Course content

Articulate Key Concepts The content you present in your course sends a powerful message about what types of information, knowledge, and scholars are valued in your field. When the content of a course does not reflect a diversity of experiences or perspectives, students may find the material difficult to relate to and may even feel excluded from your discipline. Conversely, content that is relevant and relatable to students helps increase students' engagement, their sense of belonging, and their success (Dee & Penner, 2017; Estrada et al., 2016; Strayhorn, 2012).

Even when a course is not focused on human experiences, most disciplines use case studies, metaphors or examples to explain or explore disciplinary content. These tools for learning often provide opportunities for inclusive content.

Evaluate Practices

Reflection

How does the content of your course portray diverse communities, people and experiences?

Consider the textbook or readings you assign, but also lecture slides, discussion topics, case studies, problems or theories, and stories you share.

Explore this topic further by reading about the experience of three instructors (in English Language, Music and Earth Sciences):

An English Language Teacher's Pedagogical Response to Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Walsh Marr, 2019)
Strategies for Settler Decolonization: Decolonial Pedagogies in a Popular Music Analysis Course (Attas, 2019)
Place Matters! Fostering place-based geoscience teaching at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa (Böttjer-Wilson & Bruno, 2019)