I do cover some of this information from the equity course (in a student lens) for my race and ethnicity lecture in my Introduction to Sociology class, but I really enjoyed how detailed the course was, particularly looking at implicit bias, stereotype threat, and microaggressions. As I read through the examples, I realized that I was definitely a perpetrator. One in particular that I have said to students with an accent is “where are you from?”. After looking at this interaction through the CRTL lens, I know this creates an “alien” or “second class” citizen feeling. I never meant it in a negative way, but I see how these subtle questions can lead to feelings of “othering.”

I often use PowerPoints to guide the main lecture for the week and then I have some type of application and analysis activity to further understand the concepts (on-campus classes). I know that I could cater to different learning styles better in my overall delivery of the course materials, both in the online and on-campus environments.

In reflecting on the material covered in this course, I feel that I do have implicit bias towards certain students. I am sure the stereotype threat is at play here too for them. I tend to be a faster talker and I know this can be difficult for those in this group. Allowing students, such as ESL ones, to use recording devices if they ask me is one way I can accommodate this

As a sociologist, in theory, I should be very aware of all of the ideas presented in the equity course; however, I am human and we all have implicit biases. It often isn’t until we stop and think about these in our daily practices that we can find new, culturally responsive ways to interact with our students.

Currently, in order to help my students feel connected I participate in WOW (Week of Workshops) on campus the week before the semester begins. All students can come and meet me beforehand and I provide an overview of Canvas, the course navigation, and other campus resources to get them started on a successful track. I also feel that I do a great job with communicating to my students through email/announcements and ensure they are welcomed to the class in multiple ways. Furthermore, I am very active on the discussions in Canvas and provide feedback to students through responses, weekly wrap-ups, food for thought questions, and grading rubrics. I am prompt in responding to emails, as well as grade work within 72 hours.

I also incorporate some low-stakes group work (what I call “sharing with your elbow” partner) that I have learned through the AVID program on campus. Finally, I encourage students to attend events on campus and utilize the resources, such as the library and learning resource center.

I plan to update my online Introduction to Sociology class over the next academic year and this will be a perfect opportunity to embed equity and the CRTL practices that I have been learning through this class. I now can have an equity-lens as I am going through my material that I want to modify- yeah!

I also plan to incorporate various tools in Canvas that can facilitate connection. These include: peer reviews, reflections, self-assessments, group discussions, and maybe even Flipgrid to add a more personal touch to the online environment! I am reevaluating my preconceived notions of group work. Interacting with students through these tools can help me better identify how they learn (self-assessments), and also gain more empathy in terms of their responses to reflection assignments, for example. Careful consideration will be used when evaluating the language that I use in modifying my lectures, policies, and assignments. This is definitely something that can be refreshed on my end.

The strategies recommend that we ignite, chunk, chew, and review to create more equity-minded instructional designs. I think I can work on the “chew” part in that I can help their brains process the content better by adding breathing moments or other elements to break up the material. In addition, the “review” recommendation to use digital storytelling is something that I would like to look into, especially for our culture and/or race and ethnicity modules.