LibGuides: Teaching and Learning Resources: Bias in the Classroom

People of color experience both overt and covert racism in every corner of society, including on our campus. That must end. It is crucial that all of us work to create a university that embraces and practices inclusion and that conducts open and difficult discussions about systemic injustice.

From President Spiro's statement on racist violence

At the CU Library

Teaching about Race and Racism in the College Classroom: Notes From a White Professor by Cyndi Kernahan
Call Number: T&L 378.125 K459t OR eBook
Publication Date: 2019-12-01
In this book, Kernahan argues that you can be honest and unflinching in your teaching about racism while also providing a compassionate learning environment that allows for mistakes and avoids shaming students. She provides evidence for how learning works with respect to race and racism along with practical teaching strategies rooted in that evidence to help instructors feel more confident. She also differentiates between how white students and students of color are likely to experience the classroom, helping instructors provide a more effective learning experience for all students.
From Equity Talk to Equity Walk by Tia Brown McNair; Estela Mara Bensimon; Lindsey Malcom-Piqueux
Call Number: T&L 379.26 M231f
Publication Date: 2020-01-22
From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: A Guide for Campus-Based Leadership and Practice is a vital wealth of information for college and university presidents and provosts, academic and student affairs professionals, faculty, and practitioners who seek to dismantle institutional barriers that stand in the way of achieving equity, specifically racial equity, to achieve equitable outcomes in higher education.

Proactive Strategies

Eight Actions to Reduce Racism in College Classrooms
A list of concrete acts for faculty to address racism in the classroom, based on campus climate surveys conducted across the U.S. (American Association of University Professors)
Guidelines for Discussing Incidents of Hate, Bias, and Discrimination
Discussion of these incidents is extremely common. This article offers advice for instructors effectively facilitate such conversations, whether they are planned or spontaneous. (Center for Research on Learning & Teaching, University of Michigan)
Talking With Students About Racism
Experts on teaching and learning weigh in on how to approach this. (Chronicle of Higher Education)

Microaggressions

"Racial microaggressions are brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color" (Sue et al., 2007, p. 271)

Three forms (Sue et al. 2007):

Microassaults: "Explicit racial derogation characterized primarily by a verbal or nonverbal attack meant to hurt the intended victim" (ex: using racial slurs, displaying racist symbols)
Microinsults: "Communications that convey rudeness and insensitivity and demean a person’s racial heritage or identity" (ex: calling a person of color "articulate," following a Black customer around the store)
Microinvalidations: "Communications that exclude, negate, or nullify the psychological thoughts, feelings, or experiential reality of a person of color" (ex: claiming to be "colorblind," telling someone they're being "oversensitive" when they talk about an experience of racism)

“Microaggressions in the Classroom.” Niemann, Yolanda Flores.
Discussion and examples of all three types of microaggressions and how they appear in classrooms. Video, 18 min. (Focused.Arts.Media.Education)
“Responding to Microaggressions in the Classroom: Taking ACTION.” Souza, Tasha.
Effective strategies for addressing microaggressions in the moment. (Faculty Focus)
Racial microaggressions in everyday life: Implications for clinical practice
A taxonomy of racial microaggressions and suggestions for education, training, and research. (Sue et al., 2007)
Microaggressions: More Than Just Race
Brief examples and explanations of microaggressions on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, and social class. (Psychology Today)

General Resources

Racial Equity Tools
"Designed to support individuals and groups working to achieve racial equity. This site offers tools, research, tips, curricula and ideas for people who want to increase their own understanding and to help those working toward justice at every level – in systems, organizations, communities and the culture at large."