Cornell Thomas - Inclusive Teaching: Presence in the Classroom: New Directions for Teaching and Learning, Number 140

INCLUSIVE TEACHING: PRESENCE IN THE CLASSROOM
Cornell Thomas (ed.)
New Directions for Teaching and Learning, no. 140
Catherine M. Wehlburg, EditorinChief

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Since 1980, New Directions for Teaching and Learning (NDTL) has brought a unique blend of theory, research, and practice to leaders in postsecondary education. NDTL sourcebooks strive not only for solid substance but also for timeliness, compactness, and accessibility.

The series has four goals: to inform readers about current and future directions in teaching and learning in postsecondary education, to illuminate the context that shapes these new directions, to illustrate these new directions through examples from real settings, and to propose ways in which these new directions can be incorporated into still other settings.

This publication reflects the view that teaching deserves respect as a high form of scholarship. We believe that significant scholarship is conducted not only by researchers who report results of empirical investigations but also by practitioners who share disciplinary reflections about teaching. Contributors to NDTL approach questions of teaching and learning as seriously as they approach substantive questions in their own disciplines, and they deal not only with pedagogical issues but also with the intellectual and social context in which these issues arise. Authors deal on the one hand with theory and research and on the other with practice, and they translate from research and theory to practice and back again.

This volume focuses on the importance of inclusive teaching and the role faculty can play in helping students achieve by adjusting their approach to teaching by believing that each student has the ability to learn, though not necessarily in the same way. The authors in this volume embrace the ideals of inclusive teaching and believe that most, if not all, learners become actively engaged in their own learning in settings where inclusive teaching take place. Faculty today are faced with a much more diverse student body each year. While some colleges and universities address this trend by adjusting entry requirements, others do not have this option and this challenge must be met in the classroom by caring faculty who trust that all students can and will learn and that all students bring different aspects of their lives to the learning environment. To teach with a focus on inclusivity means that most, if not all, individuals want to learn, to improve their ability to better understand the world in which they live, and to be able to navigate their pathways of life.

Catherine M. Wehlburg
EditorinChief

In a real teaching and learning community of learners, the belief exists that all can and will learn, that the teacher has the ability to connect new information with the knowledge base of each student, and that students will become empowered to make their own connections. This premise is built on a foundation that sees each student as a unique human being with the ability to grow. They are not cloaked by some set of generalized characteristics. They are not invisible.

The thoughts presented in this chapter address the concerns many of us have concerning the academic preparation and acumen of learners matriculating to institutions of higher education.

A larger proportion of the population than ever before are participating in some form of postsecondary educationbut college access and completion remain inadequate for traditionally underserved groups, especially the poor, ethnic minorities, and older students. The increased share of college costs being borne by individuals, so far without a similar increase in financial aid for underserved groups or in improved public school preparation for them, continues this disparity. (Zusman 2005, 160)

Following is an exercise that will uncloak some of the perceptual barriers currently impeding our path leading to more student academic success. Once the reader immerses himself/herself in this exercise, it will become evident that I am proposing a different philosophical platform upon which we think, act, and teach. It is my hope that you embrace this new platform and help make it so.

As you read the chapter, you will see that I am suggesting that there are ways for educators to utilize certain teaching and learning techniques to improve the academic growth of these underserved students. These efforts will help increase both retention and graduation rates. I am also suggesting that teaching and learning environments that help learners to connect their personal knowledge with the information we want them to learn have the potential to dramatically increase student success.

The concept of inquiry learning will be briefly examined to illustrate one method that will increase students academic growth. This concept will then be paired with Parker Palmer's (2011, 4445) five habits of the heart:

1. We must understand that we are all in this together.
2. We must develop an appreciation of the value of otherness.
3. We must cultivate the ability to hold tension in life-giving ways.