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► Equity-Minded Teaching
Removing Barriers to Student Success
Equity-minded teaching directs attention away from students’ “college readiness” and instead focuses on dismantling the institutional, curricular, and classroom-level barriers that hinder success. It comprises actions and mindsets aimed at fostering meaningful outcomes and experiences for students who have been historically excluded or marginalized in higher education (McNair et al., 2020).
Why Equity-Minded Teaching Matters
Equity-minded teaching practices are key to fostering a sense of belonging and ensuring holistic student success for marginalized students, who make up a significant portion of the student body. According to multiple data sources, including UCSC by the Numbers:
- UC Santa Cruz is designated as a Hispanic Serving Research Institution (HSRI), serving around 27% Latinx-identified students and a high proportion of low-income students, and as an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI), serving over 30% of students identifying as Asian American, Native American, and Pacific Islander students.
- About 13% of UCSC students affiliate with the Disability Resource Center (DRC) to receive academic accommodations, and campus climate surveys suggest that closer to 25% of the student body identify as having a known disability.
- About a third of enrolled UCSC students are first-generation college students.
- Approximately 49% of undergraduates identify their first language as a language other than English, or another language in addition to English.
Equity-Minded Teaching Practices
- Design proactively for accessibility by enacting Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles in course and assignment design, and by using accessible course materials.
- Use active learning strategies, which are shown in research to disproportionately enhance the academic success and sense of belonging of many minoritized students.
- Provide students with options for how their learning is assessed, and consider equitable grading designs that seek to minimize bias.
- Build continuous student feedback into the design of your classes to provide pathways for transparent communication.
TLC Guide
Visit the Equity-Minded Teaching Framework Guide for additional information on equity-minded teaching and other frameworks for implementing these practices into your teaching.
See Also
Uplifting First-Generation Students
Supporting Multilingual Learners
Supporting Transfer Students
Special Considerations for Equity-Minded Online Teaching