“Good Teaching Is Inclusive Teaching”: Building Reflective Practice on Teaching

Reflection is necessary for effective teaching. Indeed, critical reflection, in which one analyzes, reconsiders, and questions experiences within a broad context of issues, is a powerful method of realizing new perspectives and viewpoints (Bart 2011). Although critical reflection includes a self-discovery component, it is ultimately a collaborative process, in which colleagues, peers, and experts pose questions, introduce new strategies of practice, and provide support through the sometimes difficult process of adopting new ways of thinking, being, and doing (Brookfield 2016). In this article, we share how critical reflection on teaching vis-à-vis an inclusive classroom training enabled opportunities for instructors who completed the training to engage in personal contemplation and discussion within departments to improve teaching, with the goal of enhancing student success. Iowa State University (ISU) prides itself on excellent teaching as part of a student-centered campus culture. Like many higher education institutions nationwide, the Iowa State community has experienced overt acts of racism and intolerance that prompted a renewed focus on creating equitable and inclusive spaces on campus, including academic spaces. Moreover, students have been vocal about the need for decisive and immediate actions by the university to foster inclusion through a ten-point list of demands. In meeting the demand for “mandatory inclusivity and diversity training,” senior leadership required each of the fifty-six academic departments at the university to partake in a one- to one-and-a-half-hour training delivered by the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) on “the importance of, and approaches to, creating an inclusive classroom environment.” The CELT developed a flipped classroom approach. To begin, participants engaged in pre-workshop online learning modules within our learning management system, Canvas. The three pre-workshop modules included readings, videos, and critical reflections focused on (1) why teach inclusively, (2) how implicit bias impacts teaching, and (3) key components of teaching inclusively. Although the mandatory CELT-led training was effective, department chairs have the unique opportunity, and responsibility, for creating a culture that fosters inclusive teaching environments that support success for all students. Paul S. Hengesteg, Laura Bestler, Kabongwe (KB) Gwebu, and Sara Marcketti are staff members in the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at Iowa State University. Email: paulh@iastate.edu