ADDRESSING STUDENT EQUITY IN THE CLASSROOM
There are three areas to focus on to design an equity-minded classroom:
The first has to do with preparing ourselves, how we show up and how the students experience us. Embodied teaching is a way to connect with our students and their experiences.
The second is the creation of a learning container for the students. Explicitly designing and developing a community of learners where they experience the relevancy of what they are learning and the glue of belonging through the creation of community in the classroom. Building relevancy through the use of Social Justice topics, non Euro-centric texts, primary research methods and a flipped classroom. There are activities to create a rhythm of learning and utilizes the strengths inherent in the culture of our students of color. Both the use of team activities and project-based approaches call forward the social and communal strengths of the cultural strengths of our students of color.
The third is to focus on the content and curriculum making sure that they represent the students whom you are teaching. In this area Syllabus Review, Slide Review, and Example Review are important to consider.