As instructors (or leaders in business), it’s up to us to make sure that we are creating an inclusive environment, however, it’s not completely up to leaders and facilitators. We can’t curate the exact environment we want; between the instructor’s background and inherent bias, makeup of the student population in the university and classroom, and even the physical classroom environment will all impact how classroom interactions take place. What we can do is create an environment where the inclusive culture can grow. We can create the space, but the students also have to engage, which is a challenge all by itself.

The book gives some good tips on how to make sure we are creating that space. One exercise that I thought was particularly powerful was the idea of coming up with a set of rules (although I might not call them rules, maybe call them classroom methods or something less like high school). Not just coming up with a set of methods for productive discussion but asking the students to join in and share what frustrates them about classroom discussions and how they see fixing the problem. Hopefully it will give students some equity in the classroom environment, and they will be (at least a little) more engaged because everyone has a say in setting the tone.

Asking for anonymous feedback throughout the semester is a valuable way to get input from students, without them feeling like they are put on the spot. I ask students to take out a piece of paper and write any questions they might have or thoughts to share, without putting their name on it. I read and answer the questions for the benefit of the class. When you ask everyone, “Does this make sense?” Most students will just say yes, even if they don’t understand. I get a lot of questions that people might not want to ask in front of the group, but I really don’t know who wrote it so I can’t accidentally “out” someone. However, we need to be prepared to hear things we don’t like, don’t agree with, and more importantly, take action, when possible, to address concerns and correct our teaching methods.

Creating an inclusive environment not only means to make sure we’re using pronouns properly and trying to engage everyone in discussion, but it also involves giving students the tools to say, “This environment isn’t working for me,” and empower them to speak up for what they need. We do our best to be inclusive, but as I said earlier, it’s not just up to us to dictate how things will go to make them inclusive—that goes against the very nature of inclusivity. Not only will we become better instructors, but students will learn skills for learning and communicating that will transfer out of the classroom and into whatever job they might have when they leave our campus. At the end of chapter five there is an instructor checklist that might be a good classroom activity and discussion and ask the students how they might see those skills transferring out of the classroom and into life beyond college.