Oftentimes, “inclusive pedagogy” is used to refer to ways in which educators consider issues of diversity and accessibility in the classroom. True enough, educators do need to consider, support, and engage wider swathes of student backgrounds and needs—but what does it truly mean to “include” students in the learning process? This track focuses on alternative teaching methods that shift and challenge the power dynamics of the classroom to provide students more agency in their education and re-examine the role of “educator.” Examples include, but are not limited to: various methods of “ungrading” or alternative assessment that provide students different pathways for success; collaborative syllabus creation, in which students work with faculty to determine the structure, rules, and even content of the course; and “flipped classrooms,” where the time in class is used to provide students opportunities to examine, discuss, and assimilate knowledge rather than passively receive information.

Related to this are questions of identify. In recent years, the concept of “decolonizing” the classroom and curriculum has spread across higher education. In equal measure, external forces (e.g., local and state governments, parents, social media, and school administration, to name a few) have attempted to dictate what can and can’t be taught in our classrooms, often focusing on content regarding race, sexuality, and religion. Presentations on this theme are encouraged to examine uses of the classroom to explore how our own identities, and the identities of our students, can be used as assets for learning, as well as how the learning process can help support, develop, and celebrate those identities. We seek submissions that: leverage cultural knowledge, practices, and experience as valid and powerful resources; help students explore personal relationships to course content through self-initiated topics and projects; and expand the canon to better highlight and represent our ever-diversifying student body..