Inclusive Syllabus Design

Inclusive Syllabus Design

What if we used our syllabi to…

…begin establishing high-quality relationships with our students?
…communicate our commitment to inclusive and equitable teaching and learning?


Beyond laying out the content and structure of a course, a well-designed inclusive syllabus offers a pathway of learning through your course, providing signposts for students about what they will learn and do and what they need to know to succeed in the course.

 

Overview and Introduction: What can an inclusive syllabus do for you and your students?

These six intersecting principles of an inclusive syllabus offer a scaffolding framework for the (re)design of syllabi grounded in a review and synthesis of relevant literature (Helmer, in press):

Six Principles of Inclusive Syllabus

  1. Learning-focused
  2. Essential Questions
  3. UDL Connections
  4. Inclusive Motivating Language
  5. Supportive Course Policies
  6. Accessible Design

 

The six intersecting principles serve as a scaffolding framework for the (re)design of course syllabi through the lens of inclusiveness. 

Each of the videos is focused on one these six principles. You will learn why this principle matters, and you will find examples on how to apply that principle as you design an inclusive syllabus. After the videos you will find “Tools” to help you reformat your syllabus and an “Explore” section for further reading

 

Watch

1. A syllabus as a pathway of learning.

2. Using essential questions and big themes to organize your course.

3. Applying Universal Design for Learning in your course.

4. The importance of inclusive language in your syllabus.

5. Designing supportive course policies to help students be successful.

6. Designing an accessible syllabus.

 


 

Tools

The resources in this section will help you as you (re)design your syllabi.

 

EXPLORE

Take a deeper dive to expand your knowledge and skills about syllabus design.

Creating syllabi

Images

Examples

Getting students to read the syllabus