Senior Lecturer University of Vermont Burlington, Vermont, United States
Program Abstract: Efforts to change faculty instructional practices in higher education have been on-going for several decades. Professional development commonly focuses on tactics: tools faculty can implement to improve student outcomes. The focus on tactics can lead many instructors to choose what is easiest rather than what is most appropriate for their students, with reduced impacts. For transformational change to occur, faculty need to deepen their instructional mental models, moving from a toolbox of tactics to an understanding of equitable pedagogy. In this presentation, we explore faculty mental models of inclusive teaching following a week-long module focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) concepts during a six-week high engagement, online professional development course. Analysis of participant reflections revealed variation in definitions of ‘inclusive teaching,’ with most participants failing to include all three core DEI concepts. We describe patterns of variation across cohort and demographic parameters and the implications for professional development efforts.
