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Is implicit bias racist? (2015, June 1). Learning for Justice.   https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/is-implicit-bias-racist

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Schrier, K. (2018, December 30). Reducing bias through  gaming. G|a|M|E Games as Art, Media, Entertainment. https://www.gamejournal.it/07_schrier/

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Teachers make many quick decisions every day in their classrooms which explains why implicit biases contribute to teachers’ actions and decisions (Staats, 2016, p. 30). Implicit biases greatly impact classrooms. When teachers are addressing students who are not behaving in the classroom, they may have thoughts in their head about why the student may be behaving in a certain way. Teachers may also be biased with sending students to the office for reasons such as being too loud because of their skin color according to Staats (2016). Believe it or not, “implicit biases can also shape teacher expectations of student achievement” (Staats, 2016, p. 31). Educators must not make their students feel like they are less capable than their classmates who essentially are learning the same curriculum as they are. Teachers must be aware of these biases and try to mitigate them to benefit the students and their future.

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As humans we experience so much everyday and so our brains are used to processing millions of bits of information without even realizing that most of our cognitive processing happens beyond our awareness (Staats, 2016, p. 29-30). Staats (2016) defines implicit bias as “the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner” (p. 29). People can begin acquiring biases as young as 3 years old! It has to do with what people and of course young children see around them. This can include gender roles and careers, ability based on age, race, and more. Oftentimes people are not aware of their implicit biases which leads people to treat different groups of people differently (Staats, 2016, p. 30). Implicit biases are inevitable and everyone has them, which is important to be aware of for many reasons whether you are an educator, a doctor, a judge or anyone really.

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Implicit biases can be challenging and so the first step is to be aware that they exist. The second step is to integrate ways to mitigate them in our schools and classrooms. Teachers can try reflecting on their practices and what they say to their students on the daily. We must ask ourselves if we find ourselves calling on a student to answer many times during class. Of course this may seem like either a good thing or a bad thing. It may be an implicit bias to call on the same student for either believing they are smart and can answer anything you ask, or it may be an implicit bias if the reason why you’re calling on a student is because you assume they’re not paying attention. These patterns of inequity can help identify if you are being unjust.

Karen Schrier (2018) mentions a great way on how to mitigate implicit biases in schools in “Reducing Bias Through Gaming” by saying that “some games may help to immerse people into virtual worlds and new roles and identities (Schrier, 2014), which may encourage consideration of others’ experiences, feelings, and perspectives” (Faber & Schrier, 2017) which is another great way to consider using in our classrooms (pp. 59-60).
Games and other media such as movies and videos can help us teachers educate our students about implicit biases as well. We can bring awareness by having our students identify biases made by creators. Which other methods are you integrating in your own classroom to help with implicit bias? What has worked and what hasn't for you?

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Staats, C. (2016). Understanding implicit bias: What educators should know. The American Educator, 39(4), 29. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1086492.pdf