Affirmed and Reflected

How can we ensure that students feel affirmed and reflected in curriculum and the processes of learning?


One of the best ways for students to feel affirmed is to start by creating an environment of inclusion in the classroom.

The resource to the right provides four simple strategies to do this.

Another resource is Fostering Identity Safely in Your Classroom. This short article will help you to dissolve stereotype threat and increase identity safety by affirming all types of identity, modeling strategic vulnerability, inviting students into self-authorship, and creating identity safe classroom agreements.



Any educator can conduct a reflective self assessment activity about how students learn and participate.

These Questions for Reflective Practice are an excellent tool to think about how students are engaging in the class and why.

There are specific classroom practices that can help students not only feel affirmed, but also serve to create an Anti Bias Classroom.

The Teaching Tolerance Guide to Critical Practices for Anti Bias Education has 20 specific practices, along with outcomes and scenarios at all grade levels.

Culturally Responsive Sustaining Education

Our own page on CRSE has an enormous number of resources to help in this area.