Teaching for Inclusion
Anne Russof, Denbigh Starkey, and Carolyn
Plumb
The first in a series of discussions
about teaching and learning
Sponsored by the College of Engineering
What is “Teaching for Inclusion”

Teaching that does not exclude
(accidentally or intentionally) any student
from the opportunity to learn.
What excludes students?



Conveying disrespect, unfairness, or
lack of confidence
Interacting with only a subset of students
Teaching in ways that favor particular
backgrounds or approaches
Why Do We Hear More about
Inclusion Recently?




More diverse students
The need to prepare students to live and
work in a global society
The focus on learner-centered
environments
What we now know about how people
learn
What Does Inclusion Have To
Do with How People Learn?


Learners construct their own meaning, based
on the prior knowledge and experience they
bring to the learning event.
“If teaching is conceived as constructing a
bridge between the subject matter and the
students, learner-centered teachers keep a
constant eye on both ends of the bridge.”
(Bransford, Brown, and Cocking, How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School, 2002)
Where Can I Get More
Information?

College of Engineering web site
• Faculty and Staff Tab
• Teaching Resources

Contact Carolyn Plumb
• [email protected]
One Way to Think about
Learning Styles
Why learners
 What learners
 How learners
 What-if learners

(Anson et al., Empowerment to Learn in Engineering: Preparation for an
Urgently-Needed Paradigm Shift, Global Journal of Engineering Education,
7(2), 2003.)
One Way to Think about
Learning Styles

Why learners
• Prefer listening and discussing ideas
• Learn best by relating new information
to prior knowledge and experience
• Learn best in environments that
promote divergent thinking and
subjective interpretations
One Way to Think about
Learning Styles

What learners
• Prefer to form judgments on verifiable data
• Learn best by assimilating abstract facts into
•
coherent theories
Most comfortable in situations that allow
them to use their tough mindedness to
deduce correct and precise answers
One Way to Think about
Learning Styles

How learners (most common—49% in
a recent study)
• Prefer experimenting and testing ideas
• Learn best by using down-to-earth problem•
solving strategies to make sense of ideas
Like to work with concrete, real-life
circumstances
One Way to Think about
Learning Styles
 What-if
learners
• Prefer trial-and-error problem solving
• Learn best by looking for patterns and
relationships that connect personal
experience to new information
• Do best in environments where there
is a convergence of ideas and a
respect for the unconventional
Distribution of Learning Styles of Engineering
Students
Strategies to Accommodate
Different Learning Styles

Relate course content to previous
and future content and to students’
experience
• Why and What-if learners
Strategies to Accommodate
Different Learning Styles

Balance concrete information with
abstract concepts
• All learners
Strategies to Accommodate
Different Learning Styles

Balance practical problem-solving
methods with material that
emphasizes fundamental
understanding
• All learners
Strategies to Accommodate
Different Learning Styles

Provide concrete examples of the
phenomena the theory describes
or predicts (What), then develop
the theory (Why and What-if), show
how the theory can be validated
(What-if and How) and present
applications (How)
Strategies to Accommodate
Different Learning Styles

Allow students to reflect on or write
about what they are learning
• Why and What-if learners
Strategies to Accommodate
Different Learning Styles

Ask students to solve problems in
groups
• Why, How, and What-if learners
Strategies to Accommodate
Different Learning Styles

Connect abstract theories to
practical applications
• How learners
Where Can I Get More
Information?

College of Engineering web site
• Faculty and Staff Tab
• Teaching Resources

Contact Carolyn Plumb
• [email protected]