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At the beginning of the year, set clear expectations for how students should treat others. Highlight traits such as respect, empathy, and compassion. Hold a classroom discussion centered on these topics and why they are included in the Code of Conduct. This should then be posted somewhere in the classroom for students to see daily and be reminded of their commitment to a respectful classroom environment.

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Organize a school-wide Family Culture Night. This event could include families sharing their culture with each other through food, activities, music, or language. This provides the school community an opportunity to both proudly share their own culture, and learn more about the world around them.

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When choosing books for read-alouds or classroom libraries, include stories written by multicultural authors, offering first hand experience into their diverse worlds. This offers students an opportunity to explore different cultures through the eyes of the ones living in it.

Multicultural Read-aloud Examples:

My Papi Has A Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero

Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal

Where Are You From? by Yamile Saied Mendez

Multicultural Chapter Book Examples:

Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan

The Watson's Go To Birmingham - 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

Signs of Survival: A Memoir of the Holocaust by Joshua Greene and Renee Hartman

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If families do not speak English fluently at home, providing all communication translated into their native language is a must. Wether this is a translated newsletter or an interpreter during conferences and meetings, effective communication with parents is required when it comes to what is best for the student.

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Host a culture day in the classroom, where students have the opportunity to present on their own individual cultures and backgrounds. Students can teach their peers about specific holidays, traditions, or recipes from their culture. This instills a strong sense of pride in students, and offers a safe space for others to learn about and experience the multicultural world.

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Utilizing the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) allows educators to best meet the needs and abilities of all of their students. With an approach focused on flexible learning, UDL promotes offering multiple ways to present content and curriculum, giving students multiple changes to comprehend new information. (Cornell University, 2024)

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Universal design for learning (UDL) is a teaching approach that works to accommodate the needs and abilities of all learners and eliminates unnecessary hurdles in the learning process. This means developing a flexible learning environment in which information is presented in multiple ways, students engage in learning in a variety of ways, and students are provided options when demonstrating their learning.

UDL is similar to universal instructional design and universal design for instruction. All three advocate for accessible and inclusive instructional approaches that meet the needs and abilities of all learners.

Why Use UDL?

Incorporating universal design principles enhances an inclusive learning environment.

Designing a course to accommodate a wider variety of needs may eliminate potential learning barriers or unnecessary learning obstacles. If a course can be designed at the onset to do this, then why not?

Providing students with multiple means of perceiving, comprehending, and expressing their learning allows students to engage with the material in a way that most benefits them, and also encourages students to engage with material to improve in areas in which their skills are not as strong.

Considerations for UDL

Provide Options for Perception - Based on the premise that learners access information differently, this principle means providing flexible and multiple ways to present information. For example, using PowerPoint as a visual supplement to your lecture.

Provide Options for Expression - Since learners vary in their abilities to demonstrate their learning in different ways, this principle means providing flexible and multiple ways to allow students to express their knowledge or demonstrate their skills. For example, providing students an option of writing a final exam or submitting a final assignment.

Provide Options for Comprehension - Students are motivated to learn for different reasons and vary in the types of learning activities that keep them engaged. This third principle means providing multiple ways for engaging in course activities. For example, engaging students in both group work activities and individual work, as opposed to engaging students only in individual work.

Remember that providing choices does not mean changing course expectations (e.g., if your course learning outcomes includes being able to communicate in writing, students need to demonstrate their learning through a written assignment).

Getting Started with UDL

If you have already designed a course, reflect on how it is going. What current course activities, methods of instruction, and assessments are working well? What is your teaching style and what are your students' learning modalities? Ask yourself which students would likely do well in your class and which students might struggle.

Could you offer more flexibility in the way you present content, the way students engage in learning in your course, and the way they are assessed?

Have students choose from a selected bank of assignment topics or at the beginning of the semester, allow students to determine what percentage of their grade can be dependent on certain assessment options.

Check in with your students to see how things are going by conducting a mid-semester evaluation.

As with any teaching strategy, reflect on how it went. Did it work for you? For your students? Were students able to attain the course learning outcomes? Make necessary adjustments for your next semester.

See more on UDL principles and how they can be applied, or use a course accessibility checklist to check how accessible your course is.

References

Burgstahler, S., & Cory, R. (2008). Universal design in higher education: From principles to practice . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

Rose, D. H., Harbour, W. A., Johnston, C. S., Daley, S. G., & Abarbanell, L. (2006). Universal design for learning in postsecondary education: Reflections on principles and their applications. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 19 (2), 135-151.

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Universal Design for Learning | Center for Teaching Innovation

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Universal design for learning (UDL) is a teaching approach that works to accommodate the needs and abilities of all learners and eliminates unnecessary hurdles in the learning process. This means developing a flexible learning environment in which information is presented in multiple ways, students engage in learning in a variety of ways, and students are provided options when demonstrating their learning.

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Educators should participate in inclusive and multicultural professional development to further educate themselves on the intricate ways culture affects education. One such example is the Inclusive STEM Teaching Project, aimed at breaking down biases in the STEM field, and providing inclusive teaching methods for educators. (What You Can Expect | Inclusive STEM Teaching Project, 2025)

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This program is designed to advance the awareness, self-efficacy, and ability of STEM faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and staff to cultivate inclusive learning environments for all their students and to develop themselves as reflective, inclusive practitioners.

Drawing on embodied case studies and vignettes, participants will engage in deep reflection and discussions around topics of equity and inclusion in learning environments across a variety of institutional contexts. synchronous and synchronous online activities will be extended through in-person and virtual face-to-face learning communities on participating campuses.

Upcoming Opportunities

Registration for the project's first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) is now open via edX! Please visit the Overview of the Course page for more information about the content.

In addition to the MOOC, participants can register for synchronous learning communities facilitated at institutions across the country. Learn more about these communities and how to participate on our Learning Communities page.

Questions? E-mail inclusivestemteaching@gmail.com.

Inclusive STEM Teaching Project collaborator, Tazin Daniels, Ph.D. from the University of...

Welcome, explore our new site! Learn more about what our program offers...

Welcome, explore our new site! Learn more about what our program offers...

We are excited that you have joined our Inclusive STEM Teaching community....

We are excited that you have joined our Inclusive STEM Teaching community....

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This program is designed to advance the awareness, self-efficacy, and ability of STEM faculty, postdocs, graduate students, and staff to cultivate inclusive learning environments for all their students and to develop themselves as reflective, inclusive practitioners.

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English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers' responsibility are to guide any ESL student through school. There are many different types of ESL teachers, each with a different objective. Not every school has ESL staff members, so if they are available, utilize them. These teachers can provide differentiated instruction, small-group or individual intervention, or even simply advice on how to best meet the needs of ESL students.

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When provided with an ESL teacher that speaks the same language as ESL students, allowing students to respond or answer questions in their native language is a great way to meet their needs. As long as the assignment or test is not on the student's language or English, answering in their native language can be an effective ESL accommodation.

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In the context of the core curriculums, there are many opportunities to incorporate multicultural learning into social studies. In upper education, when studying different countries of the world, take time to explore and learn about the diverse cultures and worldviews in each country. Projects based on investigating and reporting on culture are another great way to incorporate multicultural perspectives into curriculum.

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A small way to incorporate multicultural perspectives into curriculum is by relating the material to real-world examples that fit into diverse cultures. This offers students a concrete example for them to relate to, making the content easier to understand. (Richardson, 2024)

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Integrating Social Emotional Learning (SEL) into education helps to create a much more positive, caring, and empathetic classroom, safe for diverse cultures to coexist. SEL focuses on promoting healthy ways to manage emotions, while fostering a strong sense of empathy and respect. (CASEL, 2022) These positive values help to build an inclusive classroom, where students can feel seen and heard when it comes to their individual cultures.

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Incorporating multicultural perspectives in ELA could be done effectively through a class book study. Reading a book that highlights a diverse worldview, while breaking it down through discussion and writing assignments, offers students the chance to explore the world through this multicultural lens and gain a deeper understanding of it.

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Take time as a class to recognize cultural celebrations and holidays and explore how they are celebrated. (11 Creative Ways to Celebrate Cultural Diversity in the Classroom, 2023) Allow students who celebrate these holidays to share their own family traditions. Another way to highlight these holidays is through Christmas Around the World- a program some teachers use that highlights the different ways Christmas is celebrated worldwide.

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Encourage parents or family members to come to school as a "Cultural Ambassador". A program started in Whiting Lane Elementary School, in West Hartford, Connecticut, these Cultural Ambassadors share stories from their culture, and offer students the opportunity to explore and ask questions. (Building Belonging with Cultural Ambassadors, 2024)

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To help ease parents with the ins and outs of education, offering them with workshops can help to bridge this gap. An event centered on learning how to navigate the school system or providing support for at-home learning are both effective ways to enable parents with the knowledge needed to actively participate in the school system.