A Guide to Creating Inclusive College Classrooms

Inclusive classrooms create an atmosphere where both instructors and students feel safe, supported, and willing and able to share their views or opinions. These classrooms offer the unique opportunity for students and instructors work together to engage in critical thinking and approach ideas for new perspectives and experiences. In order to create an inclusive classroom, Professors Shari Saunders and Diana Kardia from the Center for Research on Learning & Teaching at the University of Michigan emphasize that the atmosphere will be impacted by the following factors: the course content; instructors' prior assumptions and awareness on multicultural issues; instructors' class planning; instructors' knowledge on students' diverse backgrounds; and instructors' behaviors, comments, and decisions during their course of teaching. To this end, Professors Saunders and Kardia provide a helpful guide for university instructors to follow to create an inclusive classroom environment. Read, and find out more here!