for any learning modality, they are especially significant for online courses because issues of accessibility can become invisible when the instructor primarily engages with students through screens. In this respect, fostering inclusivity online can be challenging. However, digital environments and learning management systems also present opportunities for creating an inclusive course that in-person classes do not. This chapter offers advice and best practices for structuring your courses around this concept. Here, you will find information and resources covering the use of inclusive pedagogies in an online class as well as some items that you could use no matter the modality of your course.

What are Inclusive Pedagogies?

Inclusive pedagogies are a broad set of approaches that focus on making sure every learner has the chance to achieve the objectives of a given course. This term registers a shift away from the previous language of “disability” and “accommodation” that structured thinking about different types of learners in higher ed, which focused primarily on physical differences and on what these learners lacked. Inclusive pedagogies seek to expand the ambit of how we think about different types of learners to include cultural, historical, mental, and physical differences in how we conceive of the classroom community. Additionally, this way of thinking about difference within the classroom seeks to highlight students’ individual skills, abilities, and backgrounds as assets. As Christina Page defines them, inclusive pedagogies  “are practices that create equitable and socially just learning environments, ensuring that all learners have an equal opportunity to demonstrate their achievement of course learning outcomes. These practices are based on ways of thinking about education that consider individual, curricular, and social factors that impact students’ ability to learn effectively. These practices ensure that all students, regardless of their backgrounds, abilities, or perspectives, have an equal opportunity to succeed and demonstrate their learning outcomes.”^[1] 

General Concepts for Inclusive Pedagogies

Important features of any inclusive pedagogies include promoting equity and social justice, enabling learner-centered approaches in the classroom, featuring diverse perspectives in course material, and ensuring the accessibility of course material and modes of instruction. Below are areas of interest that have developed from the above general features of inclusive pedagogies:

Growth Mindset

A growth mindset for learning is the belief that intelligence and abilities can be developed through dedication, hard work, and perseverance. This concept was pioneered by psychologist Carol Dweck and contrasts a “fixed mindset,” which views intelligence and ability as inherent, static qualities people are born with.

^[2]

Key characteristics of a growth mindset include:

• Embracing Challenges: Viewing challenges as opportunities to learn and grow rather than obstacles.^[3]
• Persistence: Continuing to put in effort even when faced with setbacks.^[4]
• Learning from Criticism: Using feedback to improve and develop skills.^[5]
• Inspiration from Others: Finding motivation in the success of others rather than feeling threatened.^[6]

Resources for thinking about and promoting growth mindset in your classroom

• Information sheets explaining mindset learning.
• “The Power of Believing You Can Improve,” Carol Dweck TED Talk, delivered December 17th, 2014
• Amanda Morin, “What is Growth Mindset?” Understood, August 21, 2024 https://www.understood.org/en/articles/growth-mindset
• “Growth Mindset and Enhanced Learning.” Stanford University Teaching Commons. Nd. https://teachingcommons.stanford.edu/teaching-guides/foundations-course-design/learning-activities/growth-mindset-and-enhanced-learning

Universal Design for Learning

Similar to the aims of inclusive pedagogies, universal design for learning is an educational framework aimed at making learning accessible and effective for all students by accommodating learning differences in the structure and design of courses, assignments, and classroom activities. The most common examples of UDL features in course material are designing course documents with heading structure so that they are more easily read by screen readers and adding captions to course videos. While UDL is explicitly meant to make course material more accessible for students who might have physical differences, courses designed with UDL in mind often aid every student.

Key principles of UDL include:

1. Multiple Means of Engagement: Motivating learners by offering various ways to engage with the material.
2. Multiple Means of Representation: Providing information in different formats to cater to diverse learning preferences
3. Multiple Means of Action and Expression: Allowing students to demonstrate their knowledge in various ways.^[7]

Practical steps for using UDL in your courses:

Visual

• Screen readers:

• Use headings and hierarchy tags on course documents

• Here is a sample accessible syllabus using MS Word
• Adding headings to Google Doc, from North Carolina State University

• Add “alt text” to images describing what the image shows and why it’s important to the lesson plan.

• Key points to remember when writing alt text:

• Be concise: Focus on the most important details, keeping the description short and to the point.
• Describe what is seen: Explain the content of the image without making assumptions about the viewer's knowledge.
• Use natural language: Write as if you are verbally describing the image to someone.
• Consider context: Include relevant information based on the surrounding text and purpose of the image.
• For decorative images: If an image only serves as a visual element without conveying important information, use an empty alt text like " " to indicate it's not essential for understanding the content.

• Here is a resource from the University of Dayton that offers advice, with examples, on how to add alt text to your images: “Writing Good Alt Text,” by Paul Dagnall
• To add alt text to an image in MS Word: right-click the image and choose “view alt text,” write a short description in the white box.
• To add alt text to Google documents: right-click on the selected image; in the context menu, select "Alt text;" in the Alt text dialogue box, enter a descriptive text for the image in the "Description" field; (optional: add an optional title to the image in the "Advanced options" section); click anywhere outside the dialogue box to close it, or click the "OK" button if available.

• Format links/hyperlinks without bare URLs. Instead of cutting and pasting a web page address into your course materials, create a hyperlink for the relevant website.

• Design tables clearly and consistently. Tables can be tricky for screen readers to recognize. The chapter “Designing Tables” from Accessibility and UDL Best Practices Guide by Caitlin Malone offers advice, with examples, for accessible table formatting.

• If using many different colors in your document, check contrasts for ease of reading

Audio

• Add captions to course videos. Some platforms, like YouTube, have features that can automatically create captions. Some platforms, like Screen Pal, allow you to upload a script that will display as captions.

Resources at LaGuardia and CUNY:

• LaGuardia Office of Accessibility
• CUNY Accommodate

Other Resources:

• “7 Core Practices that Benefit All Students,” from The Connected Professor 

• How to check documents for accessibility.

• Check accessibility in MS Word.
• Check accessibility in Google Docs
• Check accessibility in Adobe Acrobat.

• Accessibility and UDL Best Practices Guide by Caitlyn Malone
• What is Universal Design for Learning and Why Does it Matter?
• Learning Viability Navigator: Adult Learner Strategies
• University of Arkansas “Steps Toward Universal Design of Online Courses” from University of Arkansas
• “Universal Design for Learning” from University of North Dakota
• “UDL on Campus”: this is a comprehensive collection of UDL resources
• Creating accessible materials:
• Universal Design for Learning and creating Open Educational Resources
• Community College: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy Toolkit