Teaching.IU

Context

Professional deference is a powerful force in education, encouraging us to practice fidelity to models and appreciate the unique intellectual contributions of our peers. However, such deference can come at a cost to improving equitable treatment and outcomes in our classrooms. In my teaching, I conduct routine equity “audits” on classroom activities and would like to encourage others to do likewise. Particularly when it comes to “traditional” diversity activities, such education often disproportionately burdens the marginalized and/or fails to encompass a wider intersectional reach that can be obtained through even minor alterations.

If this comes across initially as overwhelming, you are not alone.  We all want to be fair and just teachers; that is equity!  We want to be good and effective teachers, reaching as many of our students as consequentially as possible; that is equity too!  My goal is to provide a few specific prompts to get you started thinking about how to do these things well.  Just follow along and answer the best you can.  You may be surprised as to where the journey takes you, even if just means one Equity Audit per year.   

Through innumerable possibilities such as modifying “privilege walks,” altering case scenarios, and expanding demographic-specific exercises, we can reach more students and reduce classroom trauma.  I share this process with a real classroom example below.  But your example may be even simpler:  Think of your attendance policy, how you grade grammar in your papers, what course materials your students are required to purchase, or even how you assign groups.  Literally anything you do as an instructor can be audited for equity.  Below I question the use of a privilege walk in my undergraduate business ethics course.  I want my students to understand how the various facets of their identity can impact their interactions with business and wider society, but I want to do so in a way that this education does not get lost in the noise of politics, trauma, or shame. 

Step-by-Step Implementation

Instructors should select a classroom activity, particularly among those of potential concern, and follow these prompts to make equitable enhancement(s).

Chosen Activity:  Privilege Walk (e.g. http://doloreshuerta.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/privilege-walk.pdf)

Question 1. Does my activity prompt student discomfort?

Answer:  Yes.  A traditional privilege walk often feels awkward!  Both because “taboo” topics such as race and sexual orientation may be discussed, but also because the walk involves the sharing of personal identity factors and has a comparative element to it in highlighting differences beyond only similarities.
Instructors can move to Question 5 should they answer, “No.”

Question 2. If so, is this discomfort necessary to obtain learning aims?

Answer:  Likely yes.  Discussing privilege inherently creates realizations of societal inequity among students.  Inequity SHOULD be uncomfortable on some level, as both the reality of inequity and the feeling it provokes are hopefully items the students wish to eliminate.
If the discomfort is unnecessary to the learning aims, eliminate that portion of the activity and move to Question 5. 

Question 3. If so, does this discomfort fall disproportionately across student demographics, with special concern for marginalized populations?

Answer:  Yes.  A traditional privilege walk tends to create the highest levels of anxiety, and visual spotlighting, among those students with the most or least privilege, as conceptually defined by the activity questions.  Marginalized students often already have some relative privilege awareness prior to the activity and then such marginalization is used as a learning tool for other students under the traditional privilege walk model.
Instructors can move to Question 5 should they answer, “No.”

Question 4. If so, is there a way to alter the activity to lessen and/or more equitably distribute the learning burden?

Answer:  Yes.  I often anonymize the process by having students prefill unnamed privilege sheets that are randomly distributed among peers.  Students then literally walk the life of a peer, building empathy and eliminating potential shame.  Alternatively or in addition, I have conducted walks on less volatile issues, such as socio-economic status (https://housing.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/privilege-walk---social-class.pdf).  
If not, contemplate an alternative activity that obtains the learning aims and begin again at Question 1.  For example, Privilege for Sale avoids some of the retraumatizing risks of a privilege walk (https://thesafezoneproject.com/activities/privilege-for-sale/). 

Question 5. Is there a way to harmlessly expand the activity to relate to more student experiences, with special concern for marginalized populations?

Answer:  If so, do it!  Students should understand that privilege is far more encompassing than anything that can be confined to a simple walk.  Debrief with your students the many elements that may make up even an individual privilege.  Ask for additional examples, and consider including some such examples in a future walk.  A starting list to consider can be found at:  https://sites.google.com/a/u.boisestate.edu/social-justice-training/about-us/our-training/privilege-checklist. 
Don’t think so?  Think harder!  If you need assistance, reach out to campus resources that may be able to help.  At IU, these include the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning (https://citl.indiana.edu/), the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs (https://diversity.iu.edu/) - including related culture centers, and many others.

Effectiveness

Student reactions have been consistently positive to modified privilege walks, as well as replacement/supplemental activities.  The concept of privilege when taught well benefits from pre-established class rapport, clear operationalization of terms to avoid shame and politicking, and ample room for thorough debriefing. 

More broadly, though students are unaware of this exact Equity Audit model, they are very much aware of my efforts at building equitable and inclusive classrooms.  Below are several examples of modified privilege walk feedback received through assigned reflection logs.  These examples show appreciation for the modification, as well as continued evidence of efficacy, including for marginalized students.  Data come from Fall 2021 Indiana University students in L375 Ethics and the 21^st Century Business Leader.  Similar data exists with other activities the Equity Audit model has been applied to.

“I thought the privilege activities this week were interesting as I feel they went a lot more in-depth than I was used to, and the approach was different as well.  When I have done activities similar to the ones did in class in the past, it has only been surface level and did not have the care and attention to detail like the ones we did in class.  Specifically, what I am referencing is having the sheet of responses to the privilege prompts be shuffled and handed out anonymously.  I have never heard of that before and I have always never been a fan of those types of activities because I feel it singled out both the underprivileged and very privileged kids in the room.  Once I heard you mention you would be shuffling them, I was very excited to do the activity because, for me, it was refreshing to not only try a new version of an activity I have done before, but also do it in a way I thought would be most beneficial to me and the other students.” 

“Definitely, when I think about privilege, the first thing that comes to mind is white privilege, which is something I don’t benefit from.  But the exercise in class reminded me that there are many privileges that can exist and it allowed me to reflect on my class privilege.” 

“Privilege is not something to be ashamed of, but something to consider and be aware of.  I realize now that being aware of my own privilege is an important aspect of empathizing and relating to others’ hardships.”

Improvements to this particular activity have also been recognized by university and professional peers.  This has resulted in my creation of an implementation guide now available in a Departmental workgroup on Microsoft Teams, requests for after hours collaboration and resourcing stemming from conference Q & A sessions, and more formal presentation to peers such as at IU’s most recent Teaching Faculty Symposium.

Inclusivity

This story is specifically designed to further equity.  Specific to the privilege walk, accessibility in choosing a physical location for such a walk should be kept in mind.

Equity Audits importantly can be applied, however, to issues beyond diversity education. 

For instance, this model changed how I approached the use of Kahoot! quizzes in my classroom and altered my approach to Socratic engagement.  With my having a high number of international students, variation in language competency and cultural communication norms posed problems with both activities.  After analysis, I determined the need to shift my individual use of Kahoot! to a team-based one less reliant on speedreading for high scores.  I also provided speaking templates and email reservation requests to decrease performance anxiety in my use of the Socratic Method in my business law coursework.

In demonstrating a commitment to equity, students really do take note!  Do not be surprised if students approach you with their own suggestions on making activities more equitable.  I generally provide a written content overview to students prior to each class.  One day, I found a relevant video specific to school shootings I decided to incorporate in class due to world events but I had neglected to reference it in my precompiled content overview.  After class, one of my students set up a Zoom meeting with me to discuss how the content was triggering.  I immediately addressed her concerns through the mutually agreed solution of a future content disclaimer.  But we also had a great conversation on how she felt her gender and existing stereotyping of weakness in the business world made it difficult for her that day to exercise my standing allowance for students to leave the classroom at any time for any reason.  In short, equity is a process, and by opening yourself to this process, students will often happily engage with you in partnership to improve the learning experience.

Adaptability

As mentioned, the privilege walk may be specific to my area of teaching, but the questions forming the basis of this short Equity Audit can easily be applied across disciplines and modalities.

Though my primary example of a privilege walk took place in an undergraduate business ethics course, last summer I taught a graduate course for social workers.  In this course I brought in a first-time guest speaker that used terminology and perspectives traumatic to some of my students.  I immediately began the process of thinking through how equity should play a larger role in my vetting and administration of guest speakers, something applicable to all disciplines. 

Likewise, many of us are now experienced teaching in the online environment.  Do you require the use of cameras at all times?  Consider using an Equity Audit to take a look at that and other course policies.  We may not all end up with the same answers or solutions, but the process of applying equitable thinking to all dimensions of our coursework assuredly moves the needle in the right direction.