1.3 Incorporating Inclusive Teaching Practices
Foundationally, inclusive teaching serves the needs of all students, but no single, universally accepted definition exists (Ainscow et al, 2006; Miles and Singal, 2010; Forlin and Loreman, 2014). Rather, a spectrum of approaches to inclusive teaching that exist including teaching to accommodate various learning styles and ability levels (Kolb and Kolb, 2005; Orr and Hamming, 2009) as well as teaching that includes and empowers historically marginalized learners (Friedrich et al, 2008). Whatever the approach, the goal of inclusive teaching is to ensure that diverse learners have equal opportunities to engage in meaningful learning experiences that maximize their participation and achievement (Lawrie et al, 2017). For this manuscript, we use the broad definition proposed by Dewsbury (2017) and see inclusive teaching as ”a philosophy of teaching that provides equal opportunities for all students to have a successful learning experience”. However, more complex definitions exist, and those define inclusive teaching, or deep teaching, as a radical transformation of education as we know it, a movement away from teaching science to teaching students (e.g., Dewsbury and Brame, 2019; Dewsbury, 2020). Although we view the newer, more radical definitions by Dewsbury and colleagues as the ultimate goal for biology education, this manuscript does not tackle that paradigm shift. Here, we provide initial steps for how to increase active learning and inclusivity in the classroom. Aspects of inclusive teaching can be accomplished in multiple ways, including via universal design for learning, by practicing cultural competence, by using trauma-informed practices, and by management of attitudes and expectations. It should be noted that these inclusive teaching strategies are not mutually exclusive and intersection among the frameworks does exist; however, each of these strategies has its own literature so we presented them separately here. In practice, these strategies overlap, and some recommendations fulfill more than one strategy.