Tag: inclusive

  • Steps Toward Creating a More Accessible and Inclusive College Classroom – Faculty Focus

    Steps Toward Creating a More Accessible and Inclusive College Classroom – Faculty Focus

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  • Colleges, Students Prefer Inclusive Access Models for Books

    Colleges, Students Prefer Inclusive Access Models for Books

    College affordability is one of the chief concerns of students, families, taxpayers and lawmakers in the U.S., and it extends beyond tuition prices.

    Costly course materials can impede student access and success in the classroom. Over half of college students say the high price of course materials has pushed them to enroll in fewer classes or opt out of a specific course, according to a 2023 survey.

    A new report from Tyton Partners, published today, finds that affordable-access programs that provide necessary materials can save students money and improve their outcomes. The report pulls data from surveys of students, administrators and faculty, as well as market research on the topic.

    The background: Affordable-access programs, also called inclusive-access programs, bill students directly for their textbooks as part of their tuition and fees. Through negotiations among publishers, institutions and campus bookstores, students pay a below-market rate for their course materials, which are often digital.

    This model ensures all students start the term with access to the required textbooks and course materials, allowing them to apply financial aid to textbook costs, which removes out-of-pocket expenses at the start of the term. A 2023 Student Voice survey by Inside Higher Ed found that over half of respondents have avoided buying or renting a book for class due to costs.

    The first federal regulations for affordable-access programs were set in 2015 to help cap course material costs and spur utilization of inclusive access on campuses. In 2024, the Biden administration sought to redefine inclusive access by making models opt-in to provide students with greater autonomy, but the plan was ultimately paused. Most colleges have an opt-out model of affordable-access programs, requiring students to elect to be removed, according to Tyton’s report.

    Critics of affordable-access programs argue that an across-the-board rate eliminates students’ ability to employ their own cost-saving methods, such as buying books secondhand or using open educational resources. Students often lose access to digital resources at the end of the term, limiting their ability to reuse or reference them.

    Findings from Tyton Partners’ research point to the value of day-one course materials for student success, which can be provided through opt-out inclusive-access models.

    The report: Affordable-access programs are tied to lower costs for participating students, according to the report. The average digital list price for course materials per class was $91, but the average price for course materials for students in an inclusive-access program was $58 per class. (A 2023 survey found the average student spent about $285 on course materials in the 2022–23 academic year, or roughly $33 per item.)

    Opt-out affordable-access models have also placed downward pricing pressure on the market; the compound annual growth rate of course materials declined from 6.1 percent to 0.3 percent since the 2015 ED regulations.

    A student survey by Tyton found that 61 percent of respondents favor affordable-access models compared to buying (13 percent), renting (11 percent) or borrowing (10 percent) course materials.

    Another Angle

    The Tyton Partners report identifies opt-out affordable access as one intervention that can ensure all students have access to course materials on day one, which is tied to better student outcomes.

    Open educational resources, which are not mentioned in the report, are another method of ensuring students have access to digital course materials at the start of the term at no additional cost to the student.

    Among students participating in inclusive access, 84 percent said they felt satisfied or neutral about their user experience, according to a survey by the National Association of College Stores. Students who had a positive view of inclusive access cited the convenience of not shopping for materials (80 percent), day-one access (78 percent) and knowing all their course materials are correct (71 percent) as the top benefits.

    Among colleges that do offer inclusive access, those with opt-out models see higher student participation than those with opt-in models (96 percent versus 36 percent, respectively). Administrators report that some students, especially first-year and first-generation students, are less likely to engage in opt-in models and may then struggle because they lack the required materials, which researchers argue enables gaps to persist in student outcomes.

    Researchers compared two community colleges and found that students who participated in an opt-out equitable-access program had higher course completion and lower withdrawal rates, compared to their peers who opted in. Learners from underrepresented minority backgrounds, including Black and multiracial students, saw greater gains as well.

    While a majority of students indicated a preference for inclusive-access models, it’s still paramount that institutions help students fully understand the benefits of participation and offer them seamless opportunities to opt out, according to Tyton’s report.

    After adopting inclusive access, institutions were likely to increase offerings and expand the number of courses within the model. A majority of surveyed faculty members (75 percent) said their institution should maintain or increase affordable-access model usage.

    Report authors noted a higher administrative burden in an opt-in model, because costs are applied and resources given to each individual student who opts in, rather than simply removing students who opt out. “Since no technology currently automates the opt-in process, most institutions would need to expand their academic affairs, faculty affairs and information technology teams to handle the increased workload under opt-in models,” according to the report.

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  • 5 Strategies to Create Inclusive Learning Environments for International Students – Faculty Focus

    5 Strategies to Create Inclusive Learning Environments for International Students – Faculty Focus

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  • Building inclusive research cultures– How can we rise above EDI cynicism?

    Building inclusive research cultures– How can we rise above EDI cynicism?

    • Dr Elizabeth Morrow is Research Consultant, Senior Research Fellow Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, & Public Contributor to the Shared Commitment to Public Involvement on behalf of National Institute for Health and Care Research.
    • Professor Tushna Vandrevala is Professor of Health Psychology, Kingston University.
    • Professor Fiona Ross CBE is Professor Emerita Health and Social Care Kingston University, Deputy Chair Westminster University Court of Governors & Trustee Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity.

    Commitment and Motivation for Inclusive Research

    The commitment to inclusivity in UK research cultures and practices will endure despite political shifts abroad and continue to thrive. Rooted in ethical and moral imperatives, inclusivity is fundamentally the right approach. Moreover, extensive evidence from sources such as The Lancet, UNESCO and WHO highlights the far-reaching benefits of inclusive research practices across sectors like healthcare and global development. These findings demonstrate that inclusivity not only enhances research quality but also fosters more equitable outcomes.

    We define ‘inclusive research’ as the intentional engagement of diverse voices, communities, perspectives, and experiences throughout the research process. This encompasses not only who conducts the research but also how it is governed, funded, and integrated into broader systems, such as policy and practice.

    Beyond higher education, corporate leaders have increasingly embraced inclusivity. Research by McKinsey & Company shows that companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 25% more likely to outperform their peers in profitability, while those leading in ethnic diversity are 36% more likely to do so. This clear link between inclusivity, innovation, and financial success reinforces the value of diverse teams in driving competitive advantage. Similarly, Egon Zehnder’s Global Board Diversity Tracker highlights how diverse leadership enhances corporate governance and decision-making, leading to superior financial performance and fostering innovation.

    Inclusion in research is a global priority as research systems worldwide have taken a ‘participative turn’ to address uncertainty and seek solutions to complex challenges such as Sustainable Development Goals. From climate change to the ethical and societal implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI), inclusive research is a track that ensures that diverse perspectives shape solutions that are effective, fair and socially responsible.

    Take the example of AI and gender bias – evidence shows that women are frequently not included in technology research and are underrepresented in data sets. This creates algorithms that are biased and can have negative consequences of sensitivity, authenticity, or uptake of AI-enabled interventions by women. Similar biases in AI have been found for other groups who are often overlooked because of their age, gender, sexuality, disability, or ethnicity, for example.

    Accelerating Inclusion in UK Research

    A recent horizon scan of concepts related to the UK research inclusion landscape indicates domains in which inclusive research is being developed and implemented, illustrated by Figure 1.

    Inclusion is being accelerated by the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2029, with a stronger focus on assessing People, Culture, and Environment (PCE). REF 2029 emphasises the integration of EDI considerations across research institutions, with a focus on creating equitable and supportive cultures for researchers, participants and communities. The indicators and measures of inclusion that will be developed and used are important because they can encourage diversity of perspectives, knowledge, skills and worldviews into research processes and institutions, thereby increasing relevance and improved outcomes. All units of assessment and panels involved in the REF process will have guidance from the People and Diversity Advisory Panel and the Research Diversity Advisory Panel. This means that inclusion will develop in both the culture of research institutions and the practices that shape research assessment.

    The National Institute for Health Research, which is the largest funder of health and social care research, has pioneered inclusion for over 30 years and prioritises inclusion in its operating principles (see NIHR Research Inclusion Strategy 2022-2027). NIHR’s new requirements for Research Inclusion (RI) will be a powerful lever to address inequalities in health and care. NIHR now requires all its domestic commissioned research to address RI at the proposal stage, actively involve appropriate publics, learn from them and use this learning to inform impact strategies and practices.

    Given the learning across various domains, we ask: How can the broader UK system share knowledge and learn from the setbacks and successes in inclusion, rather than continually reinventing the wheel? By creating space in the system between research funders and institutions to share best practices, such as the Research Culture Enablers Network, we can accelerate progress and contribute to scaling up inclusive research across professional groups and disciplines. There are numerous examples of inclusive innovation, engaged research, and inclusive impact across disciplines and fields that could be shared to accelerate inclusion.

    Developing Shared Language and Inclusive Approaches

    Approaches to building inclusive cultures in research often come with passion and commitment from opinion leaders and change agents. As often happens when levering change, a technical language evolves that can become complex and, therefore, inaccessible to others. For example, acronyms like RI can apply to research inclusion, research integrity and responsible innovation. Furthermore, community-driven research, public and community engagement, and Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) have become synonymous with inclusive research, and such participation is an important driver of inclusion.

    The language and practices associated with inclusive research vary by discipline to reflect different contexts and goals. This can confuse rather than clarify and form barriers that possibly get in the way of trust and more effective inclusion strategies and practices. We ask: How can we establish shared understanding, methods of participation, accountability pathways and mechanisms that will promote inclusion in the different and dynamic contexts of UK research?

    With over 20 years of experience in the fields of inclusion and equity, like other researchers, we have found that interdisciplinary collaboration, participatory methods, co-production, and co-design offer valuable insights by listening to and engaging with publics and communities on their own terms and territory. An inclusive approach has deepened our understanding and provided new perspectives on framing, methodological development, and the critical interpretation of research.

    Final reflection

    Key questions to overcome EDI cynicism are: How can we deepen our understanding and integration of intersectionality, inclusive methods, open research, cultural competency, power dynamics, and equity considerations throughout research processes, institutions, and systems? There is always more to learn and this can be facilitated by inclusive research cultures.

    Figure 1. Inclusive Research Dimensions

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  • The Role of Social Science in Shaping Inclusive Leadership

    The Role of Social Science in Shaping Inclusive Leadership

    Senior Vice President of Human Services Julie Kochanek discusses how social science informs her leadership at American Institutes for Research (AIR), emphasizing trust, collaboration, and community-building in research.

    Julie Kochanek

    Senior Vice President, Human Services Division, American Institutes for Research (AIR)

    How does your experience in behavioral and social science research inform your approach to leadership?

    As a leader, I always return to themes I observed while training to be a researcher: trust, culture, and community. In graduate school, I studied how East African nations used education as a mechanism to build community. I dug deeper into this community theme as part of my Ph.D. studies, focusing on how U.S. schools operate organizationally and how teachers, school leaders, and parents must all interact to better support student learning. 

    How do you build strong teams to accomplish AIR’s mission?

    At AIR, collaboration is key to our success. Project teams at AIR often include staff with different backgrounds, various methodological expertise, unique content knowledge, and/or experience working directly with community leaders. Our work is strengthened by bringing people together. This allows us to fully consider the challenge we’re studying and understand the needs of the communities we serve.

    As a leader, I am responsible for creating the conditions to help staff develop meaningful partnerships, recognize everyone’s contributions, and reward meaningful collaboration. We collect and share information on staff interests, skills, and experiences so teams can easily identify those they might recruit to fill a gap. My weekly internal messages to staff often highlight examples of great team building and how our work is strengthened by diverse teams. 

    What are some of the most important results you have uncovered across your 20+ years in the research sector?

    Discussions about education policy often inadvertently leave people and human connection out of the equation. Throughout our work, I am constantly reminded that working collaboratively and building relationships among educators and students is an essential part of setting the right conditions for learning. 

    I’m impressed, for example, by how educators, researchers, and school leaders have partnered to build stronger support systems for students who are at risk of not graduating from high school. Researchers help school districts collect and interpret data on early warning signs and develop an evidence-based approach to address the challenge and boost graduation rates. As more districts across the country adopt these early warning systems, we’re seeing real results: More young people are able to continue on the path to success. 

    Another example is how we use research and technical assistance to help teachers strengthen their reading and literacy instruction. There are proven strategies (e.g., the science of reading) to help kids learn to read. Working alongside teachers and giving them the tools they need to adopt evidence-based approaches has been successful. However, this requires hands-on training, coaching, and human connection — a significant investment. We know that making this kind of investment in our nation’s teachers is well worth the reward.  

    What advice would you give women just beginning their careers in research?

    Women are better represented in behavioral and social science research than in other scientific fields, but we still face barriers, including balancing work and family, dealing with bias, and having fewer opportunities for funding and leadership. Addressing these barriers is important because evidence shows that diverse research teams bring more innovative and effective solutions. 

    Whatever your field, I think it is important to live with integrity. Remember that there is not one right path to follow. Upon completing my post-doctoral position and considering my next move, I worried about making a career-defining wrong turn. This is normal. I definitely made choices that concerned my graduate school advisors, but I don’t regret any of them. I’ve gotten to where I am today by learning from the different contexts in which I’ve worked, taking some risks, and staying true to my values. 

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  • Spring 2025 Inclusive Growth and Racial Equity Thought Leadership Lecture Series (Howard University)

    Spring 2025 Inclusive Growth and Racial Equity Thought Leadership Lecture Series (Howard University)

    Scheduled for Feb 20, 2025. The Spring 2024 Inclusive Growth and Racial Equity Thought Leadership Lecture Series will feature a fireside chat with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities, Professor of History, Director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research, and National Book Award-winning Author.

     


     

     

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  • Job titles matter for inclusive and meaningful work

    Job titles matter for inclusive and meaningful work

    Job titles, and the names given to organisational roles, are important for the meaning that individuals derive from their work and their engagement with their work.

    Yet within many UK universities, and especially the post-92s, the trend is towards new job titles with potentially negative connotations for the job holders in terms of the meaning of their work and their commitment to it and to their institution.

    Such universities have been moving away from the conventional “lecturer” titles, adopting the US system of titles. US institutions typically designate their junior (un-tenured) academics as Assistant Professors, with an intermediate grade of Associate Professor and then a full Professor grade. Within the US system, most long serving and effective staff can expect to progress to full Professor by mid-career.

    Yet, in this new UK system, only around 15-20 per cent of academics are (and likely ever to be) full Professors and many academics will spend their entire careers as Assistant Professors or Associate Professors, retiring with one of these diminutive job titles.

    The previous, additive, job titles of Lecturer to Senior Lecturer and then to Principal Lecturer or Reader had meaning outside the university and, crucially, had meaning for the post-holders, giving a sense of achievement and pride as they progressed. Retiring as a Senior or Principal Lecturer was deemed more than acceptable.

    Status and self-esteem

    It is not hard to imagine the impact that the changes in job titles is having upon mid and late-career academics who may have little chance of gaining promotion to full professor, perhaps because quite simply they draw the line at working “just” 60 hours a week, 50 weeks a year. The impact on status and self-esteem is immense. Imagine explaining to your grandkids that you are, in essence, an assistant to a professor. As an Associate Professor, and particularly in a vocational discipline, one of the authors is often asked, “I can understand you wanting to work part-time for a university, but what’s your main job?” Associate, affiliate, adjunct – these names are pretty much the same thing to outsiders.

    Managerially, though, the change from designating academics as Senior Lecturer to Assistant Professors and from Principal Lecturers to Associate Professors is genius. These diminutive job titles confer inferiority – but with the promise that if you keep your nose to the grindstone and keep up the 60+ hour weeks, 50 weeks a year, you might be in with a chance of a decent job title, as a professor. What a fantastic, and completely friction-free, way of turning the performative screw.

    The UK university sector is not alone and other public sector organisations have similarly got into a meaning muddle from the naming of their jobs. For example, in the British civil service, a key middle management role is labelled “Grade B2+”, whereas a relatively junior operational role is designated a rather grand sounding “Executive Officer”. And just last autumn, the NHS acknowledged that names do matter, abandoning the designation of “junior” doctor which was used to encompass all medics that sit within the grades below what is known as “consultant”, and which their union described as “misleading and demeaning” – it’s been replaced with “resident” doctor.

    Meaningful work

    A name gives meaning to workers. It gives status, prestige, and identity. While those organisations such as universities who fail to realise the importance of job titles may be able to turn the screw in the short-term, extracting ever more work from their junior-sounding Assistant and Associate Professors, they will in the longer-term, for sure, have an ever more demoralised and demotivated workforce for whom the job has little meaning other than the pay.

    And, since pay for university academics in the UK has been so badly eroded in recent decades, job title conventions are a self-inflicted injury – one that risks academics’ engagement and wellbeing and, ultimately, their institutions’ performance.

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  • Recent Executive Orders and Higher Ed HR’s Role in Creating and Sustaining an Inclusive Campus Community

    Recent Executive Orders and Higher Ed HR’s Role in Creating and Sustaining an Inclusive Campus Community

    by Andy Brantley | January 30, 2025

    In the wake of the recent Executive Orders on DEI, gender identity and immigration, higher ed institutions, like so many other organizations, are assessing the impacts and formulating next steps.

    Amid the inevitable changes that lie ahead, it’s important to remember that the role of HR in creating and sustaining a higher ed workplace that provides access and opportunity for all employees hasn’t changed. The programs, policies, processes and language we use to support this work may need to evolve, but the work and the institutional values it supports remain the same.

    We can still:

    • Promote equitable work and career pathing opportunities and pay for all employees.
    • Cultivate inclusive learning and working communities.
    • Create a workplace culture that embraces respect and civil discourse.
    • Level the playing field for everyone by working to remove bias, reviewing outdated policies, and creating transparency.
    • Reinforce institutional values by ensuring that all employees feel connected and supported.

    However, as we review and evaluate the work we’re doing, we have the opportunity to do so with fresh eyes, reframing it in ways that are both purpose-driven and inclusive. For example:

    • Communities of people with diverse backgrounds and life experiences create opportunities for community members to grow, both personally and professionally. To support a diverse workforce, institutions must explore ways to generate a more diverse applicant pool.
    • Access, opportunity and equitable pay for all employees promote job satisfaction, recruitment and retention. To support access and opportunity, institutions must identify and remove roadblocks to opportunity. To support equity in pay, institutions must ensure their compensation structures support these efforts.
    • A safe and welcoming work environment fosters community and collaboration. To create a work environment that’s welcoming and psychologically safe, institutions must ensure that systems, policies and processes are free from discriminatory practices.

    If you have resources or ideas to share with other CUPA-HR members regarding ways that you and your HR colleagues are refining your approach to creating and sustaining an inclusive campus community, please email them to [email protected]. Your submission will be treated as confidential and, if shared, will be described in terms that will not identify your institution.

    You’re Not Alone

    We know that HR leaders are often caught in the middle as different groups of employees and administrators express strong opinions and feelings regarding changes we must implement. In the coming weeks, CUPA-HR will share guidance and support to help you make changes to programs, policies and procedures and communicate these changes to the campus community.

    We are also hosting webinars focused on the recent Executive Orders, as well as the rollback of the Title IX regulations. And we’ll continue to keep you informed about future Executive Orders and legislation, as well as potential actions we should take as higher education HR leaders.

    The higher ed HR community has proved time and again how strong and resilient it is. Thanks for all the ways you lead and support your organizations, your employees and your CUPA-HR community.



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  • SCOTUS to hear case on LGBTQ+ inclusive curriculum opt-outs

    SCOTUS to hear case on LGBTQ+ inclusive curriculum opt-outs

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    The U.S. Supreme Court announced Friday it will hear Mahmoud v. Taylor, a case that would determine whether school districts violate parents’ First Amendment religious rights when they don’t provide notice or a way to opt children out of curriculum related to gender and sexuality.

    The case was brought against Maryland’s Montgomery County Board of Education by a group of Christian and Muslim parents in reaction to a pre-K-5 LGBTQ+-inclusive language arts curriculum. With more than 159,000 students and 211 schools, Montgomery County Public Schools is Maryland’s largest school district.

    Though the school board initially offered parents a way to opt their children out of the curriculum, it later walked that policy back because “individual schools could not accommodate the growing number of opt out requests without causing significant disruptions to the classroom environment.” The board also attributed the reversal to the “unworkable burdens” that high opt-out volumes put on educators.

    In their Sept. 12 petition to the Supreme Court, the plaintiffs argued that parents’ ability to raise their children in accordance with their beliefs is particularly important for the pre-K-5 age group and particularly those with special needs “who are highly impressionable and instinctively trusting of authority figures like teachers.”

    The court is expected to hear the case in the spring.

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  • Alternatives to the essay can be inclusive and authentic

    Alternatives to the essay can be inclusive and authentic

    I lead our largest optional final-year module – Crime, Justice and the Sex Industry – with 218 registered students for the 24–25 academic year.

    That is a lot of students to assess.

    For that module in the context, I was looking for an assessment that is inclusive, authentic, and hopefully enjoyable to write.

    I also wanted to help make students into confident writers, who make writing a regular practice with ongoing revisions.

    Inspired by the wonderful Katie Tonkiss at Aston University, I devised a letter assessment for our students.

    This was based on many different pedagogical considerations, and the acute need to teach students how to hold competing and conflicting harms and needs in tension. I consider the sex industry within the broader context of violence against women and girls.

    The sex industry, sexual exploitation, and violence against women in girls are brutal and traumatic topics that can incite divisive responses.

    Now more than ever, we need to be able to deal well with differences, to negotiate, to encourage, to reflect, and to try and move discussions forward, as opposed to shutting them down.

    Their direction and pace

    During the pandemic, I designed my module based on a non-linear pedagogy – giving students the power to navigate teaching resources at a direction and pace of their choosing.

    This has strong EDI principles, and was strongly led by my own dyslexia. I recognised that students often have constraints on their time and energy levels that mean they need to engage with learning in different patterns during different weeks – disclosing that they “binge watch” lecture videos, podcasts, or focus heavily on texts during certain weeks to block out their time.

    The approach also honours the principles of trauma-informed teaching, empowering students to navigate sensitive topics of gender-based and sexual violence.

    As I argue here with Lisa Anderson, students are now learning in a post-pandemic context with differing expectations, accessibility needs, and barriers including paid work responsibilities.

    The “full-time student” is now something of an anachronism, and education must meet this new reality – there are now more students in paid employment than not according to the 2023 HEPI/Advance HE Student Academic Experience Study.

    We have to meet students where they are, and, presently, that is in a difficult place as many students struggle with the cost of living and the battle to “have it all”.

    Students may not be asked to write exam answers or essays in their post-university life, but they will certainly be expected to write persuasively, convincingly, engaging with multiple viewpoints, and sitting with their own discomfort.

    This may take the form of webpage outputs, summaries, policy briefings, strategy documents, emails to stakeholders, campaign materials. As such, students are strongly encouraged to think about the letter from day one of semester, and consider who their recipient will be.

    They are told that it is easier to write such a letter to somebody with an opposing viewpoint – laying out your case in a respectful, warm and supportive way to try and progress the discussion. Students are also encouraged to acknowledge their own positionality, and share this if desirable, including if they can identify a thinker, document or moment that changed their position.

    Working towards change

    An example is a student who holds a position influenced by their faith, writing their letter to a faith leader or family member, acknowledging that they respect their beliefs, but strongly endorsing an approach that places harm-reduction and safety first. Finding a place of agreement and building from there, and accepting that working towards change can be a long process.

    Another example is a student who holds sex industry abolitionist views, writing to a sex worker, expressing concern and solidarity with the multiple forms of harm, stigma and violence they have experienced, including institutional violence.

    They consider how the law itself facilitates the context that makes violence more likely to occur. This is particularly pertinent at the moment as we experience a fresh wave of digital “me too” and high-profile cases of sexual violence and victim-blaming.

    In this way, students are taught to examine different documents and evidence, from legal, policy, charity briefings and statements, journal articles, books, reports, documentaries, global sex worker grassroots initiatives, news reports, social media campaigns and footage, art, literature, etc.

    By engaging with different types of sources, we challenge the idea that academic material is top of the knowledge hierarchy, and platform the voices who often go unheard, including sex workers globally.

    The students cross-reference resources, and identify forms of harm, violence and discrimination that may not make official narratives. This also encourages students to be active members of our community, contributing to each workshop either verbally or digitally, in real-time, or asynchronously via our class-wide google doc.

    Students are also taught that it is OK to not have the definitive answer, and to instead ask the recipient to help them further their knowledge. They are also taught that it is ok to change our position and recommendations depending on what evidence we encounter.

    Above all, they are taught that two things can be true at the same time: something might be harmful, and the response to it awful too.

    Students responded overwhelmingly in favour of this approach, and many expressed a new-found love of writing, and reading. Engaging with many different mediums including podcasts, tweets, reels, history talks, art exhibitions, gave them confidence in their reading and study skills.

    Putting choice and enjoyment in the curriculum is not about “losing academic rigour”, it is about firing students up for their topics of study, and ensuring they can communicate powerfully to different audiences using different tools.

    Dear me, I wish we had tried this assessment sooner. xoxo

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