Concepts & Definitions (What)

The words Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion represent concepts and values that are connected to specific actions in the classroom and in the world. Read and reflect on the definitions. Think about what these words mean to you and what they may mean to your students. By making space in our classrooms to explore connections to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, we can help our students understand these terms in ways that are personally meaningful.

• Who are you, and how does your social identity inform your role in the classroom?
• What do you know and understand about your students and what is it that you may not know?
• What are equity issues in your discipline and how are they being addressed?

Rationale and Context (Why)

The best starting point to understand Seneca’s commitment to EDI is the Reconciliation and Inclusion Plan: A Shared Commitment with Responsibilities, which guides our work:

“Seneca has a unique opportunity – indeed, an obligation – to help build an equitable world through the many roles we play in people’s lives. We teach, we employ, and we are a community gathering space that embraces our responsibilities for reconciliation, diversity, and inclusion.”

When these equity considerations are extended to the classroom, a wide range of student learning needs can be met. For instance, students need to believe that they belong in order to learn effectively (Felten, 2019). You may pause and reflect on the role EDI plays in your teaching:

• Why is EDI important to you, as a person, and as an educator?
• Why might EDI inform your pedagogy?
• Why might belonging impact your class?

Integration Strategies for Curriculum & Classroom (How)

How can we meaningfully weave Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion principles into our programs, courses and learning experiences? Seneca’s Reconciliation and Inclusion Plan reminds us how critical it is for our curriculum to reflect the lived experiences of our student body. Frameworks such as Culturally Responsive and Relevant Pedagogy (CRRP) can be helpful in providing guidance, for “when academic knowledge and skills are situated within the lived experiences and frames of reference for students, they are more personally meaningful, have higher interest appeal, and are learned more easily and thoroughly” (Geneva Gay, 2000).

• Who is left behind as a result of my teaching practice? How can I invite them in? (Hogan & Sathy, 2022)
• How is EDI reflected currently in my subject area?
• How are others in my field teaching my subject area through the lens of EDI?

Resources, References and Community of Practice (Where)

Let's shift our focus to the challenges related to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion outside our classroom doors, in the professions that our students will enter after graduation. How can we equip our students with the readiness and skills they need to make a positive impact in their chosen fields? The skills they practice with us—perspective-taking, empathy, critical thinking, problem-solving—are the tools they will have in the workplace. As bell hooks (1994) reminds us, “the classroom remains the most radical space of possibility in the academy” and the time to prepare our students is now.

Questions to ask yourself:

• Where can I build relationships with my students and others with varied lived experiences?
• Where can my students practice the skills that they will need to work toward social justice in their field?