Equity & Inclusion in Online Teaching

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LEARN: What and Why

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Though many universities today are making efforts to create more equitable, inclusive environment, most universities were founded to meet the needs of White, middle-upper class Christian males, and the practices and policies of those original establishments have not yet adjusted to meet the needs of the diverse groups of learners in institutions today (CUE 2017).

In the context of online education, equity can be considered “freedom from bias or assumptions that negatively impact online learners' motivations, opportunities, or accomplishments” (Peralta). Unfortunately, opportunity gaps for certain student groups persist in online courses (Cohen 2021). Jaggars (2014) found that some groups (e.g. first-generation students; low-income students; ethnic minority students (specifically Latinx and African-American); and academically underprepared students) are at greater risk of not passing or completing online courses. Other groups that may be at-risk include: students with disabilities, foster youth, and military veterans (Cohen 2021).

Given these challenges, instructors need to be proactive in implementing strategies to create more equitable and inclusive online courses and to minimize the challenges that these student groups face.

ENGAGE: How to do it

Strategies for Equity & Inclusion in Online Courses

Create a more equity-minded syllabus

• Your syllabus is not only the blueprint to your course, but it is also a symbol of who you are as an instructor (Matejka & Kurke, 2010)

• Using supportive, welcoming and inclusive language, highlighting student support services, and clearly communicating course expectations demonstrates your commitment to helping all students succeed

Design using UDL principles

• Following the UDL principles of multiple means of engagement, representation, and action & expression (CAST 2020) will help engage different types of learners in the course and allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and mastery in ways that they can be successful

Include diverse, representative course materials

• Students feel more included in the course when they see, hear and read about people of similar backgrounds in the instructional materials

• Choose and create instructional materials that have diverse and nonbiased representations of gender, race, ethnicities, abilities, cultures etc. (Medel & Pournaghshband, 2017)

• See Instructional Materials for more information

Ensure accessibility in your course

• Students with disabilities are at higher risk of not completing/passing a course and feeling excluded from the course community

• Ensure all instructional materials (lectures, books/readings, presentation slides, assignments) and learning activities meet accessibility standards

Use clarity in language, goals and directions

• Course syllabi and assignment expectations are often imbued with assumptions about completing work for college courses that are unknown to first-generation college students, first time online course takers, non-native English speakers and students with disabilities

• Review Learning Objectives and Syllabus Overview for help in writing clear course and assignment expectations

APPLY to your course

Review your own implicit associations

Even the best-intentioned person and instructor has some biases. Taking the time to make yourself aware of those unconscious biases you may hold is the first step in counter-acting any biases.

Harvard’s Project Implicit provides a research-based test that allows individuals to test their own implicit biases in a number of areas, such as: age (young—old), race (black—white), gender—science, and Transgender–Cisgender People.

Review your syllabus for equity-minded practice

Your syllabus can be a tool for equity-minded practice. Instructors can utilize the syllabus to demystify the “implicit norms and ambiguous policies” that lead to success in a college course (CUE 2017, p. 3). A syllabus created with equity in mind (CUE, 2017):

• Uses welcoming and inclusive language

• Validates students’ pursuit of a college degree and their ability to obtain it

• Recognizes the hard work needed by students, but positions the instructor-student relationship as a partnership

• Represents the experiences of diverse people in course materials

• Deconstructs the presentation of white students as the norm

The Center for Urban Education at the University of Southern California has a thorough, user-friendly Syllabus Review Guide for Equity-Minded Practice.   

Review your course for Inclusion & Equity:

• Use a checklist, such as Applying Inclusive Teaching Principles (University of Michigan), to review your course for inclusion and equity

• Use the research-based Peralta Equity Rubric to evaluate your course

  • Review your course based on the rubric’s criteria, which includes: access to technology and support; instructor commitment to inclusion; addressing bias); helping students make connections; and using universal design for learning principles.

Complete a free online course in inclusion and equity

• The Peralta Community College District has developed and freely offers a self-paced Online Equity Training (Cohen, 2021)on Canvas Commons that aligns with the principles of the Peralta Equity Rubric.

Complete a Value Affirmation Exercise with your Students

• Students from underrepresented minorities often struggle with feeling a sense of social belonging in predominate white colleges; value affirmation exercises have been shown to help reduce those feelings and to improve achievement among these students (Stanford)

• At the start of the course and/or critical moments in the course (midterm, before an exam, etc.), use a survey to ask students identify some of their personal values (family, friends, interests, etc.), and then describe how taking this particular course reflects and helps reinforce those values (Educause, 2019)

References & Resources

Center for Urban Education (CUE) (2017). Syllabus Review Guide for Equity-Minded Practice. Rossier School of Education: University of Southern California.

Cohen, Chelsea (2021). Online Equity Training. Peralta Community College District.

Educause (2019). 4 Tips to Make an Online Course More Welcome.  

Harvard University (2011). Project Implicit.

Jaggars, S.S. (2014, Winter). Democratization of Education for Whom? Online Learning and Educational Equity. Diversity & Democracy, 17(1).

Matejka, K., & Kurke, L. B. (1994). Designing a great syllabus. College Teaching, 42(3), 115-117.

Peralta Community College District. (n.d.) Defining the Peralta Equity Rubric.

Shirzadi, A. (2018, Feb. 23). STEMneutral - Value Affirmation. Stemneutral.com.

Stanford University GSB Staff. (2012, May 12). The Value of "Values Affirmation".

University of Michigan Center for Research on Learning and Teaching. Reflecting on your Practice: Applying Inclusive Teaching Principles.