1.3 Incorporating Inclusive Teaching Practices
Foundationally, inclusive teaching serves the needs of all
students, but no single, universally accepted definition exists (Ainscow
et al, 2006; Miles and Singal, 2010; Forlin and Loreman, 2014). Rather,
a spectrum of approaches to inclusive teaching that exist including
teaching to accommodate various learning styles and ability levels (Kolb
and Kolb, 2005; Orr and Hamming, 2009) as well as teaching that includes
and empowers historically marginalized learners (Friedrich et al, 2008).
Whatever the approach, the goal of inclusive teaching is to ensure that
diverse learners have equal opportunities to engage in meaningful
learning experiences that maximize their participation and achievement
(Lawrie et al, 2017). For this manuscript, we use the broad definition
proposed by Dewsbury (2017) and see inclusive teaching as ”a philosophy
of teaching that provides equal opportunities for all students to have a
successful learning experience”. However, more complex definitions
exist, and those define inclusive teaching, or deep teaching, as a
radical transformation of education as we know it, a movement away from
teaching science to teaching students (e.g., Dewsbury and Brame, 2019;
Dewsbury, 2020). Although we view the newer, more radical definitions by
Dewsbury and colleagues as the ultimate goal for biology education, this
manuscript does not tackle that paradigm shift. Here, we provide initial
steps for how to increase active learning and inclusivity in the
classroom. Aspects of inclusive teaching can be accomplished in multiple
ways, including via universal design for learning, by practicing
cultural competence, by using trauma-informed practices, and by
management of attitudes and expectations. It should be noted that these
inclusive teaching strategies are not mutually exclusive and
intersection among the frameworks does exist; however, each of these
strategies has its own literature so we presented them separately here.
In practice, these strategies overlap, and some recommendations fulfill
more than one strategy.