Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in Teaching and Learning

An introductory course in five modules

Welcome! This course was created for instructors in all disciplines who are interested in developing their capacity to create more inclusive classrooms and learning environments, but are not sure of where to start. The content is also relevant for anyone who is involved in teaching and learning in higher education, including Teaching Assistants, educational developers, or staff who support instructors.

While any of the five modules can be taken independently, we recommend that you start with Module 1 to make sure that you are familiar with the basic concepts and vocabulary used in the course.

We acknowledge that the UBC Point Grey campus, where these modules were designed, is situated on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Musqueam people. Land acknowledgements are only the starting point of thinking critically about, and disrupting, colonial modes of thinking in teaching and learning.
Check out this resource on territory acknowledgment and the module on Conversations about Decolonization to learn more.

Why this course matters

Higher education is an incredibly diverse space and all students deserve to be supported to learn and succeed in their courses to the best of their abilities.

Questions of equity, diversity and inclusion are especially important for students who belong to social groups that have been historically, persistently and/or systemically underrepresented and marginalized. This is because they often experience first-hand the barriers to learning in environments where they do not have equal access to learning materials or opportunities, their lived experiences are absent (or only represented through stereotypes), or where they don't feel a sense of belonging.

Beyond that, equity, diversity and inclusion are also important for all students. Research shows that inclusive teaching practices are in fact helpful for all students, not only for underrepresented or marginalized students. In addition, beyond classrooms, all students live and work in a world that requires the ability to interact with people who have different perspectives or lived experiences, and where the capacity to consider equity and inclusion will make for stronger, more innovative and more thoughtful teams and projects.

Course Modules

description of COVID-19 context
Given the current COVID-19 crisis, many courses and learning opportunities have unexpectedly moved online. If you are thinking about what equity, diversity and inclusion looks like when teaching remotely, we encourage you to check out a recent resource developed on this topic. It is available in PDF format or on UBC Wiki.

Want to learn more?
Check out the UBC Inclusive Teaching website for more resources.

If you have questions, feedback or suggestions to improve these online Inclusive Teaching Modules, we want to hear from you!
Please email us.

This course was produced at UBC in partnership between the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology, and the Equity & Inclusion Office, and it is the result of a collaboration between UBC and Queen's University.

All modules are licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).