Dutton Digest, September 2023

Starting Off on the Right Foot

Many Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging practices are simply about good teaching. Fundamental ideas include:

• Greet your class with a smile,
• Be available as a good listener,
• Help everyone feel comfortable, welcome, valued, and that they belong.

There’s good reason for this: students who feel that they belong are more able to concentrate on learning. Research shows us that students are generally unable to perform at full capacity if they feel like outsiders. Different research shows us that students who make a connection to even one adult on campus, or during their college career, are more likely to stay in school and to have a better college experience – it’s not all about peers.

The beginning of the semester is a great time to ensure that students feel comfortable, worthy, and heard in your classroom, but that takes more effort than simply smiling and welcoming everyone to class. The following resources provide information on practices you can put to use right away:

• Supporting Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity, and Belonging
  • Acknowledging Names and Pronouns to Support Belonging
  • Using First-Day Information Sheets to Support Inclusive Teaching

For more, the team at the Dutton Institute is happy to partner with you to perform a course reflection activity to address inclusion and belonging opportunities. Check out the course reflection activity Level Up! in our resource called 15 Ways to Get Started with Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging.