Syllabus Write an Inclusive Teaching Statement

What is an Inclusive Teaching Statement?

An inclusive teaching statement is an optional addition to your syllabus or course Start Here module that communicates the values of LWTech and how you personally connect to them.

Some ideas to focus on in this statement include:

Communicating how you plan to create a safe and supportive learning environment.
Expressing how you value diversity of thoughts, perspectives, and experiences, that honor all identities.

How to write your own Inclusive Teaching Statement:

Consider LWTech's Core Values and how you personally connect and practice these core values in your teaching?

Grounded in equity and the need for resilience, the values give us the tools to implement our mission and vision:

Inclusive

We intentionally create a welcoming environment where all feel a sense of belonging.

Innovative

We are leaders in maximizing opportunities to create a thriving college community.

Collaborative

We are open to change and work together to achieve success for all.

Respectful

We engage others with acceptance, open-mindedness, courtesy, and care.

Review the LWTech Student Demographics:

By Category	%
Part-time Students	44%
Have a job	31%
Age of Student	33 (average)
First-generation	34%
Low/er Socioeconomic Status	22%
Workforce/Prof-Tech (not intending to transfer)	46%

Brainstorm how you will communicate that you create a safe, supportive, learner-centered environment that supports a diversity of thoughts, perspectives, experiences, and honors all identities (including race, gender, sexuality, religion, ability, etc.)?

Writing Tips:

Articulate to your students why being inclusive matters to you.
Consider your subject’s history with underrepresented groups.
Recognize different types of diversity in your statement.
Keep it short and clear while still from the heart.
Check whether the rest of your syllabus and course design matches your statement in tone and spirit. Consider making changes to make all areas consistently inclusive.

Example Inclusive Teaching Statements from LWTech Faculty

While it is best for your own inclusive teaching statement to come from your heart and to be in your voice, here are a few exemplars to review for inspiration.

Example 1

From Marcelo Guerra Hahn

Welcome to the class! The goal of the class is for you to gain proficiency in the course objectives. We acknowledge that each of you has a different background and different preferences. Some of you may prefer to come to class in person, some to connect from home, and some to learn on your own time. Some of you will be able to complete the homework in minutes; for some, it will take days. To the extent possible, we will use the principle of not adding unnecessary constraints: this includes not adding a penalty for not showing up to class, grading more than once, not making you memorize things that you can easily Google, and not adding time constraints that don’t reflect real-life work. With that in mind, the class is constantly evolving, so if you see something that we are doing that contradicts this principle, feel free to reach out, and we’ll be happy to re-evaluate.

Example 2

From Erin Wilcox:

Welcome to class! I hope you will find this to be an open and comfortable environment where we will all be learning together. The most important thing to remember is that although we all learn in different ways, we must always be respectful of each other. I am committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming classroom for all. I am always happy to listen, so feel free to reach out anytime with questions or concerns.