University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) invites faculty, instructors, postdocs, and GSIs to participate in our Inclusive STEM Teaching Project from October 3 - November 22. Participants in this six-week online course will engage in deep reflection and discussions around topics of equity and inclusion in learning environments across a variety of institutional contexts. This Massive Open Online Course is designed to improve the awareness, self-efficacy, and ability of instructors to create inclusive STEM learning environments for their students. Asynchronous online activities within edX will be extended through synchronous Zoom learning communities facilitated by local CRLT facilitators.
We are looking to recruit instructors from all levels in all STEM disciplines to participate in one of two ways: (1) Completing the MOOC only, or (2) Completing the MOOC and consistently participating in a weekly Zoom learning community led by local CRLT facilitators. Learning community times you can choose from are:
- Tuesdays 2:30 - 4:00 p.m. EST
- Thursdays 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. EST
- Fridays 12:00pm - 1:30 p.m. EST
We estimate you will spend 3 - 5 hours per week engaged in the course and associated discussions, which include review/completion of course materials. If you also choose to participate in a learning community, you will spend an additional 90 minutes in a weekly learning community meeting.
Benefits to participants:
Here is why taking this course now might be helpful to you:
- Access to teaching resources at a time where teaching inclusively in multiple modalities (e.g., in-person, online, hybrid/HyFlex) is essential
- Smaller online enrollment restricted to participants at your own institution
- Flexible learning – edX materials and activities for each module are released weekly and can be completed at your own pace
- Opportunity to learn new and refine existing skills in inclusive instruction
How to register:
Complete this registration form for the program by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, September 16, 2022.
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By the end of the Program, participants will be able to:
Examine the issues of diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education, especially around power and positionality, in both their departmental and institutional contexts (e.g., classroom, laboratory, research group), as well as at a national level.
Reflect on their own and their (current or future) students’ identities and experiences, the intersectionality of identities, and the impact those identities have on their teaching practice and on their students’ sense of belonging and their learning.
Question their assumptions about all aspects of instruction (e.g., course materials, learning objectives, teaching methods, learning spaces, assessments), as well as conceptions of diversity, equity and inclusion, and what those assumptions might mean for their (current or future) practice and student learning.
Identify and implement learner-centered structures and strategies that remove common barriers to learning in STEM courses and enhance learning for all students
Apply principles of evidence-based inclusive teaching to their (current and future) course design and learning environments in higher education.
Use their student learning data and feedback to inform pedagogical and curricular choices in higher education
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Week 1: Welcome Session/Overview: In this welcome session, participants will be introduced to the concepts, ideas, and terms that relate to fostering inclusive classrooms and learning environments in higher education. The concepts reviewed in this session will be reinforced in the content throughout the rest of the MOOC.
Week 2: DEI in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: In this module, participants will examine issues of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), especially around power, privilege and positionality, in both their local institutional context (e.g., classroom, laboratory, research group) as well as at a national level.
Week 3: Instructor Identity and Authority in STEM Classrooms: This module will guide participants from a range of backgrounds to reflect upon their individual identities and the ways in which those identities influence their experience as instructors and impact their students’ learning.
Week 4: Student Identities and Experiences in the STEM Classroom: In this module, participants will review social identity frameworks introduced in the Instructor Identity and Authority module and explore how students’ social identities impact teaching practices and student learning. Participants will also explore key theories of implicit bias, growth mindset, stereotype threat and imposter phenomenon and their impact on students’ classroom experience and learning. This module contains vignettes created by the CRLT Players.
Week 5: Creating an Inclusive STEM Course: In this module, participants will explore and apply strategies for designing an inclusive course. Participants will explore the typical approaches to course design and unpack the structures and assumptions related to power, positionality, and privilege that cause those approaches to create barriers for student learning.
Week 6: Fostering an Inclusive Climate in the STEM Classroom: In this module, participants will become aware of, reflect on, and explore how to develop and implement inclusive and evidenced-based teaching practices that are drawn from research and student experiences of learning. This module contains vignettes created by the CRLT Players.
The primary sponsor for the inclusive STEM Teaching Project is the National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE). This project is supported under DUE grants #1821510 (Boston University), #1821684 (Northwestern University), #1821574 (University of Michigan), #1821571 (University of Wisconsin-Madison), and #2024180 (University of Utah). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
