Diversity can enrich the teaching and learning experiences of all students and staff, by bringing to them a variety of perspectives, backgrounds and experiences.
It can also present challenges. However the higher education sector has done considerable work to support you, developing resources to help better understand and incorporate diverse perspectives, experiences, expectations and needs in your teaching.
The Cultural Diversity and Inclusive Practice (CDIP) toolkit* is designed to support and monitor practices and identify areas of strength and areas for development. It is not a prescriptive, fixed set of practices, but a tool that you can use for self-reflection, or with small groups to facilitate discussions about:
reflecting on current practice;
obtaining colleague/student feedback;
planning; and
review and evaluation.
* customised for UNSW students and staff after being obtained under licence from Flinders University.
The UNSW Guidelines on Learning (a framework to inform teaching at UNSW) uphold the importance of embracing cultural diversity. They explicitly state the need to embrace different cultures and accommodate diverse educational backgrounds in the student body.
Guideline 8 reads: Acknowledge, value and draw on the diversity of students' experiences in learning and teaching approaches and activities.
And Guideline 9: Use multiple teaching methods and modes of instruction (visual, auditory, kinaesthetic and read/write). Students learn in different ways.
A culturally inclusive environment requires mutual respect, effective relationships, clear communication, explicit understandings about expectations and critical self-reflection. In an inclusive environment, people of all cultural orientations can freely express who they are, their own opinions and points of view fully participate in teaching, learning, work and social activities feel safe from abuse, harassment or unfair criticism.
In a culturally inclusive university:
individual students can participate fully in classes, aim to study better, aim to achieve better academic results, experience less stress and have enhanced career prospects;
all staff can interact more fully with other staff and students, and can extend and develop their own cultural awareness; and
the university as an organisation benefits from culturally diverse staff and students through exposure to alternate perspectives and experiences.
Features that are inherent in communication, the environment and people's expectations make major contributions to effective inclusive practice in a culturally diverse community. We ask our staff to consider the impact of:
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language speaking listening non-verbal understanding |
physical surroundings ground rules social relationships practicalities |
classroom workplace adjustment to change support systems |
What constitutes good teaching and learning? Ask any member of staff, or any student, at UNSW, and they'll give you a different answer, influenced by their own culture and life experiences. For many, the educational environment at UNSW is a new and possibly challenging experience.
Much of what we do is framed by tacit cultural rules about:
the ways we teach and learn;
the curriculum intent, design and content; and
our attitudes and values about schooling and education.
People tend to take their own culture for granted, notice what's different about other people's cultures. In an educational setting, even well-intentioned teachers and students can say, do or teach things that seem strange or offensive to others. Sometimes doing what seems "normal" means unintentionally excluding others from participating fully.
At UNSW we aim to help students find respectful and culturally inclusive ways of dealing with controversial issues. We expect that students will be able to recognise and think critically about various aspects of an argument, separating their own values, beliefs and emotions from their analysis and evaluation of an issue.
View some strategies and tips for building trust and creating a positive classroom climate.
Teaching and learning in small groups provides opportunities for students to be more interactive than in settings such as large-group lectures.
Generally the intention of small learning groups at UNSW is for students to:
discuss issues, questions or problems;
examine their personal views about course topics; and
clarify their own understanding through comparing and contrasting their own views with those of their teachers and peers.
Take a look at the Learning and Teaching Unit Professional Development Programs. In particular, the Foundations of University Learning and Teaching Program.
Support for staff of non-English speaking backgrounds
Non-English speaking staff make up a significant proportion of the academic staff at UNSW. This diverse body of scholars makes an immense contribution to our learning and teaching.
The Cultural Diversity and Inclusive Practice Toolkit allows you to monitor your own practice for strengths and areas in need of development, as well as providing strategies and suggestions to enhance inclusive practices.
