Useful open educational resources for instructors and facilitators
To introduce considerations of equity, diversity, inclusivity, and indigenization in curricular and co-curricular offerings, many instructors and staff are looking for resources on inclusive instruction, indigenization, and inclusivity-informed practices – either for their own professional learning or to share and use with their students. In the last few years, several excellent open educational resources (OERs) were developed by Canadian institutions, including ours. This resource provides links to various OERs in Canada with a focus on indigenization, intercultural considerations, anti-racism, mental health and wellbeing, and equity-minded teaching. All of which can be adapted to various teaching and learning contexts. This list is not a complete representation of the field, and represents a place to start for instructors and facilitators wishing to learn more about these themes. If you know of an OER that meets these themes, please contact Dr. Rebecca MacAlpine.
Getting started
Teaching tips/resources: Inclusive instructional practices
Description: The Centre for Teaching Excellence offers a range of concise teaching tips to help translate various teaching concepts into the classroom. The series of inclusive instructional practices, in particular, offers tips on accessible teaching practices, universal design, and classroom environment to ensure that all our learners can engage in the learning process.
Keywords: reflective practice, classroom tips, classroom resources, instructional design support
Authors: Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo
5-10 minutes per tip
Instructors, teaching assistants, post-doctoral fellows, faculty
Mental health and wellness
Capacity to connect: Supporting students' mental health and wellness
Description from resource: Workshop materials and content designed to begin a “conversation about mental health to increase understanding and reduce negative stigma surrounding mental illness”
Keywords: mental health, wellness, mentorship, support
Authors: BCcampus, Vancouver Island University, British Columbia Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training
Published: 2021
Resource spotlight
- Wellness Wheel handout
- Mental Health Continuum
- The Three R’s Framework (Recognize, Respond, Refer)
- Supporting Students in Distress Handout
2 hours
Students, instructors, teaching assistants, post-doctoral fellows, faculty
Intercultural competencies
Intercultural awareness and competence
Description from resource: "The purpose of this course is to provide you with a starting point to learn about intercultural communication, awareness, and diversity in educational settings. By the end of this course, you will know some key concepts related to culture (definitions, understanding of how cultures differ, the relation between culture and identity, and stereotypes). You will get an opportunity to reflect on what intercultural competence is and how it can be developed; and you will learn some strategies to overcome barriers to cross-cultural communication, and also become aware of how to deal with intercultural situations.”
Keywords: intercultural, identity, stereotypes, cross-cultural communication, overcoming barriers
Author: Trecia McLennon, Brock University
Institutional Affiliation: Brock University
Resource spotlight
- Module 1: What is Culture?
- Module 2: Communication Styles and Cultural Dimension
- Module 3: Unconscious Bias and Visioning
6 hours
Students, instructors, teaching assistants, post-doctoral fellows, faculty
Advancing intercultural competence for global learners (PDF)
Description from resource: This program is divided into three interconnected modules:
-
Module 1: "Creating Intercultural Awareness and Understanding Attitudes Where you learn about what influences people’s judgments and identify strategies to suspend judgment while appreciating other perspectives."
-
Module 2: "Expanding Your Intercultural Knowledge Where you explore and develop a greater understanding of values, the role of non-verbal communication in interactions, and the importance of expanding your knowledge of global issues."
-
Module 3: "Developing Your Intercultural Skills Where you identify ways to develop and enhance your intercultural skills, including reflection, communication, critical thinking, and ways to approach interactions."
Keywords: intercultural, stereotypes, cross-cultural communication, reflective practice
Authors: Christine McWebb, Sandra Lopez-Rocha, Elisabeth Arévalo-Guerrero
Institutional affiliation: University of Waterloo, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Resource spotlight:
- Self-Assessment – How Culturally Competent are you? Pp. 41-42
- Becoming Interculturally Minded pp. 95 - 96
- Applying your intercultural skills pp. 128 - 134
12 hours (4 hours per module)
Students, instructors, teaching assistants, post-doctoral fellows, faculty
The Western guide to mentoring students across cultures
Description from resource: “The Western Guide to Mentoring Graduate Students Across Cultures is a handbook for graduate supervisors who work with students from cultures around the world. The guide addresses the most frequently occurring challenges in supervision across cultures and includes concrete mentoring strategies and case studies to help supervisors promote independence and initiative in their mentees, bridge power differences in the relationship, set boundaries, communicate effectively and support their students in the transition to Canadian academia.”
Keywords: mentorship, cross-cultural communication, power dynamics
Author: Nanda Dimitrov
Institutional affiliation: Western University
Published: 2009
Resource spotlight
- Helping Students Adapt to Academia pp. 4-6
- Strategies to Support the Mentorship of Students pp. 7 – 31
- This section covers strategies on: promoting Initiative and Independence, Bridging the power imbalance, moving beyond saving face, directness/indirectness divide, rule-following, cultural difference in conflict styles, maintaining boundaries, time management, building trust
- Helping Students Overcome Culture Shock pp. 32 - 33
Self-directed
Instructors, post-doctoral fellows, graduate student mentors
Indigenization
Indigenous e-learning assessment strategies
Description from resource: “This course explores assessments in post-secondary online studies using a decolonizing approach to education and student success. In this five-module course, participants will critically engage with and adapt e-learning assessment strategies for use in their classrooms. Each module contributes to a cumulative understanding of how Indigenous pedagogies are operationalized and employed to effectively assess students, encourage intellectual self-determination, and support learner flourishing.”
Keywords: indigenization, indigenous education, assessment, online learning
Author: Stevie Jonathan
Institutional affiliation: Six Nations Polytechnic and The Indigenous Institutes Consortium
Published: 2022
Resource spotlight
- Wellness Wheel (Module 2)
- The five R’s - Respect; Reciprocity; Relevance; Responsibility; Relationships - as tools in course design and implementation (Module 2)
- Two streams of Indigenous learning outcomes: those aimed at indigenization and decolonization (Module 3)
- Examples of authentic and Indigenous assessment strategies (Module 4)
5 modules
Instructors, post-doctoral fellows, faculty
Reconciliation through indigenous education
Description from resource: "This course will help you envision how Indigenous histories, perspectives, worldviews, and approaches to learning can be made part of the work we do in classrooms, organizations, communities, and our everyday experiences in ways that are thoughtful and respectful. In this course, reconciliation emphasizes changing institutional structures, practices, and policies, as well as personal and professional ideologies to create environments that are committed to strengthening our relationships with Indigenous peoples."
Keywords: indigenization, indigenous education, reconciliation, cultural responsiveness, empathy
Author: Dr. Jane Hare
Institutional Affiliation: University of British Columbia
Type: Massive Open Online Course
Selected learning outcomes:
- "Develop strategies that contribute to the enhancement of Indigenous-settler relations in schools, organizations, and communities
- Explore Indigenous worldviews and learning approaches for their application to the classroom or community learning setting
- Engage in personal and professional discussions in an online environment with others committed to understanding and advancing reconciliation"
6 weeks (2-4 hours per week)
Instructors, post-doctoral fellows, faculty
Equity-minded teaching
The Norton guide to equity minded teaching
Description from resource: “Written by faculty development experts, this peer-to-peer teaching guide offers concrete steps to help any instructor striving to ensure all students—and, in particular, historically underserved students—have an equal chance for success. Distilling key principles of equity-minded pedagogy into manageable units, the Norton Guide to Equity-Minded Teaching equips faculty with actionable tips to make improvements large and small to their teaching, whether in face-to-face, hybrid, or online courses.”
Keywords: equity, pedagogy, classroom tips, classroom resources, instructional design support
Authors: Isis Artze-Vega, Flower Darby, Bryan Dewsbury, Mays Imad
Institutional affiliation: W.W. Norton & Company
Published: 2002
Resource spotlight
- Transparent assessments and equitable grading scheme (Unit 2)
- Transparent assignment template (Unit 2)
- Inclusive syllabus; content-focused vs. learning-focused syllabus (Unit 3)
- Equity-focused student survey items (Unit 9)
Self-directed
Students, instructors, teaching assistants, post-doctoral fellows, faculty
Anti-racist pedagogy
Anti-racism, equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), and positionality in teaching and learning
Description from resource: “This online module addresses the history of racism, anti-racist pedagogy and strategies for anti-racist education. Participants in this learning module will increase their knowledge of racism, learn how to identify implicit biases and implement anti-racism strategies in the classroom.”
Keywords: anti-racism, equity, diversity, inclusion, positionality
Author: Fouzia Usman
Developed and designed by: Jessica Snow, Alix Redmond, Alicia Revington
Institutional affiliation: University of Calgary
Published: 2023
Resource spotlight
- Lesson 1: EDI, positionality and intersecting identities
- Lesson 2: What is racism?
- Lesson 3: Anti-racism in teaching and learning
2-3 hours
Students, instructors, teaching assistants, post-doctoral fellows, faculty
Anti-racism education road map
Description from resource: Curated by the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism at the University of Waterloo, this resource will "guide you in your learning journey on the topic of anti-racism." This resource intends to provide the resources and tools needed to actively practice anti-racism.
Keywords: Anti-racism
Author: Office of Equity Diversity Inclusion and Anti-Racism
Institutional Affiliation: University of Waterloo
Resource spotlight
- Building Your Toolkit Resources
- Anti-Racism Anti-Oppression Training Modules (Available on LEARN)
- Pathways to Addressing Racism with Care
- Developing an Anti-Oppressive Practice
Resource dependent
Students, instructors, teaching assistants, post-doctoral fellows, faculty
Confronting anti-black racism e-learning course
Description from resource: “This self-directed course will explore the historical roots of anti-Black racism and white supremacy in the Americas. Particular emphasis will be placed on Canada’s settler colonial status; however, we will be pulling content from across the Black Atlantic. Following this historical grounding, the course will provide ‘real-world’ strategies on how to combat white supremacy and anti-Black racism that is embedded deep within our society.” (Christopher Taylor)
Keywords: Anti-racism, Anti-Black Racism, History of Anti-Black Racism
Author: Dr. Christopher Taylor
Institutional affiliation: University of Waterloo
Published: 2020
Resource spotlight
- Module 1: Positionality, Power, Equality, and Equity
- Module 2: Race & Racism
- Module 3: Whiteness
- Module 4 & 5: Anti-Black Racism
- Module 6 & 7: Confronting Anti-Black Racism
16 hours (7 modules)
LEARN module, available to all UWaterloo staff, faculty, and students
Acknowledgments
Content curated by: Dr. Rebecca MacAlpine, CTE Liaison to the Faculty of Arts, and Dr. Svitlana Taraban-Gordon, Senior Educational Developer
Original design support provided by: Brent McCready-Branch