UMBC is committed to creating learning spaces that foster inclusive excellence—spaces where students from diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences can learn and thrive. The Diverse Classroom and related pages offer instructors ideas for capturing UMBC’s strengths in diversity to create vibrant learning environments that effectively challenge and support every student.
Who Are UMBC Students? | Creating a Welcoming Classroom | Crafting an Inclusive Course Climate | Resources | Difficult Conversations
Faculty from any discipline can take steps to create classrooms that welcome all students and help them feel valued as a part of the UMBC learning community. Research affirms the value of inclusive excellence: student learning outcomes improve when we are aware of student differences and take steps to ensure that students from different academic and social backgrounds and with different physical and cognitive abilities experience classrooms where they are welcomed, challenged, and supported.
To work towards an inclusive classroom, begin by building your familiarity with UMBC students. Knowing about your classroom audience can make it easier to connect to your students and help you reflect on their learning needs. Additionally, we present basic and more complex strategies for helping students to feel welcome in your classrooms, along with resources to help you explore these ideas.
- In Who Are UMBC Students?, we examine UMBC demographics to help you better understand your students.
- In Creating a Welcoming Classroom, we share practical ways to make your classroom more hospitable for all learners.
- We extend these ideas in Crafting an Inclusive Course Climate.
- We offer Resources from colleagues across the campus and nation.
- We present suggestions and resources for handling sensitive discussions in Difficult Conversations.
This site is a work in progress and is not intended to be definitive or exhaustive. Please consult your discipline’s professional association for best practices designed specifically for your discipline.