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The promotion/growth/movement of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in education has been a journey to foster a community of respect and understanding. As educators, designers, and leaders all begin to adopt an equity mindset, it is up to everyone to make sure that online courses are equitable for all. Effective online courses should be deliberate and purposeful using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) concepts along with evolving DEI strategy (Subocz et al., 2022) that focuses on all students’ culture, life experiences, and abilities. Redirecting systemic ideas on a variety of topics from cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds to gender inclusion is a start to making the online environment a safe space for learners. Approaching inclusive practices as recognition of collective ownership of everyone from the institutional level to instructors to instructional designers to students will help to build a greater DEI consciousness in a classroom that will help students become their best and most authentic selves.
Here are the Top Five practices to help build a more diverse, inclusive and equitable online classroom: - Universal Design for Learning Principles (UDL)
- Word Choices/Linguistics
- Assumptions
- Resources to technology
- Celebrating Diversity
Tip #1: Apply Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Principles. UDL is the basic framework for inclusion of all kinds. By presenting information that optimizes teaching and learning in an online environment, UDL guidelines encompass DEI outcomes, too. For example, the use of closed captions is available not just for students with hearing impairments, yet for second language acquisition and cognitively delayed learning. Always remember that UDL is set up to design by reminding instructors and designers to Access>Build>Internalize>Goals. Utilizing UDL techniques while building an online course will keep the instructor and designers mindful of the wide-array DEI that should always be properly addressed to make certain all students have equal access and understanding within the virtual classroom. Tip #2: Be Aware of Word Choices/Linguistics. It is helpful to remember that DEI is an umbrella term that encompasses many considerations. In an online classroom, it is even more important to remember that we must be aware that language can reinforce inclusive practices and remove bias. Many students come from different countries or of different generation and will not understand colloquial phrases. One of the hardest concepts for educators to grasp is the use of plural language for pronouns even though it has been common usage for many years. “Who left their book here?” shows the replacement of a plural for a singular pronoun, such as he/her/ze/zer/them/zem. Tip #3: Avoid Assumptions. Often, an online course will instruct the learner to “Ask all the boys in the class” or “Look at this picture” within the lesson. Take a moment to imagine what it means if you are a learner that is non-binary, or sight limited. This immediately will set a student apart from the others in the online space. Even putting a scenario as two parents/two children/summer vacation at Disney World excludes students when assuming that experiences are similar to the one you may have had growing up. Wanting students to be successful means making sure they are connected to the learning experience. Tip #4: Access to Resources and Technology. According to Wiley University Services (2022), students are accessing their courses via mobile devices such as phones and tablets over traditional computers for everything from checking grades, reading materials, and completing assignments (up to half of the students for the last point). Additionally, many students must take online courses due to life situations such as deployment, illness, or natural disasters, so it is important to discover how and when a student will access a course. Making sure that students have fair access by chunking material, using pages in the LMS over PDFs, and using friendly tools to create a sense of community will ensure that the students can access the technology and the course. Tip #5: Celebrate Diversity. While it is difficult to “look” at students in the online classroom, this helps to remove bias and celebrate all the wonderful nuances that make up a dynamic community of learners. It is easier to develop a curriculum or curricula that exposes students to a spectrum of experiences that encourages each student to include their viewpoints. Invite non-traditional experts, or persons from traditionally marginalized communities, to be guest speakers or curriculum contributors so that students see a reflection of themselves in the content. A female NASA physicist could conduct a Q&A for a GEP course so that learners see early on that others think, look, and come from a similar background. Make sure to ask for open, respectful discussion that does not put the student in the role of an expert. The success of experts who are as diverse as our student population holds everyone involved to stronger learning outcomes. Small changes in a course will have large impacts. Be open to suggestions from feedback that includes students and subject matter experts. With each modification, an online course will reduce diversity and equity gaps and results in supportive, inclusive education for all. |
