UA English professor Lauren Cardon published a book co-authored with Dr. Anne-Marie Womack of Rice University. It will be published on on December 27, 2022.
Here is what Dr. Cardon has to say about it:
Our book emerged from a series of conversations Anne-Marie and I have had over the years about teaching––what has worked for us, what we wish we had known when we started teaching, and perhaps most importantly, how we have worked to make our teaching more inclusive.
As we have integrated inclusive practices into our teaching, our classrooms have transformed. We learn more from our students and build stronger relationships with them. Class time is more dynamic and collaborative, generating ideas that often shape our research. Although DEI work requires energy and labor, these practices also return more energy back to us. Prioritizing inclusion can free both instructors and students from the more cumbersome aspects of traditional teaching practices––the onerousness of grading, the time-consuming planning of a long lecture, the frustration with students who seem checked out. This is not to suggest that inclusive teaching is a cure-all or something easily accomplished, but as we revise our approach we continually strive to create stronger inclusive practices that benefit students and instructors.
Inclusive College Classrooms features research-based tools for creating an effective and inclusive learning environment. Inclusive teaching encourages instructors to be self-reflective in our teaching: How might our current methods exclude learners? How are we actively fostering equity through our teaching? We discuss four core principles for inclusion––access, representation, agency, and community––and demonstrate how instructors can implement these values through their teaching methods and assessments.
To help instructors envision these methods in their own classrooms, we offer 200 example lessons from a range of disciplines––including the humanities, social sciences, fine arts, design, and STEM courses.
The book’s chapters apply DEI principles and research to six teaching methods: Lecture, Flipped, Seminar, Group Work, Inquiry-Based Learning, and Experiential Learning. In the last chapter, Inclusive Assessment, we provide research-backed strategies for measuring learning in an equitable, student-centered way. In addition, we include appendices that offer suggestions for some of the more specific concerns we encounter about inclusive teaching: for example, creating accessible videos, developing inclusive discussion questions, and designing student-centered lesson plans.
Perhaps best of all, many of these lessons in this book feature the important, innovative work of our colleagues here at UA, including (but not limited to) Erik Peterson in History, Bulent Tosun in Mathematics, Rachel Stephens in Art History, Holly Kantin in Philosophy, Emily Wittman in English, Cassander L. Smith in English and Honors College, Patrick Frantom in Chemistry, and Jeremy Bailin in Astronomy.
I hope the book will be a valuable resource for faculty, administrators, and graduate students.
If you’re interested in purchasing Inclusive College Classrooms: Teaching Methods for Diverse Learners, you can pre-order the book here, using the code FLA22 at checkout for a 20% discount. Find and contact Lauren Cardon in UA’s directory for information on ordering an inspection copy.
