University of Delaware
President’s Diversity Initiative announces teaching for inclusion project

10:19 a.m., Sept. 16, 2013–The President’s Diversity Initiative will sponsor a series of faculty development workshops during the 2013-14 academic year.

Research shows that student perceptions of diverse faculty can affect their evaluations of teaching. Likewise, faculty are sometimes unaware of classroom practices that can inadvertently affect the performance of different  students.

Topics will include such things as encouraging student discussion across racial/ethnic/gender/cultural identities, LGBTQ issues in the classroom, creating positive learning environments for students with disabilities, and how students perceive and evaluate faculty from diverse backgrounds.

The first workshop will be held at 4 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 25 in 102 Gore Hall, followed by a wine and cheese reception.

The panel will include:

• Margaret L. Andersen, sociology/criminal justice,  “Diversity and Excellence in Education”;

• Pascha Bueno-Hansen, women and gender studies, “Gender and Sexuality: Binary Distinctions and Overcoming the Norms in Classroom Practice”;

• Elizabeth Higginbotham, sociology/criminal justice, “Who Am I Teaching?: Strategies for Learning about Your Students”; and

• Stephanie Kerschbaum, English, “Imagining Disability in Your Classroom.”

All faculty and graduate students are welcome.

The project is being developed in cooperation with the Center for Teaching and Assessment of Learning.

The President’s Diversity Initiative welcomes suggestions from the faculty about additional workshop topics, as there will be several workshops held over the course of the academic year.

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