As you prepare your syllabus and your first day of class, consider these inclusive teaching practices

Prior to the first day:

• Audit your syllabus with the Inclusion by Design Survey and make your course inclusive in tone, content, and pedagogy.

On the first day:

Belonging

• Signal to students that you value them as individuals.
• Signal to students that difference is valued.
• Tell students that they belong in the course.
• Ask students to complete a “Getting to Know You” questionnaire (this can also be done as a pre-course assignment).
• Communicate your enthusiasm and explain why the content of a course matters to you.
• Explain different ways in which content of a course might be valuable for students.
• Give students an opportunity to articulate their goals for the course.
• Give students an opportunity to articulate their values as they pertain to the course content.
• Provide opportunities for students to introduce themselves to at least a few of their peers and converse with one another.

Transparency

• Explain the overall structure of the course and your rationale for it.
• Explain what a typical class agenda looks like and why.
• Model the type of in-class activities that you plan to do throughout the course.
• Collaborate with students to generate expectations for dialogue and participation.
• Explain how to best study and prepare for the course.

Expectation of Success

• Normalize adversity by sharing your own or previous students’ struggles and how you/they overcame them (generally/anonymously).
• Reduce stigma around accessing support and/or student resources.
• Explain how to access student services, including CAPS and SDAC.
• Explain how to best use time during office hours.
• Explain why office hours are important/valuable.
• Articulate that everyone can succeed in the course.

Quick References

• Step-by-step guide to an engaging and effective first day. (Lang, J.)
• Suggestions for activities and conversations to include for your first class session. (Weimer, M)
• Additional active learning strategies for Day 1 and beyond. (Berkeley CTL

Digging Deeper

• Verschelden, C. (2017). Bandwidth Recovery: Helping Students Reclaim Cognitive Resources Lost to Poverty, Racism, and Social Marginalization. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus Publishing. [Verschelden weaves together research and practice, considering how instructors and universities can reduce the achievement gap among students with marginalized identities.]
• Yeager, D., Walton, G., & Cohen, G. L. (2013). Addressing Achievement Gaps With Psychological Interventions. The Phi Delta Kappan, 94(5), 62. [This brief introduction to psychological interventions considers many of the reasons for and the practices of the CARE framework.]