Teaching equity - Networks & Resources

There is further information about evaluating and improving your teaching for inclusivity on the UoA Tutoring Central website. There is also a selection of further resources to explore, which we have copied here too:

Inclusive teaching resources

• Universal Design for Learning is a framework intended to remove barriers to learning and ensure it is accessible to and inclusive of all learners. You can read more about UDL, including strategies for implementing it in teaching, in this information Links to an external site. created by CAST, the education centre that originally developed UDL, and in this guide Links to an external site. produced by Te Kete Ipurangi (note: this second resource is created for school and kura educators, but the principles and many of the approaches have relevance for tertiary teachers and tutors too).

1: Culturally inclusive and anti-racist teaching

Culturally inclusive pedagogies recognise that there is often a gap between the dominant culture of the NZ education system and the cultural background of many learners, and they seek to close this gap.

• This guide to culturally-responsive pedagogies Links to an external site. from the Education Hub gives some advice and strategies for creating a culturally inclusive classroom. (Note: it is written primarily with school teaching in mind, so although there is plenty that is relevant for University teaching, there will be some suggestions that are not appropriate, such as parent-teacher conferences - feel free to disregard these!)
• The guidance from this GTA Training Resource Hub about creating a culturally inclusive classroom environment and developing whanaungatanga
• The University offers a number of resources and support services for Māori students and for Pasifika students.
• The University has developed an app called Te Kūaha to help you develop a pepeha and increase your te reo Māori vocabulary .

2: Disability inclusive teaching

Over 24% of New Zealanders experience some form of disability, so there will almost certainly be learners with disabilities in your classroom. Some disabilities are visible, but many others are hidden or invisible. A fundamental principle of accessible teaching is to ensure that it is available to all learners, not only those who have disclosed disability, so inclusive teaching practices actually benefit all learners.

• The University provides resources and support for students with disabilities.
• The University also provides some guidance around teaching inclusively for students with impairments and disabilities.
• GTAs are often required to create/maintain course Canvas pages. The University has produced guidance for ensuring Canvas page are inclusive and accessible.
• In this series of personal blogposts Links to an external site., instructors and tutors in the US discuss strategies for creating an inclusive, anti-ableist classroom.

3: Gender-inclusive or anti-sexist teaching
Ensuring all students, whether male, female, gender diverse, or agender, are fully included in our classrooms is central to inclusive teaching. This may be challenging, particularly within subjects and disciplines that have been historically associated with one gender or in which the majority of students come from one gender group, and therefore other gendered students may feel marginalised or excluded. This exclusion can also manifest in sexism. Gender-responsive pedagogy is an approach to reducing or eradicating gender-related inequities in the classroom.

• Freie Universität Berlin has produced a gender- and diversity-conscious teaching toolkit Links to an external site. which you can work through (available in both English and German).

4: Rainbow-inclusive teaching

Ensuring that rainbow students, or students with LGBTQITakatāpui+ identities, find classrooms inclusive and welcoming is an important part of ensuring equity in our teaching.

• The University provides resources and support services for Rainbow students.
• This University of Otago guidance Links to an external site. has some resources for teaching in ways which are inclusive of Rainbow students, including a link to inclusive language guidelines.
• The University of Connecticut has also produced useful advice around creating Rainbow-inclusive teaching Links to an external site..
• LGBTQIA, Takatapui and MVPFAFF+ friendly teaching and learning course:  The course is fully online, self-paced and available through Canvas.

5: Teaching to learners whose first language is not English

Teaching students who do not speak English as their first language, have English as an additional language (EAL), or are non-native English speaking (NNES), will help to ensure these students can learn effectively in our classroms, as well as improving clarity for all students.

• The University provides some English language learning support services to EAL learners.
• George Fox University has created some guidance for teaching inclusively to NNES learners Links to an external site..
• The University of Connecticut has developed some key tips for teaching NNES students Links to an external site..