Main Content
Introduction
Online instruction may be thought of as a “neutral” space but unequal access and biases are part of the challenges that require faculty attention just like in-person instruction. Therefore, even when teaching remotely you are encouraged to cultivate an inclusive learning environment that can reduce bias, contribute to equitable access and foster critical engagement. Choosing to do so, complements the other important aspects of iTech Fellows, including hybrid models, scaffolding, backwards course design, accessibility, and creating an online presence. These practices benefit everyone but they are especially impactful with students who come from communities that have experienced marginalization in higher education due to systems of inequality and structural barriers, historically through legal means and presently through problematic campus cultures and practices that contradict institutional statements about their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Broadly, colleges/universities have traditionally responded to this imperative with single, introductory workshops, not unlike this module. Yet even though this is a new requirement for UWT’s iTech Fellows, it is a part of a larger institutional re-commitment to on-going training, reflection and accountability. You should think of these activities as part of an aspirational aspect of your teaching portfolio that requires sustained attention and further development.
According to Beck (2018) and other scholars (Thomas, 2020; Bonilla-Silva, 2020, 5th ed.; Bell and Hartmann, 2007), “the use of the term “diversity” can mean many things to many people, and therefore many regard it as overused and thus vague….” To avoid this problem, the activities in this module explicitly focus on one critical aspect of diversity: race and ethnicity. More specifically, this module addresses how to create community agreements that dismantle unnecessary power hierarchies and disrupt racial microaggressions that individually undermine a sense of belonging as documented in UWT's 2020 campus climate survey results.
You may be asking, “Why lead with race?” UWT’s Office for Equity and Inclusion (OEI) is committed to disrupting all intersecting forms of oppression to create an equitable teaching and learning environment. OEI is also committed to prioritizing programming, including faculty development, that is responsive to pressing global and local issues that affect our students, some of whom have experienced or witnessed anti-Black racism, hate crimes, and xenophobia in their communities and on campus.
As a part of their social, political and cultural identities, Black, Indigenous and other students of color carry these cumulative traumas into the classroom because like all students, they do not live and learn in silos. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the nation’s structural inequality across race, class and gender. Meanwhile, the worldwide movement to support Black lives has provided faculty of all disciplines with an opportunity to practice anti-racist strategies and contribute to dismantling systemic racism, beginning with our own recognition of how racial dynamics are present every day, even online. This prioritization is not meant to rank social groups or suggest racism is “worse” than other forms of oppressions but it is a critical place to start given the divisive racial conflicts that consistently plague our campuses nationwide.
Ideally, your ongoing efforts to integrate equitable, inclusive practices in the classroom can enhance academic success and retention which is the heart of our work as an urban-serving institution. Furthermore, when you increase your knowledge and ability in this area, you can leverage resources and effective strategies to reflexively challenge other kinds of discriminatory attitudes/behaviors such as sexism, transphobia and ableism. Choosing to practice inclusive, equity-minded instruction takes time, humility and patience (with yourself and others). Being committed to anti-racist pedagogy requires courage, a radical love for social justice and the ability to interrogate problematic systems and structures while supporting the growth of individuals. This is how you increase your racial literacy and heighten your critical consciousness. Undoubtedly, you will make mistakes. However, when we are confident and effective with this work, students will know they are valued, and they will choose to engage, gifting us with their talents and insights.
Please feel free to write me anytime about this work: iamtanya@uw.edu
Tanya G. Velasquez, M.A.
Senior Lecturer, SIAS, Sociology; Ethnic, Gender and Labor Studies
Faculty Development Associate, UWT Office of Equity and Inclusion
Learn More I: Employing Equity-Minded and Culturally-Affirming Teaching Practices in Virtual Learning Communities
Watch the webinar above, keeping the following questions for reflection in mind:
What stood out to you? Does this new information give you pause or cause you to rethink a diversity issue? Why? What questions are you left with?
Check Your Learning I
The UWT Canvas Template includes pages covering Course Expectations and Etiquette.
Now that you've viewed the webinar and heard the suggestions of Profs. Wood and Harris III about how to employ equity minded and culturally-affirming practices, revise or create your Course Expectations and Etiquette pages with the following questions in mind:
- Is there something you'd add or eliminate now? Why or why not?
- Is there something you would edit/reword? Why or why not?
Problem of Practice I
Read and reflect on the following "Problem of Practice." Based on what you learned from the webinar, consider how you would answer the following questions and apply an anti-racist approach to the problem.
- What are the promises and what are the challenges to this professor's approach?
- Is it equity minded? Explain.
- Is the professor being culturally-affirming? Explain.
- Are there power dynamics here? If so, what are they?
- Do you have recommendations for the professor?
- Do you have recommendations for the students?
Problem of Practice
Professor X, is teaching online for the first time during the COVID 19 stay-at-home order. On the first day of the quarter, they say to the students in a pre-recorded message that, "Teaching is teaching; it's all the same online or in person." They also describe the course as highly challenging and that it won't be any different online but students should expect to do a lot more independent work because the class is asynchronous for the most part. There are no recorded lectures but to complete the assignments, students can review power point slides on Canvas which correspond with the weekly readings.
Additionally the professor specifically addresses first year students, many of whom are from Lincoln High School in Tacoma - a school that has a student body known for their low socio-economic status and high racial diversity. The professor says, "This is college now. Your high school habits are "not going to fly" in this university environment; no one is going to hold your hand." The professor then explains that students who are struggling can seek assistance with the coursework during their office hour from 8:00 - 9:00 a.m. on Mondays but they will not meet with students who don't have specific questions and/or some possible solutions to their problem. They explain that this is the best way to teach students to be autonomous learners and critical thinkers. And in fact, the professor argues that their "tough love" approach is culturally relevant because they understand that communities of color have elders who would hold them accountable in the same way. The students do not respond to his introduction. Since there are no questions or comments posted on Canvas the professor is pleased that their message was understood. They anticipate a quarter free of complications in this new online environment.
Learn More II: Responding to Racial Bias and Microaggression in the Online Environment
Watch the webinar above, keeping the following questions for reflection in mind:
Many of us are familiar with the basic research on microaggressions (i.e. definition and harmful impact) which is introduced in the webinar. However, Profs. Wood and Harris III also discuss the conditions in which implicit biases/microaggressions are likely to occur and share specific details about particular kinds of racial microaggressions. Please reflect on your own experiences and observations with these conditions in mind. Do you always know when a microaggression has occurred? Why or why not? How do you respond? What does repair look like? What can you do to prevent future microaggressions from being expressed online?
Check Your Learning II
Many of us are familiar with the basic research on microaggressions (i.e. definition and harmful impact) which is introduced in the webinar. However, Profs. Wood and Harris III also discuss the conditions in which implicit biases/microaggressions are likely to occur and share specific details about particular kinds of racial microaggressions.
Reflect on your own experiences and observations with these conditions in mind.
- Do you always know when a microaggression has occurred? Why or why not?
- How do you respond?
- What does repair look like?
- What can you do to prevent future microaggressions from being expressed online?
Problem of Practice II
Read and reflect on the following "Problem of Practice." Based on what you learned from the webinar, consider how you would answer the following questions and apply an anti-racist approach to the problem.
- Who is involved?
- What's at stake if you don't say anything?
- What's at stake if you do say something? What would you do and/or say?
- How could this be avoided or mitigated?
- What resources can you consult to develop an effective response?
Problem of Practice
This is your first time teaching a Molecular Biology course remotely. While challenging and tedious, you are pleased with how quickly students adapted to group work online. They are also engaged during Zoom discussions and even talk to one another in the Zoom chat function while you're lecturing and conducting lab demonstrations.
It's week nine of the quarter and students are preparing for finals. At the end of the week a student writes you with a screen shot of the most recent chat that occurred during your last class which included a really important review for the exam. The student expresses concern about the exchange they observed in the chat. They feel bad because, as a bystander, they didn't say anything in the moment even though they know it was wrong. The following is the chat conversation between the two students from the screen shot shared with you:
David: "Damn, this is too much. I'm really struggling with all this review and I need this class to graduate. Does everyone else get this?"
Jamal: "Yah, it seems like a lot but checkout the notes on Canvas. It's all there too."
David: "Thanks. I'll do that."
Jamal: "Hey, I'm leading a study session this weekend if you want to join me and Bui Nguyen. We're both pre-med majors and Bui did all kinds of AP science in high school."
David: "LOL. No offense dude but I don't know any successful black scientists so I'll pass. But maybe I'll hit up Bui. You know how those asians are with science and math!"
No reply from Jamal.
