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The logistics of the pandemic coincided with the need for adaptive support for student success, making the 2021-2022 academic year a time for mindful selection of teaching modalities as well as ever greater uptake of Universal Design for Learning principles by the CLAS faculty. Whether offering hybrid modalities or using UDL ideas to optimize courses for all learners—or both—the faculty put enormous energy into student support.

Janet Vigna, biology unit head, explained the challenge of teaching modalities, “One of the biggest challenges for faculty in the hybrid model was that while students were either in person or online each week, faculty were teaching students in both delivery modes at the same time -- half the class meeting for face-to-face instruction and the other half completing different online assignments. This was a lot of extra work for faculty to manage, and I'm very proud of how they handled it.”

As Christopher Kurby, associate professor of psychology, put it, "I taught an online hybrid class, a synchronous/asynchronous mix. I believe that being forced to teach online last year has improved my teaching because I needed to dissect everything I did and ask myself 'what is this component’s purpose?' In doing so, I came up with, I think, better versions of activities, lectures, assignments, etc. I look forward to incorporating these changes to my in-person classes this Fall."

Janet Vigna emphasizes the role of intentional planning in hybrid teaching, "One positive thing that came from hybrid teaching was the development of some very impressive online curriculum we can use in subsequent semesters in a variety of ways.  That being said, it was very apparent that the face-to-face experiences were vital for teaching the essential skills, and I'm impressed with our ability to have engaged in these activities safely, as a result of intentional planning.  These face-to-face experiences also created regular contact with faculty that many students, especially those in their first year, really needed to support their success."

In addition to making the best of modalities that the pandemic necessitated, faculty were also addressing the changing needs of our increasingly diverse student body, many of whom have experienced pandemic disruptions to their final years of high school.

Chemistry chair Deborah Herrington found herself “continually looking for some concrete things that I could or should be doing to make my classroom more inclusive.”  This included a 7-week course on inclusive pedagogy offered by the Inclusive STEM Teaching Project.  Debbie needed techniques that would work in a 100-person chemistry course with many first-year students.  She is happy to report that the techniques she implemented led to the best course evaluations she’s had and higher student success on the three term tests. “Inclusive pedagogy is really just good, student-centered, research-based teaching, and there are lots of smaller things that we can easily implement to make students feel more included.”

Some of these small things were identified by students themselves.  The CLAS Student Advisory Committee provided ideas on inclusive syllabi, favorite pedagogical practices, and the underlying psychology of the year.  One student noted that while many still held themselves back from full participation in co-curricular and extra-curricular events, they were very glad these were offered as they provided a sense of normalcy.  The student encouraged the faculty to continue providing such opportunities.

Philosophy’s Dwayne Tunstall (who became CLAS Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence in June) grounds his inclusive pedagogy in the importance of a diverse curriculum to create a feeling of belonging.

"In my home discipline of Philosophy, I have worked to diversify the curriculum by including philosophers from underrepresented populations (e.g., women, racial minorities, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities) in my courses. This is particularly the case in the introductory Philosophy courses I teach (Introduction to Philosophy and Ethics) and American Philosophy. If one’s discipline does not lend itself to diversifying its curriculum content-wise, one can still show students that people from underrepresented groups are successful practitioners in that discipline. This can be enough to increase underrepresented students’ interest in that discipline."

Laurel Westbrook (Sociology) notes how important it is to consider what that representation entails. "Make sure that you aren’t just focusing on discrimination and marginalization. A classroom is not inclusive if the only time a group is mentioned forces members of that group to relive group trauma. Instead, inclusive pedagogy must include material that celebrates oppressed groups and helps students look at them in a new way."

For example, during winter semester in Sociology of Sexuality, Laurel asked students to rethink the belief that what it is to be LGBTQ+ is to be “wounded” and their students are addressing readings that question the belief that certain groups, such as people with disabilities and the elderly, shouldn’t be sexual.

Dwayne Tunstall is making use of technology to implement universal design principles to make material more accessible.  "Course content should be accessible to a range of students. For example, I use either YouTube videos with closed captioning or record lectures using software that transcribes the audio and then embeds it in the media file.  For videos without closed captioning, I either try to find transcripts for them or use software to transcribe them. I am not always successful in finding transcripts for those videos or producing a transcription of those videos."

Viewpoint diversity is another of Dwayne’s goals, and he is the first to admit that this is not easy. 

"One way to do this is to create a classroom environment where instructor and students alike feel like their views are respected, even when others disagree strongly with them. This is hard, especially when the class involves people having uncomfortable conversations about controversial issues. To foster a community where this sort of respect is possible, one of his techniques is to have students provide video responses to prompts or to talk to other students in person in order to build community especially in asynchronous class environments."

Lauren Keough of Mathematics says she doesn’t yet feel like an expert in this area but has been reading and trying some techniques such as working collaboratively with students to set class norms and providing students with some “tokens” to extend deadlines or get an extra attempt at a quiz.  These are “no questions asked” forms of grace.  “It's one of my ways of showing, not telling, that I see them as humans.”  She adds this note, “I always make clear that if they need additional grace they should let me know, and that I can connect them to university resources when in need.”

Lauren also shared her top tip for any colleague just getting started in inclusive pedagogy, "Be clear about your expectations and policies, but think about what you can be flexible about (deadlines? how students can demonstrate their learning? how students are expected to participate in class?)."

Whether in faculty teaching and learning workshops, through peer-to-peer sharing, or by scouring the literature, CLAS faculty are honing their offerings to suit the learners and the teaching environment with characteristic ingenuity, compassion, and energy.