Welcome to the SEHD Impact! Inclusive Excellence monthly (beta)\u2014a space to explore practices, stories, and reflections that advance SEHD\u2019s inclusive excellence principles and plan, including equity, belonging, and courageous improvement across our school community. Each month, this series will explore some of the ways in which how inclusive excellence might show up in our work, guided by principles of educational and social equity, collective well-being, diverse and reciprocal partnerships, continuous reflection, safety, belonging, and courageous improvement.<\/p>\n
This month, the inclusive excellence focus is: Creating Belonging from Day One: Small Shifts, Big Impact. From inclusive syllabi to welcoming spaces, early efforts can shape lasting experiences of inclusion and connection. As the academic year begins, I hope that you’ll feel invited to consider how intentional, everyday actions\u2014no matter how small\u2014can foster a sense of belonging for students, staff, and faculty alike.<\/p>\n
Often, the first day of class sets the tone for the entire semester. For students from historically underrepresented backgrounds, that first impression can either affirm their sense of belonging\u2014or deepen feelings of isolation. In fact, this is true for most students, whether from historically underrepresented backgrounds.<\/p>\n
This month, as classes are beginning, faculty are invited reflect on how small, intentional practices can foster inclusion from the very beginning. Whether it\u2019s learning and using students\u2019 names, sharing your own educational journey, or co-creating classroom norms, these early actions communicate: You belong here.<\/p>\n
Inclusive excellence isn\u2019t about perfection\u2014it\u2019s about presence. It\u2019s about designing a syllabus that reflects diverse voices, offering multiple ways to engage, and signaling that every student\u2019s perspective matters.<\/p>\n
As we prepare for our first class meetings of the fall semester, here are additional rich, research-informed resources that support practices for fostering belonging in college classrooms, especially at the start of the academic year:<\/p>\n
Source: UVA Teaching Hub
\nThis curated collection includes:<\/p>\n
Explore the UVA Teaching Hub Collection<\/a><\/p>\n Source: UC Berkeley Center for Teaching & Learning Read the Berkeley Teaching Guide<\/a><\/p>\n Source: Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education Download the Full Review (PDF)<\/a><\/p>\n Source: Education Sciences Journal Read the Full Article (PDF)<\/a><\/p>\n Source: Top Hat Explore Activities & Download the Free List<\/a><\/p>\n Together, these resources offer options that we might consider trying out to spark conversation and inspire action. Hopefully, together, we can start the year by building classrooms where all students feel seen, heard, and valued.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Resources<\/p>\n Dunlea, M. (2019, September 4). Every student matters: Cultivating belonging in the classroom. Edutopia. https:\/\/www.edutopia.org\/article\/every-student-matters-cultivating-belonging-classroom<\/a><\/p>\n Center for Teaching & Learning. (n.d.). Fostering belonging in teaching. University of California, Berkeley. https:\/\/teaching.berkeley.edu\/teaching-strategies\/advancing-equity-and-inclusion\/fostering-belonging-teaching<\/a><\/p>\n Leonard, D. (2023, September 8). The science of belonging and connection. Edutopia. https:\/\/www.edutopia.org\/article\/the-science-of-belonging-and-connection<\/a><\/p>\n Kwak, J. (2020, September). Curricula for every student: Culturally responsive teaching in higher ed. Every Learner Everywhere. https:\/\/www.everylearnereverywhere.org\/blog\/culturally-responsive-teaching-in-higher-ed\/<\/a><\/p>\n Lemonade Day. (n.d.). 25+ engaging team building activities for students to foster collaboration. https:\/\/lemonadeday.org\/blog\/team-building-activities-for-students<\/a><\/p>\n Additional Resources:<\/p>\n Welcome to the SEHD Impact! Inclusive Excellence monthly (beta)\u2014a space to explore practices, stories, and reflections that advance SEHD\u2019s inclusive excellence principles and plan, including equity, belonging, and courageous improvement across our school community. Each month, this series will explore some of the ways in which how inclusive excellence might show up in our work, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":93,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/93"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20210"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20211,"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20210\/revisions\/20211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sehd.ucdenver.edu\/impact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nThis critical literature review synthesizes findings from 118 studies, showing:<\/p>\n\n
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\nThis article outlines:<\/p>\n\n
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\nIncludes 45+ activities designed to:<\/p>\n\n
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