Inclusive Teaching Resources

You can find information on my Inclusive Teaching Workshops here and the handouts for those talks and workshops are here. I’ve organized these resources around key ideas as I am often asked if I can provide specific research to back up these key assertions.

Minority Student Completion and Success Rates are Lower

Underrepresented students are less likely to persist, graduate on time, or graduate at all and these differences relate to a sense of belonging, worth, climate and pedagogy. Social engagement and belonging matter, but most of the discrepancy between Black and White student completion rates relates to academic success, especially in intro courses:

  • Ciocca Eller, C., & DiPrete, T. A. (2018). The Paradox of Persistence: Explaining the Black-White Gap in Bachelor’s Degree Completion. American Sociological Review, 83(6), 1171–1214. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122418808005
  • US Department of Education. 2014a. “Graduation rates of first-time, full-time bachelor’s degree-seeking students at 4-year postsecondary institutions, by race/ethnicity, time to completion, sex, and control of institution.” Digest of Education Statistics,Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics and Institute of Education Sciences.https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d13/tables/dt13_326.10.asp.
  • Tough, Paul. 2014. “Who Gets to Graduate?”The New York Times Magazine, May 15. New York: New York Times Company.
  • Hausmann, Leslie R. M., Feifei Ye, Janet Ward Schofield, and Rochelle L Woods. 2009. “Sense of Belonging and Persistence in White and African American First-Year Students.” Research in Higher Education 50 (7): 649–69.
  • Ishitani, Terry T. 2006. “Studying Attrition and Degree Completion Behavior among First-Generation College Students in the United States.” The Journal of Higher Education 77 (5): 877.

Diverse Groups do Better Work, but Take Longer. Inclusion Matters.

We recruit diverse students, but then do not revise the climate and pedagogy to leverage and support that diversity. Diverse groups do better work (in the workplace) and learn more (in school) but it is harder work and requires the right conditions: 

  • Freeman, R.B., Huang, W. (2015). Collaborating with People Like Me: Ethnic Co-Authorship within the U.S. Journal of Labor Economics, Special Issue on High Skill Immigration, 33 (3) :S289-S318.
  • Lu, H., Page, S. E. (2004). Groups of diverse problem solvers can outperform groups of high-ability problem solvers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,  101(46): 16385-16389;  DOI:10.1073/pnas.0403723101
  • Lu, J.G., Hafenbrack, A.C., Maddux, W.W., Eastwick, P.W., Wang, D. and Galinsky, A. (2017). “‘Going Out’ of the box: Close intercultural friendships and romantic relationships spark creativity, workplace innovation, and entrepreneurship.” Journal of Applied Psychology 102: 1091-1108.
  • Page, S. E. (2008). The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies, rev edn. Princeton University Press.
  • Page, S. E. (2017). The Diversity Bonus: How Great Teams Pay Off in the Knowledge Economy (Our Compelling Interests). Princeton University Press.
  • Rock, D. Grant, H. & Grey, J. (2016, November 22). Diverse teams feel less comfortable–and that’s why they perform better. Harvard Business Review.

Pedagogy Matters. 

Universal design techniques such as more transparency, highly structured (but flexible) courses and more active learning, disproportionally benefit underrepresented students and reduce learning and achievement gaps:

  • Theobald, E. J., Hill, M. J., Tran, E., Agrawal, S., Arroyo, E. N., Behling, S., Chambwe, N., Cintrón, D. L., Cooper, J. D., Dunster, G., Grummer, J. A., Hennessey, K., Hsiao, J., Iranon, N., Jones, L., 2nd, Jordt, H., Keller, M., Lacey, M. E., Littlefield, C. E., Lowe, A., … Freeman, S. (2020). Active learning narrows achievement gaps for underrepresented students in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and math. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 117(12), 6476–6483. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1916903117 https://phys.org/news/2020-03-underrepresented-college-students-benefit-techniques.html
  • David C. Haak, Janneke HilleRisLambers, Emile Pitre, Scott Freeman, Increased Structure and Active Learning Reduce the Achievement Gap in Introductory Biology, Science: 03 Jun 2011: Vol. 332, Issue 6034, pp. 1213-1216
  • Kudish, P., Shores, R., McClung, A., Smulyan, L., Vallen, E. A., & Siwicki, K. K. (2016). Active Learning Outside the Classroom: Implementation and Outcomes of Peer-Led Team-Learning Workshops in Introductory Biology. CBE life sciences education, 15(3), ar31. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-01-0051
  • Winkelmes, M., Bernacki, M., Butler, J., Zochowski, M., Golanics, J., & Weavil, K.H. (2016). A teaching intervention that increases underserved college students’ success. Peer Review, 18(1-2). Available: https://www.aacu.org/peerreview/2016/winter-spring/Winkelmes
  • Hattie, J. (2011). Which strategies best enhance teaching and learning in higher education? In D. Mashek and E. Y. Hammer, Eds. Empirical research in teaching and learning: Contributions from social psychology (pp. 130-142). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
  • Freeman, S., Eddy, S.L., McDonough, M., Smith, M.K., Okoroafor, N., Jordt, H., & Wenderoth, M.P. (2014). Active learning boosts performance in STEM courses. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111 (23) 8410-8415.
  • Miyake, A., Kost-Smith, L. E., Finkelstein, N. D., Pollock, S. J., Cohen, G. L., & Ito, T. A. (2010). Reducing the gender achievement gap in college science: a classroom study of values affirmation. Science (New York, N.Y.), 330(6008), 1234–1237. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1195996
  • Roksa, J., Trolian, T. L., Pascarella, E. T., Kilgo, C. A., Blaich, C., & Wise, K. S. (2017). Racial inequality in critical thinking skills: The role of academic and diversity experiences. Research in Higher Education, 58(2), 119-140.
  • Preszler R. W. (2009). Replacing lecture with peer-led workshops improves student learning. CBE life sciences education, 8(3), 182–192. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.09-01-0002
  • Burgstahler, S. (Ed.). Universal design in higher education: Promising practices. Seattle: DO-IT, University of Washington. https://www.washington.edu/doit/sites/default/files/atoms/files/Universal%20Design%20in%20Higher%20Education_Promising%20Practices_0.pdf
  • Ng, M., & Newpher, T. M. (2020). Comparing Active Learning to Team-Based Learning in Undergraduate Neuroscience. Journal of undergraduate neuroscience education : JUNE : a publication of FUN, Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience, 18(2), A102–A111.
  • Riestra, A. M., Morales, A. J., & Mercer, F. (2019). Targeting the Achievement Gap: Strategies Toward Removing Inequities in Undergraduate Immunology Education. Frontiers in immunology, 10, 2906. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2019.02906
  • Ballen, C. J., Wieman, C., Salehi, S., Searle, J. B., & Zamudio, K. R. (2017). Enhancing Diversity in Undergraduate Science: Self-Efficacy Drives Performance Gains with Active Learning. CBE life sciences education, 16(4), ar56. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-12-0344
  • Harackiewicz, J. M., Canning, E. A., Tibbetts, Y., Giffen, C. J., Blair, S. S., Rouse, D. I., & Hyde, J. S. (2014). Closing the social class achievement gap for first-generation students in undergraduate biology. Journal of Educational Psychology, 106(2), 375–389. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034679
  • Kuh, G. D., Kinzie, J., Buckley, J. A., Bridges, B. K., Hayek, J. C. (2006). What Matters to Student Success: A Review of the Literature. Washington DC: National Center for Educational Statistics, National Postsecondary Education Cooperative. https://nces.ed.gov/npec/pdf/kuh_team_report.pdf
  • National Survey of Student Engagement (2007). Experiences that matter: Enhancing student learning and success. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research. 
  • Yeager, D.S., Purdie-Vaughns, V., Garcia, J., Apfel, N., Brzustoski, P., Master, A., Hessert, W.T., & Williams, M.E. (2014). Breaking the cycle of mistrust: Wise interventions to provide critical feedback across the racial divide. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143(2): 804-824.
  • Dewsbury B. M. (2017). On faculty development of STEM inclusive teaching practices. FEMS microbiology letters, 364(18), 10.1093/femsle/fnx179. https://doi.org/10.1093/femsle/fnx179
  • Killpack, T. L., & Melón, L. C. (2016). Toward Inclusive STEM Classrooms: What Personal Role Do Faculty Play?. CBE life sciences education, 15(3), es3. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-01-0020
  • Eddy, S. L., & Hogan, K. A. (2014). Getting under the hood: How and for whom does increasing course structure work? CBE ? Life Sciences Education, 13: 453-468. Available: http://www.lifescied.org/content/13/3/453.full

Stereotype Threat

Stereotype threat is very real and simple mindset interventions and affirmations can make a dramatic difference. The mindset of the faculty member also matters:

  • Lauer, S., Momsen, J., Offerdahl, E., Kryjevskaia, M., Christensen, W., & Montplaisir, L. (2013). Stereotyped: investigating gender in introductory science courses. CBE life sciences education, 12(1), 30–38. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.12-08-0133
  • Tibbetts, Y., Harackiewicz, J. M., Priniski, S. J., & Canning, E. A. (2016). Broadening Participation in the Life Sciences with Social-Psychological Interventions. CBE life sciences education, 15(3), es4. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-01-0001
  • Spencer, S. J., Logel, C., & Davies, P. G. (2016). Stereotype Threat. Annual review of psychology, 67, 415–437. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-073115-103235
  • Steele, Claude M. Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can 
  • Do (Issues of Our Time). New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2011. 
  • Stroessner, Steve and Catherine Good. “Stereotype Threat: An Overview.” 2011. From 
  • Weinstein, Gerald, and Kathy Obear. “Bias Issues in the Classroom: Encounters with the Teaching Self.” New Directions for Teaching and Learning, no. 52 (1992): 39-50. 
  • Canning, E. A., Muenks, K., Green, D. J., & Murphy, M. C. (2019). STEM faculty who believe ability is fixed have larger racial achievement gaps and inspire less student motivation in their classes. Science advances, 5(2), eaau4734. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aau4734
  • Jordt, H., Eddy, S. L., Brazil, R., Lau, I., Mann, C., Brownell, S. E., King, K., & Freeman, S. (2017). Values Affirmation Intervention Reduces Achievement Gap between Underrepresented Minority and White Students in Introductory Biology Classes. CBE life sciences education, 16(3), ar41. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-12-0351
  • Paunesku, D., Walton, G. M., Romero, C., Smith, E. N., Yeager, D. S., & Dweck, C. S. (2015). Mind-set interventions are a scalable treatment for academic underachievement. Psychological Science, 26, 784–793. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0956797615571017 
  • Yeager, D. S., Trzesniewski, K. H., & Dweck, C. S. (2013). An implicit theory of personality intervention reduces adolescent aggression in response to victimization and exclusion. Child Development, 84(3), 970–988. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12003.1037/edu0000098
  • Dweck, C. S. (1986). Motivational processes affecting learning. American Psychologist, 41(10), 1040–1048. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.41.10.1040
  • Dweck, C.S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. New York: Random House. 
  • Blackwell, L. A., Trzesniewski, K. H., & Dweck, C. S. (2007). Implicit theories of intelligence predict achievement across an adolescent transition: A longitudinal study and an intervention. Child Development, 78, 246–263. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.00995.x 
  • Claro, S., Paunesku, D., Dweck, C. S. (2016). Growth mindset tempers the effects of poverty on academic achievement. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; 113 (31), 8664-8668.
  • Harackiewicz, J. M., & Priniski, S. J. (2018). Improving Student Outcomes in Higher Education: The Science of Targeted Intervention. Annual review of psychology, 69, 409–435. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-122216-011725
  • Murphy, M. C., Gopalan, M., Carter, E. R., Emerson, K., Bottoms, B. L., & Walton, G. M. (2020). A customized belonging intervention improves retention of socially disadvantaged students at a broad-access university. Science advances, 6(29), eaba4677. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aba4677
  • Yeager, D. S., & Walton, G. M. (2011). Social-Psychological Interventions in Education: They’re Not Magic. Review of Educational Research, 81(2), 267–301. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654311405999

Some Texts on Teaching

Inclusive teaching is good teaching. Many of these books also discuss inclusive teaching as part of good pedagogy, but almost any improvement in pedagogy will have an extra positive effect on the least prepared or under-represented students. Many of these authors have written dozens of books, but I’ve tried to highlight a few key texts (see especially * for a couple of short books that are favorites). 

  • Ambrose, S. A., Bridges, M. W., DiPietro, M., & Lovett, M.C. (2010). How learning works: Seven research-based principles for smart teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.
  • Bain, K (2004). What the Best College Teachers Do.  Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  • Barkley, E. F. (2010). Student engagement techniques: A handbook for college faculty. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. (Elizabeth Barkley is a music professor who also writes about pedagogy—all of her books are practical guides.) 
  • Bean, J.C. (2011) Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom. Jossey-Bass.
  • Bowen, J. A. (2012). Teaching naked: How moving technology out of your college classroom will improve student learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
  • *Bowen, J. A. & Watson, C. E. (2017). Teaching Naked Techniques: A Practical Guide to Designing Better Classes. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
  • Brookfield, Stephen D. Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, 2017. 
  • Brown, Peter. C., Henry L Roediger, Mark A. McDaniel, Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning. Cambridge: Belknap Press, 2014.
  • Carnes, M. C. (2014). Minds on fire: How role-immersion games transform college. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press. 
  • Cavenagh, Sarah Rose. (2016). The Spark of Learning: Energizing the College Classroom with the Science of Emotion. West Virginia University Press.
  • Chambliss, D. F., & Takacs, C. G. (2014). How college works. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
  • Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2009). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: HarperCollins.
  • Davis, Barbara Gross. (2001). Tools For Teaching. Jossey-Bass Publishers.
  • *Doyle, T. & Zakrajsek, T. (2014). The new science of learning: How to learn in harmony with your brain. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.
  • Dweck, Carol. (2007). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Ballantine Books.
  • Eyler, J., R. (2018). How Humans Learn: The Science and Stories behind Effective College Teaching. West Virginia University Press. 
  • Felten, Peter, Gardner, John N., Schroeder, Charles C., Lambert, Leo M., and Barefoot, Betsy O. (2016). The Undergraduate Experience: Focusing Institutions on What Matters. Jossey-Bass.
  • Fink, L. D. (2003, rev 2013). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to designing college courses. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
  • *Fink, L. D. (2004). Self-directed guide for designing courses for significant learning. Free online 37-page Do It Yourself Handbook. Retrieved from http://www.deefinkandassociates.com/GuidetoCourseDesignAug05.pdf  (This would be a great place to start—and its is FREE!)
  • Gooblar, D. (2019). The missing course: Everything they never taught you about college teaching. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. And https://www.chronicle.com/article/we-know-what-works-to-close-the-completion-gap/
  •  Hodges, Linda C. (2015) Teaching Undergraduate Science: A Guide to Overcoming Obstacles to Student Learning. Stylus.
  • Hoffman, B. (2017). Hack your motivation: Over 50 science-based strategies to improve performance. Oviedo, FL: Attribution Press.
  • *Lang, J. M. (2016). Small teaching: Everyday lessons from the science of learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
  •  Lieberman, Mark. “To Flip or Not to Flip?” As Harvard Professor Reverses Course on Online Lectures, Debate over Flipped Classrooms Remains, Inside Higher Ed, 13 Sept. 2017.
  • McGuire, Saundra and McGuire, Stephanie. (2015). Teach Students How to Learn: Strategies You Can Incorporate Into Any Course to Improve Student Metacognition, Study Skills, and Motivation. Stylus.
  • Neuhaus, J. (2018). Geeky Pedagogy A Guide for Intellectuals, Introverts, and Nerds Who Want to Be Effective Teachers, West Virginia University Press
  • Nilson, L. B. (2010). Teaching at its best: A research-based resource for college instructors (3rd ed.). Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing.
  • Nilson, L. B. (2015). Specifications Grading: Restoring Rigor, Motivating Students, and Saving Faculty Time. Stylus Publishing.
  • Tolman, A. O. & Kremling, J. (2016). Why students resist learning: A practical model for understanding and helping students. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.
  • Twenge, J. (2017). iGen: Why today’s super-connected kids are growing up less rebellious, more tolerant, less happy–and completely unprepared for adulthood–and what that means for the rest of us. Atria Books. (Not about teaching, but about your students.)
  • Wehlburg, Catherine M. (2006). Meaningful Course Revision: Enhancing Academic Engagement Using Student Learning Data. Jossey-Bass.
  • Wiggins, Grant, and McTighe, Jay. (1998). Understanding by Design. ASCD.
  • Willingham, David T. (2010). Why Don’t Students Like School?: A Cognitive Scientist Answers Questions About How the Mind Works and What It Means for the Classroom. Jossey-Bass.

Here are some more comprehensive lists and real bibliographies:

There is also an excellent series of teaching videos from the Cross Academy: 

A Growing Literature on Bias and Inclusive Learning 

Again, there are more complete bibliographies listed below, but here are some highlights.

  • hooks, bell. (1994). Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom.
  • Addy, T. M, Dube, D. Mitchell, K. A. & SoRelle, M. (2021). What Inclusive Instructors Do: Principles and Practices for Excellence in College, Stylus Publishing.
  • Tobin, T. J., Behling, K. T. (2018) Reach Everyone, Teaching everyone: Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education. West Virginia University Press. 
  • Oleson, K. C. (2021). Promoting Inclusive Classroom Dynamics in Higher Education: A Research-Based Pedagogical Guide for Faculty. Stylus Publishing.
  • Landorf, H., Doscher, S., & Hardrick, J. (2018). Making global learning universal: Promoting inclusion and success for all students. Sterling Virginia: Stylus Publishing.
  • Dewsbury, B., & Brame, C. J. (2019). Inclusive Teaching. CBE life sciences education, 18(2), fe2. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.19-01-0021
  • Conrad, Clifton and Gasman, Marybeth. (2017). Educating a Diverse Nation: Lessons From Minority Serving Institutions. Harvard University Press.
  •  Ferguson, Roderick A. (2012) The Reorder of Things: The University and its Pedagogies of Minority Difference. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
  • Gutiérrez, Gabriella, Ed. (2012) Presumed Incompetent: The Intersections of Race and Class for Women in Academia. Boulder: University Press of Colorado.
  • Lawrie, G., Marquis, E., Fuller, E., Newman, T., Qui, M., Nomikoudis, M., Roelofs, F., & van Dam, L. (2017). Moving Towards Inclusive Learning and Teaching: A Synthesis of Recent Literature. Teaching & Learning Inquiry, 5(1).
  • Johnson K. (2019). Implementing inclusive practices in an active learning STEM classroom. Advances in physiology education, 43(2), 207–210. https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00045.2019
  • Landorf, H., Doscher, S., & Hardrick, J. (2018). Making global learning universal: Promoting inclusion and success for all students. Sterling Virginia: Stylus Publishing.
  • Banaji, Mahzarin R., and Anthony G. Greenwald. Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People. New York: Bantam, 2016. 
  • Bennett, Janet M., and Milton J. Bennett. “Developing Intercultural Pedagogy: An 
  • Integrative Approach to Global and Domestic Diversity.” In Handbook of 
  • Ginsberg, Margery B., and Raymond J. Wlodkowski. Diversity and Motivation: Culturally Responsive Teaching in College. John Wiley & Sons (2009) 
  • Goodman, Diane J. Promoting Diversity and Social Justice: Educating People from Privileged Groups. New York: Routledge, 2011. 
  • Hearn, Mark Chung. “Positionality, Intersectionality, and Power: Socially Locating 
  • the Higher Education Teacher in Multicultural Education.” Multicultural Education Review 4, no. 2 (2012): 38-59. 
  • Johnson-Bailey, Juanita, and Ming-Yeh Lee. “Women of Color in the Academy: Where’s Our Authority in the Classroom?.” Feminist Teacher 15, no. 2 (2005): 111-122. 
  • Landis, Dan, Janet Bennett, and Milton Bennett. Handbook of Intercultural Training. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2004. 
  • Lee, Amy, Robert Poch, Marta Shaw, and Rhiannon Williams. Engaging Diversity in Undergraduate Classrooms: A Pedagogy for Developing Intercultural Competence. ASHE Higher Education Report 38, no. 2. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, 2012.
  • Kernahan, C. (2019). Teaching about Race and Racism in the College Classroom: Notes from a White Professor. West Virginia Univesity Press
  • Hurtado, S., & Sork, V. L. (2015, December). Enhancing student success and building inclusive classrooms at UCLA: Report to the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost. Available: http://wscuc.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/C5_16_Report_Enhancing_Student_Success-Building_Inclusive_Classrooms_at_UCLA_December_2015.pdf
  • Inoue, A.B. (2015). Antiracist writing assessment ecologies: Teaching and assessing writing for a socially just future. Fort Collins, CO: WAC Clearinghouse.
  • Tarr, Kathleen, “‘A Little More Every Day’: How You Can Eliminate Bias in Your Own Classroom,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, September 23, 2015, http://www.chronicle.com/article/A-Little-More-Every-Day-/233303. 
  • Tatum, Beverly Daniel. (2008). Can We Talk about Race?: And Other Conversations in an Era of School Resegregation. Beacon Press.
  • Tatum, Beverly. Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race. Basic Books; Revised edition, September 5, 2017.
  • Sacks, Peter. (2007) Tearing Down the Gates: Confronting the Class Divide in American Education. Berkeley: University of California Press.
  • Smith, Daryl G. (2015). Diversity’s Promise for Higher Education: Making it Work. 2nd Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press.

A longer bibliography of the literature:

There are many more lists:

More web resources and practical guides and tips: