1. INCLUSIVITY
in the digital classroom
Michelle Pacansky-Brock
@brocansky
brocansky.com
photo by Art-Ko CC-BY-NC-ND
INCLUSIVITY

2. http://tiny.cc/inclusive

3. _____ IS A NECESSARY
COMPONENT OF AN INCLUSIVE
CLASSROOM.

4. © Graphics by Laurie Burruss, used with permission.

5. © Graphics by Laurie Burruss, used with permission.
Reflect on your own educational experiences.
Where do most of them lie on this continuum?

6. © Graphics by Laurie Burruss, used with permission.
Reflect on your own classes.
Where do most of them lie on this continuum?

7. CC-BY Kellinasf
how does teaching in an inclusive environment
make a professor feel?

8. “Vulnerability is uncertainty, risk,
and emotional exposure.
-Brené Brown

9. vulnerability
Slides by Michelle Pacansky-Brock CC-BY-NC

10. VULNERABLE?"
"What value is there in being
CC-BY kodomut.com

11. “Vulnerability is the core, the heart,
the center of meaningful human
experience.
-Brené Brown

12. “
-Brené Brown
The vulnerability paradox: It's the
first thing I look for in you and the
last thing I want you to see in me.

13. PHYSICIANS
➤Medical Education creates a blind spot that festers
vulnerability avoidance and cultivates shame
➤education and work culture is filled with fear of
disclosure
➤“I am struggling” is a sign of failure
➤suffer from high stress, burnout, addiction, and high
rates of suicide
Source: Dike Drummond

14. ?
HOW DO COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY
FACULTY PERCEIVE
VULNERABILITY?

15. ?WHAT MAKES FACULTY FEEL
VULNERABLE?

16. ?
DO FACULTY AVOID DOING
THINGS TO SIDE STEP
VULNERABILITY?
IF SO, WHAT?

17. 17 College/University Faculty
2-year
4-year
Both 1
14
2
Gender
Institution Type
Highest Degree Earned
Doctorate
Master's
Other Terminal 1
4
12
Country
13 3 1

18. ?A VULNERABLE PROFESSOR
IS _________.

19. n=17
A VULNERABLE PROFESSOR IS _________.

20. n=68
A VULNERABLE PROFESSOR IS _________.

21. ?A VULNERABLE PROFESSOR
IS _________.A PARADOX

22. Vulnerability Triggers for Faculty
n=16

23. 1. CLASSROOM TRIGGERS
Failure to be subject matter expert (5)
Technology not working (4)
Student criticism (4)
Controversial topics (3)
Trying new teaching methods (3)
Sharing of personal information (2)
Being perceived as a push over (1)
n=17

24. “The first time I realized I didn't know
anything about something a student asked.
Now I use these moments to throw it open
to the class to see what they know. It's
surprising how much they do know about
some things.

25. “First day ever in front of students. I went
with it and let them know that this was
new to me and that we would learn
together.

26. “
Working with international students I was
consistently told they [sic] power was out, they
had no internet, a bomb went off, a grandmother
died. I had to trust they were telling the truth even
though people told me how frequently they lied. I
felt conflicted-was I being taken advantage of? was
I doing what was in their best interest? (in the real
world you need to meet deadlines) in the end I felt
I was doing what was in the best interest of my
student by being caring.

27. “When thrown into an upper-level class
with fairly unfamiliar content at the last
minute with little time to prepare.

28. 2. INSTITUTIONAL TRIGGERS
Poor student evaluations (2)
Being non-tenure track (2)
Being new to the organization (1)
Accessibility compliance (1)
n=17

29. “ Every class … I remember how
much I depend on the students
giving me high evaluations. Most of
my decisions are influenced by that.
I sacrifice quite a bit of what I think
is superior for long-term learning in
favor of not losing evaluation points.

30. “
Because I feel insecure in my
employment status (year to year,
non-tenure-track), I was nervous to
finally go totally open with class
blogs…. now I really am kicking
myself: I wasted a lot of years when I
could have been blogging in the open
and it really is so much better!

31. 3. SELF TRIGGERS
Identity shift (2)
• change in career goal (FT to PT), research
new discipline (medical to education)
n=17

32. “Deciding to leave full-time teaching to
pursue an alt-ac career. I now teaching [sic]
part-time more or less for fun. I did do quite
a bit of crying and soul-searching leading up
to that, however.

33. ACTIONS FACULTY AVOID DUE TO VULNERABILITY
➤ Trying New Teaching Methods (5)
• class discussions, flipped classroom, public blogs, new
grading strategies
➤ Engaging in Controversial Topics (2)
➤ Using Non-Institutionally Supported Technology (1)
➤ Creating One’s Own Digital Identity (1)
➤ Sharing of Personal Information with Students (1)
n=17

34. “When we start losing our tolerance for
vulnerability, uncertainty, for risk-
taking — we move away from the
things we need and crave the most like
joy and love and belonging, trust,
empathy, creativity.”
-Brené Brown
Slides by Michelle Pacansky-Brock CC-BY-NC

35. VULNERABLE?"
"What value is there in being
CC-BY kodomut.com

36. CHOICE
CHALLENGE
CONTROL
COLLABORATION
CONSTRUCTING MEANING
CONSEQUENCES
keys to inclusive learning environments
(Wang & Han, 2001)

37. CC-BY-SA Kristina Alexanderson
"[Lear3ing out loud] helps us get to know each other...it makes
us more sensitive to one another's opinions and thoughts. …
We are more likely to be respectfAl to one another."

38. Week 4 Survey (after 3 VTs, 1 req’d voice/video commenting).
very nervous not nervous
n=109
How nervous were you when you left your
first voice/video comment?
0
10
20
30
40
1 2 3 4 5

39. Now when you comment in voice/video, how
nervous are you?
Week 4 Survey (after 3 VTs, 1 req’d voice/video commenting).
very nervous not nervous
n=109
0
10
20
30
40
1 2 3 4 5

40. CC-BY-NC-SA By Coofdy
a social-­‐emotional speed bump?

41. 0
12.5
25
37.5
50
Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree
86%
The voice activities contributed to making
me feel like I was part of a group.
n=82
56%
30%
13%
1%

42. “I feel that taking this class and
having been required to push myself
to leave voice comments has helped
me learn that I am capable of
overcoming my fears of
embarrassment.”
CC-BY kodomut.com

43. CC-BY JD Hancock
“I found ... that I would ... unearth more
thoughts and opinions as I spoke them
out loud while looking at the content, as
opposed to looking at the content,
forming an opinion, then looking at my
text as I wrote it.”
How did speaking (vs. writing all your
assignments) affect your learning?

44. CC-BY JD Hancock
“I felt more motivated to produce a
better quality assignment.”
How did speaking (vs. writing all your
assignments) affect your learning?

45. CC-BY-NC-SA Zanthia
“I think speaking…engaged me more…It is
easy for online students to feel a disconnect…
Having to … speak and …directly engage a
fellow student through voice makes you feel a
part of an actual class.”

46. CC-BY-NC-SA Zanthia
Having a teacher that is involved and is
talking to you constantly, keeps the lines of
communication open. Learning is easier
because the teacher is approachable. You
can actually see the passion for the subject
in the teacher voice messages.

47. Photo by JasonSamfield CC-BY-NC-SA
• Make students nervous (78%).
• Reduce anxiety in students in just 3 weeks (from 78% to 12%).
• Voice discussions improve the sense of being part of a group (91%).
• Are preferred over text comments (66%).
• Contribute to a perceived improvement in students’ communication skills (89%).
• Increases retention of information (89%).
• Improves students’ ability to reach learning objectives (95%).
• Using voice discussions supports diverse learning needs.
• Most online students (85%) do not speak in their classes.
• Most online students (81%) want voice discussions to be used in more classes.
Findings
Asynchronous voice discussions in an online community college class:
Pacansky-Brock, 2014. Most data collected in one class each semester for four semesters (Fall 2012-Sp 2014). n=59

53. “You know you are in a supportive
culture when being open and
transparent is not a risky thing to do.
-Dike Drummond, MD

56. Michelle Pacansky-Brock
www.brocansky.com