Running head: INCLUSIVE TEACHING PRACTICES 1

Inclusive Teaching Practices in Post-Secondary Education: What Instructors Can Do to Reduce

the Achievement Gaps at U.S. Colleges

Gil Moreu and Markus Brauer

University of Wisconsin–Madison

Date: March 4, 2021

Word count: 5182 words (without abstract and references)

INCLUSIVE TEACHING PRACTICES 2

Abstract

Within the United States, achievement gaps exist along the lines of race, gender,

sexuality, social class, and ability status from elementary school to graduate school. Instructors

can help reduce the achievement gap by adopting practices that have been shown to promote the

success of students from marginalized groups, so-called “inclusive teaching practices.” In this

paper, we present 20 easily implementable inclusive teaching practices for college instructors.

Some of these practices focus on changing the behavior of instructors (e.g., establishing a norm

of inclusion, presenting intelligence as malleable), while others target student behaviors (e.g.,

increasing interdependence when working in groups, allowing students to express their values in

class). For each teaching practice, we summarize the empirical evidence and discuss its potential

to reduce the achievement gap. While no one teaching practice will eliminate achievement gaps

caused by structural inequalities, instructors can increase the inclusiveness, fairness, and equity

of their classrooms though their actions and pedagogy.

Keywords: Inclusion, Teaching Practices, Pedagogy, Achievement Gap, STEM

INCLUSIVE TEACHING PRACTICES 3

Group-based inequity in education has a long and persistent history in the United States

(Ogbu, 1994). Some progress has been made in promoting the success of students from

marginalized groups, but this progress has been slow, uneven, and is far from complete (Harris &

Harrington, 2006). One key measure of educational equity is the presence or absence of

achievement gaps—i.e., disparities in the educational performance and outcomes between

members of marginalized and non-marginalized groups. In the United States, achievement gaps

exist along the lines of race, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic status (SES), and ability status

from elementary school to graduate and professional school (Hunter & Bartee, 2003;

McLaughlin, 2006). For example, at the university level students from marginalized backgrounds

are less likely to graduate on time, students from lower SES backgrounds perform worse on

standardized tests, and LGBTQIA+ and racial/ethnic minority students are underrepresented in

STEM courses and programs compared to their peers (Cataldi et al., 2018; Spencer & Castano,

2007; Hughes, 2018).

As with every complex social phenomenon, there are numerous factors that contribute to

the achievements gap. A major predictor of educational success at the post-secondary level is

earlier access to quality education (Sutton & Gallaway, 2000). Students from marginalized

backgrounds are more likely to attend less well funded schools regardless of their own

socioeconomic standing (Goldsmith, 2011). These segregated, poorer schools often lack high

quality teachers, possess fewer resources, and provide inadequate courses, resources,

preparation, and support structures for students who wish to attend universities (Flores, 2007).

Additionally, students from marginalized backgrounds often face increased familial obligations

compared to their peers (e.g., taking care of younger siblings or elderly family members while

their parents are at work, translating for their parents if they are not fluent in English; Witckow et
INCLUSIVE TEACHING PRACTICES 4

al., 2015; Hardway & Fuligni, 2006). Further, students from marginalized backgrounds often do

not receive much support from their immediate social environment for attending college (Dennis

et al., 2005). However, structural issues and lower-quality secondary education alone do not fully

explain the presence and persistence of achievement gaps at US colleges (American

Psychological Association [APA] Task Force on Educational Disparities, 2012).

One important factor contributing to the achievements gap is the fact that students from

marginalized backgrounds experience subtle and overt acts of discrimination by both instructors

and peers at colleges and universities (Wiggan, 2007). For example, students from marginalized

groups are often stereotyped as being unintelligent or incompetent (Moss-Racusin et al., 2012),

are frequently excluded when students form study groups or gather outside of class (Slavin,

1990), and do not feel included by their peers (Cheryan et al. 2009; Spencer et al., 2016).

Additionally, students from marginalized groups sometimes experience impaired academic

performance due to worries about confirming negative stereotypes about their social groups (i.e.,

stereotype threat; Spencer, Logel, & Davies, 2016). Not surprisingly, students from marginalized

backgrounds are far more likely than members of non-marginalized groups to report feeling as

though they do not belong at universities (Walton & Cohen, 2011). This is particularly

problematic given that students who feel greater social belonging perform better in class and are

more likely to persist to graduation (Strayhorn, 2012). Additionally, increased concerns about

belonging can lead students to view common challenges—such as struggling to make friends or

failing a test—as signs that they do not belong, promoting psychological disengagement and

poorer educational outcomes (Walton & Cohen, 2007). Taken together, the research shows that

interpersonal discrimination and lack of inclusion within educational contexts detrimentally

affect students from marginalized backgrounds.

INCLUSIVE TEACHING PRACTICES 5

One way instructors can help reduce the achievement gap in higher education is by

adopting certain practices that have been shown to promote the success of students from

marginalized groups, so-called “inclusive teaching practices” (Dittman & Stephens, 2017;

Quintana & Maghoub, 2016). While increasing the inclusivity of one’s pedagogy alone will not

completely counteract the detrimental impact of structural issues on the educational outcomes of

students from marginalized backgrounds, inclusive teaching practices can make a difference:

They can enhance marginalized students’ sense of belonging, strengthen their resilience in the

face of negative or discouraging events grades, and increase their graduation rates (Griner &

Stewart, 2012; Broda et al., 2018; Murphy et al., 2020; Walton & Cohen, 2011; Jordt et al.,

2017).

In this paper, we will present 20 easily implementable inclusive teaching practices,

summarize the empirical evidence for them, and discuss their potential to reduce the achievement

gap. The particularity of the practices presented here is that they all have been rigorously

evaluated, usually in randomized controlled trials. In many of the studies cited below, students or

classrooms were randomly assigned to either the treatment condition (inclusive teaching practice

present) or the control condition (inclusive teaching practice absent). The authors then measured

meaningful academic outcomes. A teaching practice is considered inclusive if it effectively

reduces the achievement gap between students who do versus who do not belong to marginalized

groups or if students form marginalized groups reported positive learning experiences or an

increased sense of belonging. Figure 1 lists the 20 inclusive teaching practices.

Table 1.

Inclusive teaching practices that rigorous evaluation studies have shown to be effective.
INCLUSIVE TEACHING PRACTICES 6

1. Use closed captioning.

2. Increase social belonging by making sure students know each other and informing them
that social difficulties are common and transient.

3. Make sure to use unbiased exam questions and let students know that the exam questions
they will encounter are unbiased.

4. Abstain from using tests where speed is critical for success.

5. Make sure to make salient the utility value of the material that you are covering.

6. Allow students to express what they value and why these values are important for them.

7. When doing group work in class, assign students to groups instead of letting students
form their own groups.

8. Make sure that students are mutually dependent on one another for success when
working in groups.

9. Foster a “growth mindset” by presenting intelligence as malleable and improvable

through work and effort.

10. Allow for flexibility in student assignments.

11. Don't necessarily call on the first student who raises their hand.

12. Do not grade on a curve.

13. Upload syllabi on a departmental website before registration begins so that students can
do “syllabus shopping”.

14. Include pictures of researchers when presenting empirical results.

15. Use low-stakes testing.

16. Establish a social norm of inclusion.

17. Never ask a student to speak as the representative of their social group.

18. Learn your students’ names.

19. Provide motivating feedback.

20. Promote multiculturalism in your classes.

INCLUSIVE TEACHING PRACTICES 7

Used closed captioning

Previous research suggests that captioning any videos shown in class or any pre-recorded

lectures is beneficial for all students, but particularly those with a hearing impairment or other

disabilities. Morris et al. (2016) examined the educational benefits of closed captions on video

lectures for both disabled and non-disabled students by comparing course outcome data across

two semesters. Lectures were prerecorded for both semesters, but during the second semester all

video lectures were closed-captioned. Nearly all students reported they were helpful in some

regard (5% slightly, 10% moderately, 35% very, 49% extremely). Further, many students

reported that the closed captions were useful note taking tools. Similarly, Tisdell and Loch

(2017) explored how useful closed captions were for learning for students completing an online

first-year math course. Nearly all of the students (98%) broadly agreed that having captions on

videos were a useful learning feature. Hearing impaired students and non-native English

speakers particularly noted that including captions helped increase material retention and

increased the clarity of what was being taught.

Increase social belonging by making sure students know each other and informing them

that social difficulties are common and transient

Walton and Cohen (2011) developed an intervention aimed at increasing the feelings of

social belonging among students from marginalized backgrounds. Racial and ethnic minority

students were exposed to material that presented social difficulties (e.g., not having any friends,

feeling that one doesn’t fit in) as a common and transient aspect of the college adjustment

process. Participants were presented with a summary of the results of a university survey that

showed that many students worried about whether they belonged in college during the difficult

first year but grew confident in their belonging with time. Participants were then asked to write
INCLUSIVE TEACHING PRACTICES 8

an essay about how their own experiences were similar to the results of the survey. Exposure to

the social belonging intervention reduced grade disparities between students belonging to

marginalized racial/ethnic groups and their peers, with the effects lasting for up to three years

(see Figure 1). There are a variety of ways that instructors can increase feelings of social

belonging among students. For example, instructors can ask students to present themselves to the

individuals sitting next to them on the first day of class. They can form groups and ask students

to learn each other's names and majors before beginning group work. Students will get to know

more peers if the composition of the groups changes throughout the semester. Instructors can talk

to students about difficulties adjusting to college (while framing them as common and transient),

or have their students complete assignments similar to the above-mentioned intervention used by

Walton and Cohen (2011).

Figure 1.

Effects of Increasing Social Belonging on the Achievement Gap (from Walton & Cohen, 2011).
INCLUSIVE TEACHING PRACTICES 9

Make sure to use unbiased exam questions and let students know that the exam questions

they will encounter are unbiased

As mentioned earlier, students from marginalized groups tend to experience “stereotype

threat” when taking exams (Steele & Aronson, 1995). One way to alleviate this threat is to

inform students that there are no group-based disparities on a particular task or exam before they

complete it (Boucher et al., 2012). For example, Spencer et al. (1999) examined if stereotype

threat among female students can be reduced by telling the class that prior administrations of the

math exam they were about to take had revealed no gender differences in performance. When

students were informed that they were taking a “gender fair” math exam, female students

performed equally well to male students taking the same exam. However, when female students

were told before that the exam had been shown to produce gender differences, female students

performed worse than male students. An easy way for instructors to implement this practice is to

make effort to use unbiased exam questions (i.e., exam questions for which there were no group-

based disparities in previous years) and communicate this fact to the students in their courses.

Abstain from using tests where speed is critical for success

Exams for which speed is crucial for success have poor "construct validity" (i.e.,

students’ exam scores are a poor indicator of student learning) compared to exams with less time

pressure (Lu & Sireci, 2007). When time limitations are imposed on students, the exam score

capture to some extent other constructs that a priori the instructor does not want to measure. For

example, speeded exams disproportionally affect students from marginalized backgrounds as

well as students with disabilities by increasing "stereotype threat". Additionally, speeded exams

have a negative impact on the performance of individuals whose primary language is different

from the language that the exam is being given in (Talento-Miller et al., 2013). Speeded exams
INCLUSIVE TEACHING PRACTICES 10

can trigger test anxiety, which makes them poor measures of students’ mastery of the material

(Ashcraft & Moore, 2009). Exams where speed is not crucial for success are not only better

indicators of student learning, they also contribute to reducing the achievement gap by

eliminating stereotype threat.

Make sure to make salient the utility value of the material that you are covering

Utility value refers to the perceived real-life value of skills or information for

accomplishing future goals beyond course completion (Harackiewicz & Priniski, 2018).

Instructors explaining how students will be able to use the knowledge they learn in their class

later in life is beneficial for all students, but will have the greatest impact for students from

marginalized groups. Harackiewicz et al. (2016) asked students in an introductory biology class

to complete three one-page essays exploring the relevance of a concept or issue covered in class

to their own life (utility value assignment) or summarizing course materials (control assignment).

At the end of the semester, students who had completed the utility value assignments saw a

significant increase in course grades as compared to those that completed the control assignment

prompt. The assignments were found to have the largest impact for members of marginalized

groups and significantly reduced the achievement gap (see figure 2). Other research showed that

utility value concepts are more beneficial when students generate them themselves rather than

when these concepts are presented by an instructor (Canning & Harackiewicz, 2015).

Figure 2.

Effects of Making Utility Value Salient on the Achievement Gap (from Harackiewicz et al.,

2016).
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Allow students to express what they value and why these values are important for them

Giving students the opportunity to communicate about their values is beneficial for all

students, but particularly for students from marginalized backgrounds (Jordt et al., 2017). For

example, Cohen et al. (2006) implemented a so-called “value affirmation exercise” where high

school students first selected important personal values from a list of values and then wrote

several paragraphs about why these values were important to them. Over the 2 years that Cohen

et al. tracked the students, the GPA of students from marginalized backgrounds increased.

Additionally, for the students from marginalized backgrounds, value affirmation helped maintain

their sense of adequacy and interrupted the cycle in which early poor performance negatively

influenced later performance and self-evaluation. Likewise, female students in an introductory

college-level physics course who participated in a value affirmation exercise saw a significant

increase in their exam scores compared to female students who did not participate, leading to a

significant reduction in the gap between men’s and women’s exam scores in the class (Miyake et
INCLUSIVE TEACHING PRACTICES 12

al., 2010). Value affirmation is effective because it reduces stereotype threat (Taylor & Walton,

2011).

When doing group work in class, assign students to groups instead of letting students form

their own groups

Project work in small groups can be motivating for students, as it allows for self-

determination and satisfies students’ need for social interaction. However, the groups should be

created by the instructor and not by the students because when students choose their own groups,

they tend to choose peers who are similar to themselves (Slavin, 1990). Students from

marginalized backgrounds have reported that they are often not included when students in the

classroom are asked to form groups themselves (Campbell & Brauer, 2021). Study groups

formed outside of class also lead to the exclusion of women and students from marginalized

backgrounds (Baker & Robnet, 2012). In order to promote inclusion, instructors can form groups

randomly or make sure that groups have a diverse composition. Depending on group size and the

frequency with which the composition of the groups is changed, instructors may want to ensure

that more than one member of a marginalized community is part of a given group whenever

possible because doing so will help students from marginalized groups feel less tokenized and

less “spotlighted” (Etzkowitz et al. 1994).

Make sure that students are mutually dependent on one another for success when working

in groups

Group work is most beneficial for students when group members are mutually dependent

on each other (Johnson et al., 2014). Instructors can achieve such interdependence in a variety of

ways. They can provide group members with different pieces of information so that the group

can complete the task only if the members successfully pool the information (a key idea in the
INCLUSIVE TEACHING PRACTICES 13

so-called “jigsaw classroom”; Nolan et al., 2018). Instructors can randomly choose the student

who reports the group work afterwards, rather than letting the group choose its speaker. Finally,

they can assign one grade to the entire group, either for the task at hand or for the entire course if

the group composition was the same throughout the semester. Interdependence has been shown

to reduce prejudice and to promote positive feelings towards students from other social groups

(Paluck & Green, 2009). Shaw et al. (2000) showed that task interdependence and outcome

interdependence predicted individual group members’ satisfaction with group work and better

collective performance on assignments. Similarly, Hänze and Berger (2007) found that

interdependent group work was associated with increased feelings of competence and better

academic performance in physics, especially among students with a low academic sense of

belonging.

Foster a “growth mindset” by presenting intelligence as malleable and improvable through

work and effort

Yeager et al. (2016) examined the effects of inducing in students a “fixed mindset” (i.e.,

believing that abilities are fixed and cannot be changed) versus a “growth mindset” (i.e.,

believing that abilities can be improved by working on them). Students were presented with a

brief article describing the malleability of intelligence that described the idea that the brain can

get smarter the more it is challenged, like a muscle, and then applied that information to

themselves by thinking of examples of how they had improved an ability through repeated

practice. Students who were exposed to the growth mindset intervention finished their first year

of high school with higher GPAs than students who were not exposed to the growth mindset

intervention, and the achievement gap (measured here by GPA) between students from

marginalized backgrounds and their peers was reduced. Additionally, students who were exposed
INCLUSIVE TEACHING PRACTICES 14

to the growth mindset intervention tended to take more difficult classes than students who were

not. Similarly, when Broda et al. (2018) implemented a growth mindset intervention to the

majority of incoming first-year students at a large Midwestern public university, the GPAs of

Latinx students at that university greatly increased the semester after, and the achievement gap

between White and Latinx students was reduced by nearly 72% (see Figure 3).

Figure 3.

Effects of Fostering a “Growth Mindset” on the Achievement Gap (from Broda et al., 2018).

Allow for flexibility in student assignments

Building flexibility into course schedules is associated with more positive physical and

mental health outcomes for individuals with non-traditional schedules (i.e., individuals who work

night shifts) or individuals who have mental illnesses (Martens et al., 1999; Hurtado et al., 2015).

Granting increased flexibility reduces the psychological distress associated with having rigid

deadlines. It is also associated with greater student satisfaction (Dziuban et al., 2015). There are
INCLUSIVE TEACHING PRACTICES 15

many ways instructors can build flexibility into their assignment schedules. For example,

instructors can allow students to hand in one out of six assignments per semester up to 48 hours

late or count only the best five out of six assignments. Alternatively, instructors can give out 12

assignments throughout the semester, ask students to hand in six, and then count only the best

five.

Don't necessarily call on the first student who raises their hand

Some students –especially students who belong to social groups that are underrepresented

at their university – may find it difficult to speak up in class. Students often fear negative

evaluation and as a result sometimes do not voluntarily participate (Young, 1990). As such,

members of marginalized groups may often not be the first student to raise their hands to answer

instructors’ questions (White, 2011). They may need an extra few seconds to formulate the

answer in their head. Instructors may choose the call on the third or fourth student who raises

their hand, a teaching practice that should be announced the first day of class. When students

who rarely talk in class participate, providing positive feedback or encouragement may lead to

future participation in class. For example, instructors can frame errors as a productive part of the

learning process and provide students with a full explanation regardless of the validity of their

answer (Keith & Frese, 2008).

Do not grade on a curve

Grading students on a curve means that student grades are determined by percentages

defined a priori (e.g., the top 10 percent of students receive A’s, the next 30 percent get B’s,

etc…). Research has shown that grading on a curve disproportionately affects students from

marginalized backgrounds (Ahn et al., 2019). This is particularly true when students are in a

class with high performing students. Grading on a curve arbitrarily limits the number of students
INCLUSIVE TEACHING PRACTICES 16

who can excel in a given class and limits the validity of a class grade as a measure of student

learning. Additionally, grading on a curve creates a competitive learning environment by pitting

students against one another to earn high grades. Competitive learning environments are

detrimental for all students, but disproportionately negatively impact students who feel as though

they do not belong and lack social support (Roeser et al., 1998). Instead of grading on a curve,

instructors can use an a priori grading scheme (e.g., 100-92% is “A”, 91-88% is “AB”, 87-82%

is “B”, 81-78% is “BC”, etc…). A viable alternative is adopt a system in which a certain number

of points are added to every student's score so that the second-best student has a score of 100%

and then the above-mentioned grading scheme is applied.

Upload syllabi on a departmental website before registration begins so that students can do

“syllabus shopping”

Existing evidence suggests that it is helpful for students when instructors specify in their

syllabi what tasks students will have to fulfill in their classes and post their syllabi on the

departmental website prior to the beginning of the registration period (Broadbent et al., 2007).

This way, students can "syllabus-shop" and see whether certain disabilities prevent them from

having a positive learning experience in the class. Even though most universities have formal

accommodation policies for disabled students, many courses still contain elements that hinder

the success of disabled students (Goode, 2007). Disabled students often report having to

proactively lobby for their accommodations and frequently need to “battle the system” to

succeed in higher education. Allowing students to examine syllabi in advance of registering for

classes will allow students with disabilities to avoid courses where their disability may prevent

them from having a positive learning experience and identify courses where they may have to be

more proactive in ensuring that they receive their specified accommodations.

INCLUSIVE TEACHING PRACTICES 17

Include pictures of researchers when presenting empirical results

Students seeing themselves represented among individuals held up as potential role

models (e.g., successful scientists, professionals, etc...) increases feelings of belonging for

students from marginalized groups, leads to more positive educational outcomes, and even

reduces stereotype threat (Covarrubias & Fryberg, 2015; Vecci & Želinský, 2019). Members of

marginalized groups are rarely exposed to role models who share their social identity and if they

are, the role models tend to be super achievers whose paths to success are difficult to emulate for

them (e.g., Neil deGrasse Tyson, Steven Hawking). An easily implementable way of expanding

students’ role model pool is to display pictures of the scientists who conducted the research when

presenting the results of empirical research in class. All students will benefit from the increased

pool of potential role models, but women and members of marginalized groups will benefit the

most—especially when the researchers on the pictures are also woman or a member of a

marginalized groups.

Use low-stakes testing

Studies have shown that once to-be-learned materiel has been studied for a while it is

more effective to spend additional time testing oneself rather than studying the material further.

For example, Butler and Roediger (2007) found that information retention for lecture material

markedly increased for students who completed a few short-answer questions or a brief multiple-

choice test compared to studying a summary of the class material. Hattikudur and Postle (2011)

adapted this insight to the classroom context and asked students to complete an online quiz after

each of the course lectures. Students could take these quizzes as often as they wanted but got full

points only if they got all questions right. Adding the quizzes to the course increased students’

final grades compared to previous years when the same class was taught without quizzes.
INCLUSIVE TEACHING PRACTICES 18

Pennebaker et al. (2013) showed that the beneficial effect is strongest for students from

marginalized groups. Having students complete short everyday quizzes for an entire semester led

to a 50% reduction in the achievement gap between low SES and high SES students. Given that

the quizzes count for only a small percentage of the total class grade and given that students take

the quizzes unsupervised, this pedagogical approach is referred to as “low-stakes testing.”

Establish a social norm of inclusion

Establishing a norm of inclusion within the classroom can increase the social belonging

of marginalized students and reduce achievement gaps. Using a poster or a short 5-min video,

Murrar et al. (2020) explored the impact of making pro-diversity norms salient (i.e., informing

students that most of their peers endorsed diversity and strongly valued inclusion in university

classrooms). The intervention caused all students, regardless of their background, to evaluate the

classroom climate more positively and to reported more positive attitudes toward outgroups.

Students from marginalized groups reported greater sense of belonging and better self-reported

physical health . Most importantly, these students also reported that their peers treated them in a

more positive and more respectful manner, suggesting that students from non-marginalized

groups actually changed their behavior in the classroom. Additionally, exposure to the social

norms intervention reduced the achievement gap in final course grades. Instructors can change

students' perceptions of diversity-related norms by talking about the widespread support for

diversity and inclusion at the university and share personal anecdotes suggesting that a numerical

majority of students values diversity and rejects any form of exclusion and discrimination.

Never ask a student to speak as the representative of their social group or category

Singling out a student or asking them to speak up because they belong to a particular

social group or category has detrimental effects on students’ academic performance (Lord &
INCLUSIVE TEACHING PRACTICES 19

Saenz, 1985). Students from marginalized backgrounds often report vacillating between feeling

“invisible” in class or standing out as the “token minority” – both of which lead to reduced

feelings of belonging in the classroom (Carter-Andrews, 2012). Even singling out students from

marginalized groups for benevolent reasons (i.e., in order to provide help) has detrimental effects

on their performance and belongingness (McLoughlin, 2005). Whenever the topic being

discussed within a classroom is relevant to a social group that one or more of the students in the

class belong to (e.g., Black students and classroom discussions about racism), instructors should

avoid calling on a student to represent their entire social group. Instead, instructors can

supplement the course material with information that contains the perspective of interest (e.g., a

documentary, additional readings).

Learn your students’ names

When instructors know their students’ names, students are more motivated, attend class

more frequently, are more attentive during lectures, participate more actively, learn more, chat

less, are less likely to hand in assignments late, and view their instructor more positively (Brauer,

2011; Tanner, 2011; Tanner 2013; Williams, Childers, & Kemp, 2013). All students benefit from

being identified as an individual by their professor, but students who wonder whether they

"belong" in college benefit the most. For example, Cooper et al. (2017) showed that regardless of

whether instructors actually knew students’ names, students who thought that their instructor

knew their names reported feeling more invested in the course, more comfortable talking to the

instructor, more comfortable asking for help, and self-reported increased performance in the

course. It turns out that with the right memorization techniques learning students’ names is not

that difficult, even for instructors with an average memory for faces and names. For a review of

various memory techniques that will facilitate learning large number of student names see “20
INCLUSIVE TEACHING PRACTICES 20

Tips for Learning Student Names” (Ohio State University-University Center for the

Advancement of Teaching; https://ucat.osu.edu/bookshelf/teaching-topics/shaping-a-positive-

learning-environment/20-tips-learning-student-names/).

Provide motivating feedback

Previous research has shown that when providing critical feedback, instructors should

provide assurance of the student’s abilities and emphasize that they are being critical because

they hold all students to a high standard. Yeager et al. (2014) investigated the impacts of

different types of feedback. White and African American students received critical feedback

from their teacher on an essay they had written for class accompanied either by neutral feedback

(i.e., “I’m giving you these comments so that you’ll have feedback on your paper.”) or by

feedback designed to motivate by informing the students that their teacher held them to a high

standard and believed in their ability to reach those standards (i.e., “I’m giving you these

comments because I have very high expectations and I know that you can reach them.”).

Students who received the motivating feedback more likely to revise their essay and resubmit it

to the instructor and submit higher quality work as compared to those who received neutral

feedback, particularly for African American students. Additionally, for students exposed to the

motivating feedback the achievement gap (measured here by course grades) between Black and

White students was greatly reduced (see Figure 4).

Figure 4.

Effects of Motivating Feedback on the Achievement Gap (from Yeager et al., 2014).
INCLUSIVE TEACHING PRACTICES 21

Promote multiculturalism in your classes

In the United States, the discourse about diversity is dominated by two perspectives—

colorblindness and multiculturalism (Plaut et al., 2018). A colorblind perspective holds that

differences between social groups should be ignored, whereas a multicultural perspective argues

that differences between social groups should be attended to as diverse perspectives offer unique

insight and strengths (Plaut, 2010). Past research has shown that exposure to multiculturalism

(vs. colorblindness) increases racial and ethnic minorities’ positive identification with their

group, self-esteem, and perceived self-efficacy (Verkuyten, 2005; Plaut et al., 2009; Vorauer &

Quesnel, 2017). In an educational context, exposure to multiculturalism increases agency, self-

confidence, and classroom engagement of students of marginalized groups (Gurin et al., 2013;

Nelson Laird et al., 2005; Grant & Sleeter, 2011). Birnbaum et al. (2020) showed that having

racial and ethnic minority students read their schools’ diversity statement promoting

multiculturalism significantly reduced the achievement gap between these students and their

White peers. Instructors can promote multicultural beliefs in the classroom by assigning texts
INCLUSIVE TEACHING PRACTICES 22

from authors from diverse backgrounds, inviting guest speakers from different backgrounds,

adding a multicultural diversity statement to their syllabi, or simply stating how valuable

perspectives from members of different social groups are.

Conclusions

While no one teaching practice will eliminate achievement gaps caused by structural

inequalities, instructors can increase the inclusiveness, fairness, and equity of their classrooms

though their actions and pedagogy. The adoption of inclusive teaching practices (especially

evidence-based practices such as those outlined in this paper) hold promise for reducing the

achievement gap. Note that the strategies and practices identified in this paper are in no way

meant to encompass all possible methods for making classrooms more inclusive and reducing the

achievement gap. Rather, the strategies presented in this paper should be considered a starting

point from which instructors can attempt to cultivate equitable classroom environments that

promote the engagement and participation of all students. Instructors are also encouraged to

think hard about systemic forms of injustice that contribute to inequalities in academic outcomes

between students from different social groups and examine what they can do to reduce these

structural barriers in their courses or at their university.

Note: Some researchers prefer the term "opportunity gap" to highlight the influence of structural

factors in creating and sustaining educational disparities, but we have decided to use the more

commonly used term "achievement gap."

INCLUSIVE TEACHING PRACTICES 23

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