Designing the Inclusive Classroom Using Appreciative Inquiry

Post-secondary institutions continue to attract a more diverse cadre of students. Yet, classroom dynamics can result in some students feeling excluded. BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) students continue to lag behind their White counterparts in graduation rates. By creating more inclusive classrooms where students perceive a greater sense of belonging, students are motivated to remain in college. The purpose of this research was to have students identify classroom practices they felt instructors used that created an inclusive learning environment for diverse student populations. A convenience sample of twenty-nine students recruited from a college of health and human services, including a public health department, participated in an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) activity facilitated by their peers and faculty mentors. AI is a method that engages participants to identify practices that create positive outcomes so they can be built upon. Analysis of data revealed 26 practices instructors used to create inclusive classrooms, and five outcomes of these practices. These results are organized using Donabedian’s structure/process/outcome framework, where structure refers to the way a course and the classroom are set up and/or designed; process refers to the way instructors engage in teaching the course, and outcome refers to the results of the interaction of structure and processes. Instructors can benefit from incorporating recommended best practices to create and/or increase an inclusive learning environment.