Since the fall of 2021, I’ve taught a class called English 12 Ethnic Cultures, a course designed specifically to incorporate Ethnic Studies principles into English Language Arts. After doing this work for some time, I am convinced that the Language Arts classroom is a perfect place for this kind of work. English teachers are natural storytellers, and our classrooms can be the place where students’ own stories emerge.
Tag: Diversity
Inclusivity: An Important Aspect of Intimate Relationships Courses
Unlike less personal subjects, teaching intimate relationships involves navigating students’ experiences, perspectives, and beliefs. Students bring personal histories and assumptions to classes on intimacy, which can lead to challenging moments when these deeply held beliefs are questioned. How can instructors address and reframe these preconceived assumptions with respect and empathy?
Using Storytelling to Engage Environmental Science Students
Engaging students in the principals of physics, chemistry, and biology that underlie environmental science can be a challenge, especially in large and introductory classes, which I frequently teach. Over more than three decades as an educator at the college and high school level, I have honed an approach that I find reaches and engages many students in these large, lecture-based classes—teaching about the environment through the lens of people, their lives, and out-of-the-box ideas.
Exploring Wild Girls: A Q&A with Tiya Miles
The Norton Shorts team sat down with award-winning historian Tiya Miles to discuss her new book Wild Girls: How the Outdoors Shaped the Women Who Challenged a Nation. Tiya discusses the inspiration behind the project, what she hopes students will take away from the book, and more, below. How did your personal and academic journey …
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From Content to Ideas: Helping Students Craft Their Voice in Writing Technical Documents During the Age of Generative AI
Dr. Laura Gonzales teaches technical communication at the University of Florida. In academia, many of the conversations about generative AI focus on surveillance and cheating. If students can have AI generate content for them, how can teachers assess students’ work? In the introductory technical communication course, many traditional assignments focus on teaching students to generate content—the …
Discussing Stereotypes, Prejudices, and Discrimination in Your Social Psychology Course
Thomas Gilovich is the Irene Blecker Rosenfeld Professor of Psychology and codirector of the Center for Behavioral Economics and Decision Research at Cornell University. He has taught social psychology for more than 35 years and is the recipient of the Russell Distinguished Teaching Award at Cornell. His research focuses on judgment, decision-making, and well-being, and he …
Teaching AP® Students to Think Like Art Historians
Jean Robertson is Chancellor’s Professor Emerita at Indiana University’s Herron School of Art and Design, IUPUI. She specializes in art history and theory after 1980. She is a co-author of Thames & Hudson’s art history survey text, The History of Art: A Global View (2021). Another recent book is Oxford University Press’s Themes of Contemporary …
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Teaching Neurodiversity: The Brain Is Diverse by Design
Adam K. Anderson is professor of human development and member of the graduate field of psychology at Cornell University. He is interested in the role of the emotions in all human faculties, considering psychological, physiological, and neural perspectives. In recognition of his work, Adam has been a Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience, received the APA …
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#TeachLivingPoets: Activities for Equity in Poetry
Melissa Alter Smith is a high school English teacher in Charlotte, where she earned the 2017 District Teacher of the Year, as well as an AP® Reader and AP® Consultant. She is the creator of #TeachLivingPoets and TeachLivingPoets.com. Melissa is co-author of Teach Living Poets, and the Norton Guide to AP® Literature. Melissa was on …
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Bringing a Deeper Engagement with Race to the Study of American Politics
Megan Ming Francis is the G. Alan and Barbara Delsman Associate Professor of Political Science and an associate professor of law, societies, and justice at the University of Washington. During the 2021–22 academic year, she is also a Senior Democracy Fellow at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation and a Racial Justice Fellow …
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