Inclusive Pedagogy

How can we make our classrooms and campuses broadly accessible spaces, in which all students can fully participate and actively learn?

The Emory University Center for Faculty and Development is deeply committed to fostering inclusivity, equity, and critical thinking in teaching and learning. On our website you will find programming and resources in inclusive pedagogy. This pedagogy represents an approach to teaching that values diversity, promotes social justice, and supports student engagement and academic growth.

Inclusive pedagogy is concerned with teaching methodologies and decisions about course content. It also touches on a range of current issues in higher education, such as unconscious bias and microaggressions, trigger warnings and safe space, academic freedom and free speech. All these issues are the subject of significant debates—not only amongst educators and school administrators, but also within public discourse and mainstream media. 

CFDE resources on inclusive pedagogy are intended to help faculty learn about, reflect on, and navigate these questions. Some of the resources offer strategies and best practices for creating inclusive classrooms. Others engage divergent perspectives and arguments about various “hot topics” related to inclusive pedagogy.

Discussions and Resources

This document was created by CFDE staff in order to offer an overview of some of the key topics and current debates related to inclusive pedagogy. The document includes summary discussions and several links to online resources and recent articles.

View Discussions and Resources Document (PDF)

Discussion and Workshop Options

The CFDE is deeply committed to fostering inclusivity, equity, and critical thinking in teaching and learning. To support Emory faculty and staff the CFDE offers a variety of workshops, presentations, and facilitated discussions for departments and programs interested in learning more about or discussing Inclusive Pedagogy. We have created a conceptual “menu” of options to help departments and programs pick the options to best suit their needs.

View Discussion and Workshop Options

Past events

  • Inclusive Pedagogy Reading Group, Spring 2021: Social Justice Pedagogies 

  • September 19, 2017: Teaching International Students: A Student Panel

  • May 9, 2017: CFDE staff and faculty facilitated a lunch discussion about inclusive pedagogy during the Institute for Pedagogy in the Liberal Arts at Oxford College.

  • April 11, 2017: CFDE co-sponsored a Department of Biology seminar, “Reducing inequities in college biology classrooms: Consider Pedagogy and Student Affect,” presented by Dr. Sarah Eddy of Florida International University.

  • March 30, 2017: Emory College CFDE Teaching Table on inclusive pedagogy, featuring Dr. Eladio Abreu, Lecturer in Biology, and Dr. Donna Troka, Associate Director of Teaching & Pedagogy

  • February 10, 2017:  “Making the Most of Difficult Conversations in the Classroom,” presented by Dr. Ellen Ott Marshall, Associate Professor of Christian Ethics & Conflict Transformation, as part of the CFDE Innovative Pedagogy Series 

  • August 11-12, 2016: CFDE inaugural Summer Teaching Intensive included sessions on “Navigating Difficult Conversations” and “Teaching International Students.”

  • Aug 9, 2017: CFDE piloted a daylong Inclusive Pedagogy Workshop for faculty at the Rollins School of Public Health and the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. This workshop will feature plenary speaker Dr. Becky Wai-Ling Packard of Mount Holyoke College. 

  • Aug 10-11, 2017: CFDE Summer Teaching Intensive for faculty of all schools at Emory, including sessions on active learning, engaging large classes, and navigating difficult conversations in the classroom.

Related offices at Emory

The following offices and initiatives also support efforts to strengthen diversity, inclusion, and equity at Emory. Please see their websites for further information about the programming and resources they offer.