Moving Towards Inclusive Learning and Teaching: A Synthesis of Recent Literature

Abstract

The need for inclusive and equitable approaches to teaching and learning is a persistent theme in recent literature. In spite of relatively widespread agreement about this objective, inclusion remains elusive, and opinions about how best to achieve it proliferate. To provide a landscape view of the field and offer recommendations for research and practice, this article provides a focussed review of literature connected to inclusive teaching and learning published since 2010. Drawing from a framework advanced by Hockings (2010), we synthesize key findings from recent scholarship and argue for the value of a whole-of-institution approach that considers the activities and interactions of educational actors operating at different institutional levels. We also extend this argument to consider the need for greater attention to factors that move beyond the individual institution and to advocate for further international research in particular.

Developing “Students as Learners and Teachers”: Lessons from Ten Years of Pedagogical Partnership that Strives to Foster Inclusive and Responsive Practice

“…The recommendations included: make explicit your stance and pedagogical rationale, as well as your own and students' expectations; get to know students and share your own experiences; provide various forums for participation and use multiple, inclusive examples and illustrations; and analyze the role of silence in classrooms and be allies and advocates (Cook-Sather and Des-Ogugua, to be published). These recommendations are consistent with findings from other studies of creating inclusive classrooms (Harper and Davis, 2016;Hockings, 2010;Lawrie et al, 2017).…”

From panic to pedagogy: Using online active learning to promote inclusive instruction in ecology and evolutionary biology courses.

“…Rather, a spectrum of approaches to inclusive teaching that exist including teaching to accommodate various learning styles and ability levels (Kolb and Kolb, 2005;Orr and Hamming, 2009) as well as teaching that includes and empowers historically marginalized learners (Friedrich et al, 2008). Whatever the approach, the goal of inclusive teaching is to ensure that diverse learners have equal opportunities to engage in meaningful learning experiences that maximize their participation and achievement (Lawrie et al, 2017). For this manuscript, we use the broad definition proposed by Dewsbury (2017) and see inclusive teaching as "a philosophy of teaching that provides equal opportunities for all students to have a successful learning experience".…”

Introduction to Special Issue on Universal Design for Inclusive Pedagogy and a Future Research Agenda

“…Many previous publications on UD, UID, UDL, and other similar approaches have often focused on changing the delivery process of learning at the classroom level [4]. Change occurs at the individual faculty member level as they voluntarily modify their teaching processes.…”