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Creating a More Equitable Classroom

By Polly Heinkel

The Howe Center for Writing Excellence's Inclusive Writing Pedagogy Across the Disciplines workshop series was designed to be both informative and practical. The six-part series, held across the Fall 2021 semester, addressed inequities in higher education classrooms and systems, and invited Miami faculty members and graduate students to join local and national scholars in considering how to create more equitable classroom practices.  

To encourage participants to engage over the full semester and to put the ideas of the sessions into practice, attendees were invited to complete the HCWE Equity Challenge by attending five sessions and revising at least one teaching practice. 

The response to the series and to the Equity Challenge was overwhelmingly positive. Over 50 participants attended at least one session, and 16 participants completed the Equity Challenge.  Among other practices, participants who completed the Challenge have pledged to ensure scanned documents for course packets are screen reader-friendly; to create more flexible attendance and late assignment policies; to implement alternative participation strategies; to try contract grading; and to provide more time dedicated to unpacking, explaining, and brainstorming strategies for formal writing assignments to help students approach writing within a new disciplinary context.

Congratulations to all the participants. 

  • Parisa Adlifar
  • Sara Baxter
  • Michelle Colpean
  • Robin Cooper
  • Marianne Cotugno
  • Madelyn Detloff
  • Theresa Evans
  • Jill Gomez
  • Megan Kuykendoll
  • Emily Lange
  • Yan Li
  • Sherrill Sellers
  • Carrie Anne Sharitt
  • Caroline Shipley
  • Libby Slauenwhite
  • Sara Webb-Sunderhaus
We in the HCWE look forward to continuing to partner with our colleagues on this important work!