The Higher Education Academy enhancing the student experience

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Insights into Inclusive Learning and Teaching

Process, challenges and insights Christine
Hockings University of Wolverhampton
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About me

• University Lecturer - Info Systems and Human
  Resources
• PhD in LT in HE - developing pedagogical
  practice to encourage deep approaches to learning
• Learning and Teaching Research Coordinator,
  Institute for Learning Enhancement
• 2005-6 Thematic seminar series on diversity in HE
• 2006-9 WP project funded by ESRC TLRP Learning
  and Teaching for Social Diversity and Difference
  in HE.
• Currently researching assessment practices within
  context of increased student diversity

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Mapping Inclusive LT

• Initial mapping exercise
• Process identifying key issues, principles,
  implications for stakeholders
• Challenges definitions, overlaps, gaps
  boundaries, alternative lenses
• Underpinning research
• What research do you know of that we could draw
  on?

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Synthesis of research

• Summary of key research in inclusive LT with
  input from HEIs
• Underpin the elements in the maps
• Implications for policy and practice
• Implications for stakeholders
• Links to websites, reviews, resources, related
  syntheses, etc.
• Need to draw upon HEIs to suggest
• First draft for June meeting at University of
  Aston

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Insights from TLRP project

• Key aims
• See how teachers teach large and diverse groups
  of students
• Facilitate development of inclusive learning
  environments
• Improve academic engagement of all students
• Inform policy and practice in university teaching

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Inclusive engaging learning and teaching

• Creating individual, inclusive, safe spaces
• Making time to get to know students as
  individuals
• Setting ground rules for collaborative
  inclusive learning.

• Developing strategies for sharing and generating
  knowledge
• Creating open, flexible, student-centred
  activities allowing students to tailor them and
  bring their own experiences to bear on them.
• Encouraging students to articulate their thinking
  openly Getting stuck, being uncertain, making
  mistakes and being different is OK.

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Inclusive engaging learning and teaching

• Connecting with students lives
• Selecting / negotiating topics and activities
  relevant to students lives, backgrounds and
  (imagined) identities
• Being culturally aware
• Using resources, materials, humour, anecdotes
  that are relevant to the subject and sensitive to
  the social and cultural diversity of the group.

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Overall findings

• Positive relationship between student-centred
  pedagogy and student engagement (Marton et al
  1997, Prosser and Trigwell, 1999).
• In the context of diverse student populations,
  student-centred pedagogy is not enough. Teachers
  must also engage with diversity and inclusivity
• Student diversity is multi-faceted. Students do
  not fit simplistic constructions of the
  traditional or non-traditional student.
• There is sometimes a difference between espoused
  views about addressing diversity and actual
  teaching practices. This has implications for
  how we prepare academics