Center for Inclusive Excellence in Teaching Programming

• Empowers students to be actively engaged in contributing to the curricular and pedagogical process.
• Increases engagement, confidence, & sense of belonging to the college, discipline, and community.
• Increases students’ metacognition and self-awareness.
• Enhances student learning and success.
• Students flourish in leadership roles for social equity, co-creating innovative new programs, and scholarly dissemination.
• Students’ identities, backgrounds, and experiences are valued and their perspectives are integrated into the curriculum.
• Students develop skills to work collaboratively with faculty partners and co-develop resources to advance faculty teaching efforts.

• Development of new or enhanced inclusive teaching materials and/or pedagogical approaches..
• Deeper understandings by faculty about teaching and learning to enhance inclusive teaching approaches.
• Increased student engagement and deep learning.
• Enhanced relationship of trust and empathy between students and faculty.
• Diversity of student perspectives and voices enrich the curriculum.
• Increase in faculty sense of belonging.

Reference: Cook-Sather, A., Bovill, C. and Felten, P. (2014) Engaging students as partners in teaching and learning: A guide for faculty. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Professor Jessica Marchi, World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

Faculty discussed the challenges that both teachers and students face in preparing for the transition to college, specifically through the lens of world language instruction. Jessica Marchi discussed common practices in high school vs. Holy Cross's world language model and how we can support our students in accessing the curriculum and meeting the expectations of language immersion courses. Faculty explored how to embed important concepts of identity, intersectionality, and voice, and how they impact incoming freshmen.

Professor Ryan Mruczek, Neuroscience

Ryan Mruczek shared a self-assessment and reflection assignment he used across multiple neuroscience courses, in which students evaluate and grade their own submissions. The assignment directly supports a course objective focused on metacognitive reflection; participants learned how the activity was implemented and students’ feedback on its utility. 

Led by Professor Elizabeth Knott, this group explored concepts from the book Your Brain on Art by Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross. Participants engaged with ideas that connect art and neuroscience to enhance educational practices. The participants in this group were: Elizabeth Knott (Classics), Mary Ebbott (Classics), Mary Conley (History), Bridget Franco (Montserrat), Rachelle Beaudoin (Visual Arts), Stephanie Yuhl (History), Jennifer Whelan (Library), Anna-Lisa Norman (Center for Writing), Leslie Schomp (Visual Arts), Gregory DiGirolamo (Neuroscience), Lauren Szumita (Cantor Art Gallery), Ann Marie Leshkowich (Anthropology), and Schuyler Whelden (Music).

Led by Professor Jesús Madrid, this group focused on understanding the importance and practice of inclusive teaching in biology from Richard Prum's book Performance All the Way Down. The participants in this group were: Jesus Madrid (Neuroscience), Jad Nasrini (Neuroscience), Harshada Sant (Neuroscience), Alo Basu (Neuroscience), Julia Paxson (Biology), Daniel Bitran (Neuroscience), and Laura Wilson (Library).

This introductory workshop provides an overview of the foundational concepts of inclusive course design and pedagogy. Participants who are new to teaching learn how to apply these processes to design engaging courses that are transparently aligned with learning goals to support deep learning. Participants with significant teaching experience gain new interdisciplinary insights informed by the scholarship of teaching and learning.

This workshop guides participants to formulate a values-based approach in preparation for challenging dialogues and discussions as part of the ongoing development of their course and their learning environments. Participants learn about the pedagogies of discussion, and how to develop strategies for managing and responding to challenging conversations.

It is of paramount importance to cultivate inclusive and engaging learning environments throughout the entire online course experience. The process of designing and teaching online courses is markedly distinct from in-person courses. This workshop guides faculty in developing intentionally structured learning experiences for students in their online courses. Workshop topics included:

• Intersection of course design, pedagogy, and community
• Mapping your syllabus: Course storyboard template
• Applying an online learning potential rubric to your course
• Cycles of assessment
• Active learning planning

New and continuing Montserrat faculty are guided in centering student learning in the context of the first year course journey. The workshop provides an integrative approach to considering the situational factors that impact students’ learning experiences and how they can be intentional in designing course activities and pedagogical approaches to scaffold learning as students learn about themselves and about others during the first year transition.