MIT Faculty Panel Embraces Inclusive Teaching
In an undeniably STEM focused school like MIT, where problem sets, computer simulations, and paper-and-pencil exams seem to reign, the focus on delivering as much information as possible often obscures the importance of delivering the content as a human, to humans. Especially as the COVID-19 pandemic forced students to fly home and learning to be virtual, the importance of inclusive teaching has only increased.
At last week's Festival of Learning, Dr. Janet Rankin, Director of the Teaching and Learning Lab at MIT and Dr. Ruthann Thomas, Associate Director for Teaching and Learning, provided a background and context for a faculty panel on Inclusive Instruction. Although diversity, equity, and inclusion are equally important, faculty panelists focused on promoting inclusion in the classroom, and creating learning environments where students from all backgrounds would feel welcomed and supported.
To this end, Dr. Thomas offered four pillars of inclusive teaching. First, building a sense of belonging in all students: that their experiences not only matter but are valuable. Second, structured interactions: that inclusive teaching is by no means passive. Instead, a deliberate effort is required each day to hear from all students. Third, transparency: to be crystal clear about expectations and norms, in such a way that students are not put at a disadvantage due to their background. Finally, values: that diversity is an asset, and constantly finding ways to demonstrate it.
Arathi Mehrotra, a Lecturer in Managerial Communication at the MIT Sloan School of Management, offered two main tactics to make students feel seen and heard. First, she emphasized interacting with students as individuals: learning their names (and pronunciation!), pronouns, and background, providing opportunities for 1-on-1’s, proactively reaching out to students, both those excelling and those struggling, and deliberately asking students to share their unique experiences. As a personal experience, I vividly recall the second day of class in 11.011: Art and Science of Negotiation, where Professor Bruno Verdini walked through the entire classroom of 40+ students and recited our names, each flawlessly. As Mehrotra observes, each of us felt as though we belonged. Mehrotra also advocated for leveraging technology where personal interaction becomes infeasible. Especially in larger classes, giving feedback face-to-face cannot be done on every assignment. Programs like GoReact and VoiceThread, where teachers can record their voice and/or video giving feedback to students, can help students feel like the feedback is guidance from a human, rather than red marks all over a page.
Peter Dourmashkin, a Senior Lecturer in the MIT Physics Department, shared his experiences with using Technology Enabled Active Learning (TEAL) to create a learning community that effectively embraces all students. Indeed, he emphasized the whole community, from the lecturers and teaching assistants all the way to mentors and support staff, and of course, the students. He especially focused on the parts of the community that he termed the “glue” – namely, the undergraduate TA’s and the mentors. The undergraduate TA’s would form a bridge between often-intimidated first-year students and the faculty, and mentors fostered a sense of belonging through being listeners and motivators for the students. Dourmashkin noted that students with mentors outperformed those without and stressed again the importance of these members in their learning community.
Canan Dagdeviren, an Assistant Professor in MIT Media Lab, shared how she tackled the COVID-19 problem. Especially as her class typically makes use of “Yellow Box”, a clean room, the sudden virtual nature of learning demanded a drastic change in teaching. However, she was determined that her students should have the hands-on experience that they would have had in-person, and painstakingly packed “mini yellow boxes” to send to the students, and encouraged them to employ the safety protocols that are essential to the course at home. Students responded positively, demonstrating again that their differences and diversity brought value to the class, as evidenced through their creative solutions.
Kevin Shao ’23, is a third year student at MIT.