Title: 4 Practices to Promote Equity in the Classroom | Northeastern University
Headings: 4 Practices to Promote Equity in the Classroom
4 Practices to Promote Equity in the Classroom
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What is Equity in The Classroom?
The Relevance of Equity in the Classroom
4 Practices to Promote Equity in the Classroom
1. Promoting the Act of “Calling In”
2. Communicating Classroom Standards
Learning in Discomfort
Respecting Everyone’s Voice
Listening
Setting Personal Teaching Standards
3. Setting the Tone for Learning
4. Analyzing the Unique Makeup of Each Class
Beyond the Responsibility of Educators

Content: Teachers looking to become better at “calling in” must “learn how to recognize, name, and list out for everyone’s examination what just happened” in a given situation, Attwood says. They must also become comfortable exemplifying how singular instances over time create patterns that everyone can learn from. By identifying these patterns, students are given the opportunity to debrief and explore what socialization processes may have led them to think a certain way about the issue at hand, and take a first step toward breaking free of those subconscious ideas. “ If we have learned these patterns that means we can unlearn them,” Attwood says, “But first we have to identify them.” 2. Communicating Classroom Standards
It is an educator’s responsibility to set the standards for the way a classroom will run, which must be done both very clearly and very early on in the learning process. In order to promote equity in the classroom, there are a few very specific and significant standards educators should aim to set. Learning in Discomfort
Attwood explains that in order to practice the act of “calling in,” students need to build their capacity to learn in and through discomfort. It is in this state, she says, that students can actually be most open to new ideas, including those that may challenge how they previously looked at a certain aspect of the world. Respecting Everyone’s Voice
It’s important that each student in the room feels that they have both the power to speak their mind and that their words will be used productively in conversation.