Inclusive Pedagogy Academy
CU Denver’s Inclusive Pedagogy Academy (IPA) is a set of courses focused on helping faculty create meaningful, effective, and equitable learning experiences for all students. The IPA is now housed in the Teaching Innovation and Program Strategy (TIPS) division and was originally developed in collaboration with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS).
Inclusive pedagogy aims to create learning environments where students of all backgrounds and identities feel valued and respected. By embracing inclusive pedagogy, educators foster a sense of belonging and honor student strengths and experiences. This approach also encourages instructors to address structural and historical inequalities that have often marginalized certain groups in education.
Watch this space for information about registering for the fall 2024 IPA cohort!
IPA: Foundations
The Inclusive Pedagogy Academy begins with our IPA: Foundations course, which moves from a macro-level examination of inequitable institutional and cultural structures to a focus on an exploration of instructor and student identities. Participants will then identify specific strategies and methods for increasing belonging and equity in the classroom.
Throughout the course, participants will update their own syllabi, course policies, teaching philosophy, and other course assignments and materials to make them more student-centered and inclusive. Upon successful completion of IPA: Foundations, participants will be awarded a badge that they can include in their CV, professional networks, evaluations, and in promotion and tenure dossiers as evidence of teaching effectiveness.
IPA Foundations: Outcomes
- Describe how inclusive pedagogies can be used to challenge inequitable social, cultural, and historical structures that impede student success in higher education
- Explain the ways that your identities and positionality shape your teaching and interactions with students.
- Recognize and honor how your students' social identities and experiences shape the ways they perceive and participate in your courses.
- Implement equity-minded teaching practices and materials that are welcoming and responsive to the different identities, lived experiences, and needs of our students.
- Articulate how your teaching and learning attitudes and practices will promote equity and inclusion.
Schedule, Topics, and Format
The IPA is a blended learning experience that consists of asynchronous online learning in Canvas, synchronous remote drop-in sessions as needed, and a kick-off session. This mix of modalities is designed to give you opportunities for both individual reflection and collaboration within your cohort.
In each unit you'll have:
- a discussion space to share ideas for inclusive practice with your peers
- an assignment where you can start to think about how to apply what you are learning to your own context
- a brief reflection that will help you wrap up each unit and move on to the next
- readings, videos, and resources that will help you explore course themes and concepts
Dates: Monday February 19-Friday April 19
The optional online kick-off session is Tuesday, February 20th at 3:30pm MT.
Join us for a wrap-up celebration bash on Tuesday, April 16th (time TBD).
- Unit 1 (Feb 19-Mar 3): Introduction to the Inclusive Pedagogy Academy
- Unit 2 (Mar 4-17) : Identities and Dimensions of Diversity
- Note: IPA is 'off' during Spring Break
- Unit 3 (Mar 25-Apr 7): Inclusive Practices and Policies
- Unit 4 (Apr 8-19): Assessment, Reflection, and Wrapping Up
Spring 2024 IPA Facilitators
Dr. Soumia Bardhan
I teach courses related to intercultural/critical intercultural communication; intercultural and transnational rhetoric; religion, culture, and communication; communication theories; history and philosophy of communication studies; qualitative research methodologies; gender, politics, and Islam; and direct Study Abroad courses focusing on Islam and intercultural dialogue in Spain, France, Morocco, and India. As a certified mediator, I also teach mediation (creative dispute resolution) courses. I have taught in India, China (including CU Denver’s International College Beijing program), the Middle East, Japan, and the U.S. I have won several curriculum development grants, including University of Notre Dame’s Global Religion and Research Initiative grant to develop an interdisciplinary course titled “Religion and Communication in the Middle East.” I have published (December 2019) a co-edited book titled “Internationalizing the Communication Curriculum in an Age of Globalization” (Routledge Research in Communication Studies series).
Dr. Jennifer Camacho Taylor
Jennifer Camacho Taylor (she/her/ella) is someone who values equity in every aspect of her life and is consistently working on decolonizing her mindset. Her research focuses on the intersection of mental health and racial ethnic socialization. She has prioritized social justice while teaching, serving as a university DEI facilitator, working as an Assistant Director at a Multicultural center, through her scholarly writing, and in her daily work. Her work is aimed at honoring her first generation journey, immigrant parents, and any historically excluded individual who does not see themselves represented in higher education.
She currently serves as the internship community liaison supporting undergraduate students in finding internship sites and maintaining relationships with current community partners. She loves learning from students and is thankful for the insight they offer every day. She aims to never take their stories for granted. Her goal is to offer inclusive, relatable, and relevant support to students. She enjoys offering research opportunities, graduate school support, professional development, and meeting students where they are at.