From Equity to Belonging: Foundational Practices for Inclusive Teaching
Explore equitable teaching as a foundation for belonging and student success in meeting course goals.
Equitable and inclusive teaching practices help create educational environments in which all individuals are welcomed, respected, supported, and valued to fully participate in the learning process. A growing body of research–some of it conducted right here at UCLA–indicates that creating a positive classroom climate for diversity improves learning outcomes for all students, not only those from backgrounds that have been historically marginalized in higher education.
Equity is a core value for the Teaching and Learning Center, and we believe equity-minded teaching contributes to an inclusive campus environment where all students can thrive. We also recognize that the systemic nature of inequality–which has been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing racial reckoning within and beyond the United States–requires us to renew our commitment to advancing equity within our own programming and in UCLA courses. To help support the professional development of UCLA educators, this website gathers key resources and services from the Teaching and Learning Center and other units at UCLA, as well as resources from peer institutions and leading researchers in equity-minded teaching and learning.
This website is a work in progress. For help adapting any of these resources for use in your course or to suggest additional material to incorporate into this guide, contact us at consult@teaching.ucla.edu.
TLC offers workshops every quarter that create spaces for instructors of all ranks and backgrounds to explore how our intersecting identities impact teaching and learning systems, and to build our shared capacity to interrupt bias and implement more equitable courses. Click on the icons below to explore our workshops–and register through our events page HERE.
Featured Faculty Workshops
Featured TA Workshops
Other Opportunities
In addition to the workshops listed above, which specifically center equitable teaching practices, many of our other workshops and programs explore specific aspects of instruction through an equity lens, such as student engagement or assessment. Visit the events page of the TLC website to view a complete list of upcoming workshops and register for programs. You can also learn more about our workshops for faculty and instructors here and about our workshops for teaching assistants here.
TLC also offers one-on-one consultations related to equity-minded teaching. Email us at consult@teaching.ucla.edu to schedule a consultation or to discuss the possibility of bringing our pedagogy workshops to your academic program.
Many other campus units in addition to TLC also offer programming and consultations related to equitable teaching, including:
Featured Resources
Additional UCLA Resources
- TLC Guide for Teaching in Times of Trauma and Crisis
- UCLA Remote Assessment Recommendations (includes key equity considerations)
- CEILS Teaching Guides and Resources for Teaching Through Traumatic Times
- EPIC Transparency in Learning & Teaching (TILT) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) resources
- Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion EDI Syllabus for Faculty, Resources for Racial Trauma, and Knowledge Base
- UCLA Disabilities and Computing and Center for Accessible Education
Resources Beyond UCLA
General Resources
- USC Center for Urban Education Racial Equity Tools — includes a helpful syllabus review guide
- Wheaton College Becoming an Anti-Racist Educator tool-kit — a collection of resources from many universities and other sources
- Guidelines for Discussing Incidents of Hate, Bias, and Discrimination (from the University of Michigan)
- Guide to Navigating Difficult Moments in the Classroom and Facilitating Hot Moments Guide (from Harvard)
- Learning for Justice resource hub
Resources for Equitable Remote Learning
- Employing Equity-Minded & Culturally-Affirming Teaching Practices in Virtual Learning Communities (recorded webinar from San Diego State)
- Responding to Racial Bias and Microaggressions in Online Environments (recorded webinar from San Diego State)
- Equity-Minded Student Services in the Online Environment (recorded webinar from San Diego State)
Below, you will find links to some of the many campus units that provide supportive services for UCLA instructors, students, and staff. This list is not exhaustive.
- Resources for Reporting Bias at UCLA — from the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and from the Dean of Students office
- UCLA Campus and Student Resilience — promotes resilience skills, emphasizing connection and belonging, service, self-efficacy and mastery, and self-reflection
- UCLA Staff and Faculty Counseling Center
- UCLA Student Affairs Guidebook — to help both undergraduate and graduate students navigate the landscape of student services
- UCLA Case Management Services — crisis response team for students
- UCLA Counseling & Psychological Services — for students
- UCLA Center for Accessible Education and ADA/504 Compliance
- Resilience in Your Student Experience (RISE) — for students
We believe the following tips and strategies will help create inclusive and accessible learning environments, beyond accommodation, for a range of students with disabilities, as well as greatly benefit all students in keeping up with the coursework if they fall sick or are required to quarantine. Being proactive and flexible will make your life easier while benefiting students tremendously.
This page was created in collaboration with UCLA students in the Undergraduate Students Association Council (USAC) and the Disabled Student Union (DSU) and the UCLA Disabilities and Computing Program (DCP) to provide help for faculty navigate the ever-changing landscape due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Flexible Teaching and Learning Options
Ways to make lecture content available to absent students
- Record lecture as video
- Record lecture audio
- Live-stream lecture
- Provide lecture slides (e.g., PowerPoint)
- Provide written notes of lecture
- Provide a written transcript of the lecture
- You can use Zoom live transcription or other service to create a text transcript of the audio and make it available to students.
- If you are willing to share your video, you can upload your video or audio recording to Bruin Learn so automatic, machine-generated captions and transcription are applied. These machine generated captions and transcripts can be edited.
- *Note taking services are available for students with a CAE accommodation
Ways to include absent students in a classroom discussion or poll
- Live-stream lecture and absent students join discussion verbally or through text-based communication or polling.
- Make lecture content available (e.g., using one of the options listed in “Ways to make lecture content available” section above) and have absent students contribute to discussion after the class session.
- Create a collaborative document with the class to capture student questions and notes for each class period, to share with absent students.
- Move the discussion to a discussion board, Slack workspace, or shared document and invite students to post and respond to questions.
Ways to enable absent students to take exams and other in-class assignments
Absent students take exams remotely at the same time as in-person students, over Zoom or other service that allows video, as well as verbal and text-based communication.
Absent students take exams remotely at the same time as in-person students, and can communicate questions by email or other text-based communication.
Absent students take exams at a different time from in-person students, when they can be present and proctored (e.g., by the instructor or TA).
Absent students are excused from an exam and the points are made up in a different way, e.g., midterm points are assigned to the final or to an alternative assignment.
Technical Guides and Resources
Resources for Live-Streaming/Recording an In-Person Class
- Check your classroom to see what technologies will be available. If you are going to bring your own equipment, plan to test it beforehand.
- The Classroom Search will also indicate if your assigned classroom is equipped for recording. If not, consider bringing your own device. The DIY Guide for Recording In-Person Lectures includes tips for using applications that are available on your device. Additionally, watch this video that gives an overview of some recording options.
- This guide for live-streaming an in-person class shares technology and strategies you can use to facilitate lecture and student participation for remote and in-person students.
- For more scenarios and resources, see the UCLA Multiple Modality Teaching Resources + Recommendations.
Recording and editing your lectures using Zoom
Getting Started
How-To: Set Up Zoom Meetings in Bruin Learn
How-To: Record a Zoom Meeting and Add it to Bruin Learn
UCLA Zoom Accessibility (with how to record and post it to CCLE) courtesy of DCP
Consider making closed captions and live transcription available in your Zoom meeting. Students can always choose to show or hide the closed caption and live transcription within your Zoom meeting.
Editing Videos
Video 1: How to trim and clip Kaltura videos in Bruin Learn
Video 2: Editing Kaltura captions in Bruin Learn
Making your course materials (documents) accessible
PDF Accessibility courtesy of DCP
Helpful Document Accessibility Resources courtesy of DCP
Video: Making PDFs Accessible in Adobe Acrobat
Accessibility Logos
The accessibility logo on the left was created by Christy Blew of The University of Illinois on behalf of the EDUCAUSE IT Accessibility Constituent Group. A goal of the Constituent Group is, in part, to raise awareness of accessibility among people who are involved in creating, purchasing, or deploying information technology on higher education campuses.
The Modified International Symbol of Access on the right was created by Sara Hendren and Brian Glenney who co-founded the Accessible Icon project, with the goal of designing a new icon to display an active, engaged image with focus on the person with disability.