Equitable teachers transform structures and resources in and outside our classrooms to ensure fair and just opportunities and outcomes for all of our students. Pursuing equity in teachingmeans transforming the design, structures, and resources of our classrooms and institutions so that they benefit every student and support all student identities. The following checklists can help you navigate this process. Remember that small tweaks can make a big difference— challenge yourself to check off one or two new items each time you teach!
| Clarity and structure: I have a clear and highly structured course design with a high level of suppot for students. | |
| Includes remote learners intentionally: I have plans for how students who need to attend class remotely will be able to fully participate and access resources. | |
| Asynchronous: I have a plan for asynchronous instruction in the event that many students need to attend class remotely and do not have access to adequate internet resources, are working, are caregiving, etc. | |
| Culturally relevant content: The content of my course is culturally relevant to my students’ experiences. I include a diverse array of identities in my class materials. I uplift marginalized and critical voices that challenge dominant power structures in my discipline. |
| Understanding student needs and experiences: I have prepared a tool (like this survey) that will allow me to get to know the unique needs of each of my students, especially in the context of hybrid/remote learning and the global pandemic | |
| Respect student identities: I model respect for the names and pronouns of my students on our first day. | |
| Community agreement: I have plans to create a community agreement in collaboration with my students concerning discussion guidelines and codes of conduct that explicitly includes online discussion norms. |
| Community agreement: I remind my class of our community agreement guidelines before beginning a discussion, and we return to the agreement regularly to make changes and revisions as needed. (It’s simple to have a discussion guideline slide that you insert before any slides to prompt discussion or copy and paste to any online forum prompts) | |
| Facilitating to prevent harm: I have a strategy for (and am transparent with students about) what I will do as the discussion facilitator if I feel or learn from my students that a discussion is becoming harmful. My approach is centered on supporting the needs and experiences of marginalized and opp | |
| Variety: I have a variety of ways for students (both in-person and remote) to engage in discussion (including, for example, small group, large group, think-pair-shares, and tools like PollEverywhere). |
| Securing Zoom: I have secured Zoom sessions so as to prevent Zoombombing. This is not only a security issue, but an equity one, as many Zoombombers display racist, sexist, and misogynistic language or images. | |
| Low-bandwidth versions: I have enabled phone/dial in for synchronous Zoom meetings so students can call in. I plan to upload audio-only versions of classes/lectures that require less bandwidth to download, and have created resources/content with the students with the lowest level of access to resources in mind. | |
| For further recommendations, see Flexible Teaching Content Delivery Guide |
| Variety: I have a variety of different types of assignments and assessments that affords students many ways to demonstrate their learning. | |
| Scaffolding: Each assignment builds on the skills and knowledge students developed with earlier assignments. I am teaching and providing resources for the skills students need (writing, test-taking, computer skills, etc.) to create successful assignments. | |
| TILT (Transparency in Teaching and Learning): Find an in-depth checklist here. My course assignments clearly articulate to students the assignments’ Purpose, Task, and Criteria for Success | |
| Learning goals: My assessments align with the course’s learning goals and assess student learning around stated goals. I am not assessing knowledge or skills extraneous to course learning goals. | |
| Grades: Student grades are determined by a diverse variety of assignments, participation, and assessments, not only by a few high-stakes assessments (like one mid-term and one final). My grading scheme centers student learning and well-being. | |
| Exams: My exams and assessments do not require students to be present in person (students may need to join class remotely due to health needs, even if the class is designated as in-person). | |
| Integrity: My assessments value student integrity. I take proactive measures by ensuring that assignments and assessments do not lend themselves to academic misconduct, instead of punitive measures after the fact to punish students. |
| Diversity: I take the diversity of student experiences into account when I form long-term intentional groups. | |
| Group structure: I assign roles for student group work to clarify responsibilities and reduce unequal distribution of individual labor. | |
| Zoom breakout rooms: I use small-group work to promote student interaction, using random assignment for short-term, low-stakes activities and intentionally forming groups for longer-term, high-stakes assignments. |
| Get feedback: I will solicit mid-semester feedback from students and implement changes in response | |
| Give feedback: I have a plan to offer students mid-semester feedback on their own progress. |
Developed by Center for Faculty Excellence, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Reprinted with permission.