Examine your content for diverse perspectives

Are certain perspectives systematically not represented in your course materials (e.g., a course on family focusing only on traditional families, or a course on public policy ignoring race issues, or a cell biology course where all recent primary literature is authored by men)? Neglecting some issues implies a value judgment (hooks 1994), which can alienate certain groups of students.

• Add non-mainstream perspectives into your course content, and reflect on what value they add to the course.

• Have students take opposite sides of an argument (and provide materials for different perspectives)

• When discussing founding scientists of your discipline, make sure to look for under-represented groups that may have been sidelined. 

References:

hooks, b. (1994). Teaching to transgress: Education as the practice of freedom. New York: Routledge.

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