SMU students are an increasingly diverse group, differing in ethnic and racial backgrounds, economic backgrounds, genders, physical abilities, sexual orientations, ages, learning styles, and religious and political beliefs. This diversity creates teaching opportunities to learn from each other; it also requires that both students and faculty examine assumptions and create inclusive classroom environments in which differences are respected. The resources on this page address these issues in the context of higher education.
The Association of Colleges & Universities has assembled these resources on Diversity and Inclusion.
The University of Michigan's teaching center has a particular focus on diversity initiatives. Its resources include faculty guides about recognizing our own attitudes and assumptions, information and strategies for multicultural teaching, and thoughtful advice on creating inclusive college classrooms.
Vanderbilt has compiled a set of resources on Diversity & Inclusive Teaching.
From the University of Virginia, this clickable outline full of advice on Teaching A Diverse Student Body: Practical Strategies for Enhancing Our Students' Learning.
The National Science Foundation offers this study on Reaching All Students: Resources for Teaching in Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics.
Harvard's Derek Bok Center provides teaching tips for Sensitivity to Women in the Contemporary Classroom and Teaching in Racially Diverse College Classrooms.
One professor offers a dozen suggestions for enhancing student learning, taking diversity into account.
Faculty Focus identifies five competencies required for effective "culturally competent" teaching, including a critical analysis of the teacher's own assumptions, an environment of respect for all learners, attention to the needs of individual learners, strong intercultural communication skills, and encouragement of intergroup communications.
The University of North Carolina compiled Teach for Inclusion, an extensive resource for faculty, including both teaching strategies and interviews with students who discussed the experiences of African-American, Hispanic, Native American, Asian American, international, LGBTQ, non-traditional, and special needs students -- including issues of assigned readings, classroom environments, and student assessment.
Western Washington University's teaching center also has links to online resources for best practices in teaching in ways that promote inclusion.
The Southern Poverty Law Center has collected an extensive variety of resources for their Teaching Tolerance project -- some aimed at K-12, but some also applicable to higher education.
See also CTE's Teaching Resource: Dealing with Controversial Issues
