Facilitating Inclusive, Equitable, and Welcoming Online Learning

This webinar is part of our OLC Innovate 2021 Best-in-Track (Teaching and Learning Practice) summer webinar series!

Many have feared that the the rapid shift to fully online instruction at universities caused by COVID-19 – and the concomitant transition for most students to home-based learning – would deepen existing inequalities and achievement gaps for disadvantaged and minority students. Unfortunately, a survey of nearly 6000 students at our institution indicates that first-generation and/or low income (FLI) and underrepresented minority (URM) students have been disproportionately negatively impacted by the shift to online learning (Stanford Spring Survey, 2020). Recent national surveys of college students have found similar results. While some of these discrepancies can be attributed to lack of access to basic resources (e.g., internet connectivity, adequate location for quiet study), research suggests that the design of online learning environments can ameliorate participation and achievement gaps for FLI and URM students (Kizilcec, Saltarelli, et al. 2017; Kizilcec & Saltarelli, 2019).

Whether students feel welcome and like they belong in learning environments has a direct affect on educational processes and outcomes (e.g., memory, persistence, motivation). Further, feelings of non-belonging have been shown to contribute to educational gaps for underrepresented students (Harackiewicz et al., 2014; Taylor & Walton, 2011). Even subtle cues in the learning environment can affect whether students feel welcome, and this is particularly true in online learning environments where contextual cues and social interaction may be less than in face-to-face environments. Thus, we have developed the CARE framework that outlines five approaches for designing online learning environments that are more welcoming to traditionally marginalized students: community, agency, representation, equal access, and pedagogies of care.     

In this webinar, attendees will:

  • review recent theory and research on inclusive, equitable, and welcoming online learning;
  • explore the CARE framework and consider practical examples of how to implement each aspect in online learning environments;
  • work together to design at least one learning activity based on the CARE framework;
  • leave with openly licensed materials they can used to promote inclusive, equitable, and welcoming online learning at their respective institutions.
Speaker Bio

Dr. Andy Saltarelli
Senior Director of Evaluation and Research – Stanford University

Dr. Andy Saltarelli is the Senior Director of Evaluation and Research in Stanford University’s Office of the Learning Technologies and Spaces. He establishes and facilitates strategic, campus-wide initiatives in digital innovation, learning analytics, and educational research. He leads a team of analysts and data scientists that partner with campus stakeholders to generate insightful and actionable learning data infrastructure. Andy’s disciplinary background is in educational and social psychology and his research investigates how online technologies affect the psychological processes underlying teaching and learning. He has published over 15 research articles in prominent outlets such as the journal Science. 
Dr. Kritika Yegnashankaran
Associate Director of Faculty and Lecturer Programs – Stanford University

Dr. Kritika Yegnashankaran received her BA and MA degrees in Philosophy from Stanford University, and her PhD in Philosophy from Harvard University. She was an Assistant Professor in the Philosophy program at Bard College in New York for several years before joining Stanford’s Center for Teaching and Learning in 2018. She has research interests in reasoning and other core processes of human cognition, and to what extent they can be actively and socially shaped. She conducts workshops and consultations with Stanford faculty and lecturers on effective and inclusive pedagogy.