5 Who are your students?
Like you, each student brings their cultural background, social identities, and experiences to the classroom. Diversity can enrich the learning experiences of instructors and students by broadening intellectual exploration and revealing alternative ways to define and solve problems. As instructors, we need to intentionally engage with the diversity of ideas and experiences in our classrooms to model inclusivity and respect for difference.
One way to bolster your understanding of student diversity is through exploring data about your cohort of students while recognizing the individuality of all our students. These resources can be helpful:
1. Learn about institutional data such as demographic profiles and student surveys. For example, we encourage you to check reports from the Office of Assessment, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and the Office of Admissions, and the Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) reports. Here are a few facts about first-year Iowa students in fall 2020:
- 21% of students identify as a racial minority (961 individuals)
- 21% identify as first-gen students, meaning they are the first in their family to attend college (971 individuals)
- 58% of students are Iowa residents (2,612 individuals)
- 2% are international students (69 individuals from 35 countries)
We also recommend you check the section In Their Own Words that spotlights students’ descriptions of their most meaningful learning experiences at Iowa.
When you explore reports and data about students, reflect on whether the information differs from your initial impression of the institutional student profile. How does this general institutional context inform your teaching and correlate with your classroom? After learning about the Iowa student profile, brainstorm what you would like to know about the students you teach and what might help you get to know them.
2. Learn about the specific students in your course through OTLT Research and Analytics. Consulting with an OTLT Research and Analytics and Center for Teaching staff member can help you to consider how this information regarding equity gaps and student engagement might inform your teaching and also identify remaining questions.
3. Based on your considerations, create an anonymous survey using Qualtrics, notecards, or a shared document and send the survey to students in your course prior to or during the first day of class. It allows students to share personal information and experiences related to their identities that they may not want to disclose publicly. You might consider questions like:
- What can I do as an instructor to foster a more inclusive learning environment for you and help you succeed?
- What would you like me to know about you and the circumstances under which you are learning this semester?
- When was the last time (if any) you had any interaction with this subject matter? What is your reason for taking this class now?
You could also place this anonymous survey on your ICON course site. ICON stands for Iowa Courses Online and is the course management system at Iowa, powered by Canvas.
You might also consider a tool “Who is in your class?” proposed in What Inclusive Instructors Do? (Addy et al., 2021, pp. 140-142).
💡 Please reflect:
What survey question(s) would help you to know your students better, address their needs, and create meaningful learning experiences?
4. At the beginning of the course, facilitate a core values activity. Ask students to write about what motivates their learning along with their core values (e.g., independence, creativity, innovation) and why those values are important to them (Miyake et al., 2010).
5. Employ icebreakers and community-building activities to start the process of getting to know your students and letting them get to know you. Facilitating a Social Identity Wheel Activity followed by a group discussion is one way to establish group communication, have students reflect on shared identities with their peers, and recognize the diversity of social identities in the learning environment.
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