No classroom exists in a vacuum; students bring their diverse experiences, identities, and challenges into every learning space. Still, structural inequities in education mean that students enter classrooms with vastly different levels of access, preparation, and support. These disparities shape who has historically been included and empowered in academic settings. 

Equitable teaching seeks to identify and correct these systemic inequalities, ensuring that all students, especially those from historically marginalized groups, have the opportunity to thrive. Equitable instructors work to remove barriers that may hinder students’ learning experiences and create environments where all learners feel valued, supported, and able to succeed.

Equitable teaching isn’t just about fairness—it’s about student learning, engagement, and success. Research shows that students from historically marginalized backgrounds face structural barriers in education, including disparities in access to resources, implicit biases in assessment, and curriculum designs that may not reflect diverse perspectives. These barriers can lead to gaps in student performance, confidence, and participation.

Instructors can mitigate systemic inequities by incorporating equitable teaching practices. These strategies are shown to improve learning outcomes, foster a sense of belonging, and enhance student motivation. Moreover, they benefit all students, not just those from historically underrepresented groups, by creating a more inclusive and dynamic learning environment that values multiple perspectives and approaches to learning.

Though you might not have authority over grading practices or cumulative assessments as a Teaching Fellow (TF), look for opportunities where you can incentivize a more equitable learning environment within your section or lab. In this case, it’s helpful to think about your section as a microcosm of the larger lecture. 

Guiding your students using equity-focused teaching practices can look different for everyone, but may include things like: 

• Unveiling the hidden curriculum.
• Improving access to resources.
• Clarifying expectations for office hours.
• Explaining why and how to build relationships with instructors.
• Incorporating diverse sources of authors and texts in a syllabus.

At the departmental level, you can also act as an advocate for bringing in a more diverse range of guest speakers, integrating transparent hiring practices, and speaking up for the needs of your peers and students. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to equity in academia, but, as you’ll see throughout this guide, there are many ways you can choose to be an equitable instructor.

Reflection Questions

• “Who has primarily been included and supported in my field of study (e.g., featured as experts or top scholars, hired as faculty, recruited as graduate students, graduated in large numbers from relevant majors)? How has that inclusion been facilitated? Are people of some identity groups overrepresented or underrepresented, suggesting barriers to equity and inclusion? Through my teaching, how might I facilitate equitable inclusion of a broader range of identities and perspectives?
• What do the most common pedagogical approaches in my field assume about students’ educational backgrounds, frames of reference, and/or ways of learning? Who might be disenfranchised by those assumptions, and what role can I play in disrupting these patterns?
• Where do I see gaps in perspective or marginalizing approaches in course materials? Where do I see marginalizing behavior in classroom interactions? How can I intervene to make changes?
• How can I become more aware of my own biases and guard against those biases affecting my interactions with or assessments of students?
• How can I learn about students’ experiences of the learning environment in my course so I can continuously work to create equitable and just experiences?”

–University of Michigan, CRLT, “Overview of Equity-Focused Teaching at Michigan”