Course Description
This module is designed to bring faculty together to examine the prospects and challenges of diversity in the classroom. The objectives of the workshop are to create dialogue around ways to use diversity in the classroom to achieve educational outcomes, and to look at practical strategies for dealing with diversity-related classroom issues and conflicts. Sessions will consist of small group discussions, short presentations, and practice. All study materials will be provided.
Areas to be covered in the course will include:
Monday, June 5: Diversity in the Classroom and the Student Experience
- The diverse classroom: who are your students?
- Social identity and schema revision
- Student classroom experiences: "Fishbowl" testimonials and faculty/student discussion.
Tuesday, June 6: Diversity in the Classroom and the Faculty Experience
- Defining the faculty role in the diverse classroom
- How your students see you: Student Bias in Teaching Evaluations (based on Dr. Bianca Bernstein’s 1995 ASU study)
- Practical Strategies for creating "safe space" in your classroom
Wednesday, June 7: Dynamics of Classroom Interaction
- Encountering Student Resistance
- Through role-play and true life scenarios, participants will practice and learn skills for addressing conflict in the classroom.
Thursday, June 8: Free Speech and Student Conduct in the Classroom
- A discussion on the challenges of promoting academic freedom and free speech while preserving "safe space" for all in the classroom. When do issues of free speech turn into issues of conduct? What resources and ASU policies support faculty in their efforts to deal with misconduct? This session is about managing the gray areas.
Friday, June 9: Prospects of Diversity in the Classroom
Regardless of whether the class is from the social sciences or the hard sciences, every classroom can benefit from incorporating diversity into the learning. In this session, practical ways to achieve educational outcomes through diversity will be explored.
