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College of the Canyons Library
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Resources
Home > Academics > Online Education > Faculty Support > Resources > Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Resources
College of the Canyons Library
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Resources

Home > Academics > Online Education > Faculty Support > Resources > Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Resources

Welcome!

This page includes a collection of resources that support College of the Canyons' mission in championing diversity, equity, inclusion, and global responsibility, while providing clear pathways in an engaging, supportive environment where all students can successfully achieve their educational goals. Many of the materials included here are Open Educational Resources (OER), which means that you may freely and legally use these materials at no cost and without needing to ask permission. More information on using or developing OER, visit www.canyons.edu/oer

two students smiling and talking in classroomCulturally Responsive Pedagogy

Culturally responsive pedagogy acknowledges the cultural heritage of different ethnic and racial groups and bridges meaningfulness between the students’ lived experiences and the college classroom. It involves putting students first in the consideration of course development in implementation. It also means operating in a student-focused classroom, being keenly aware of the student demographic, along with the processes of sharing course materials. Culturally Relevant pedagogies incorporate a critical lens to understanding the cultural contexts and realities from which our students come. It involves a constant self-reflection on unconscious and conscious biases as well as shifting trends in student cultures and trends. The Equity-Minded practitioner has the ability to adapt their knowledge to the specific context in which they are practicing, always with student success in mind (Williams-Paez, 2020).

  • Culturally Responsive Teaching OER Textbook

    Culturally Responsive Teaching (OER Textbook - PDF), written by Williams-Paez, Pamela (2020) provides an overview of culturally relevant pedagogy and strategies for creating classrooms that are culturally responsive, looking at the development of interpersonal relationships, our curriculum, our values and beliefs, classroom rules and policies, learning-centered syllabus and equitable classroom facilitation. This course includes resources and opportunities for engagement specific to College of the Canyons

    College of the Canyons "Culturally Responsive Teaching" Course

    Culturally Responsive Teaching (NC.EDUC-104) is a free College of the Canyons course developed by the Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning. This course offers participants the opportunity to read and discuss with colleagues, strategies for identifying ways to craft an equitable classroom and course syllabus. This is a hands-on class and a great way to foster collegiality and support, while learning how to make our classes the best possible experience for students. 

    @ONE "Equity & Culturally Responsive Online Teaching" Course

    Equity & Culturally Responsive Online Teaching (@ONE course) guides participants through a critical journey of becoming an equity-minded educator with the goal of cultivating inclusive experiences that empower all students to achieve their full intellectual capacity. As a participant in this course, you will apply principles of intersectionality, critical race theory, and culturally responsive teaching to your online course. In a collaborative peer-to-peer learning environment, you will analyze your position and how it influences your core teaching values, interrogate the power at play in your online teaching practices, and leave the course with an equity-minded syllabus and an action plan to continue to center diversity, equity, and inclusion in your teaching and institution.

multi-ethnic and generational group of women standing together laughingInclusivity in Disciplines

Recent research highlights the representation of historically marginalized groups in many popular and widely-used textbooks and in discipline specific materials. Ongoing research and initiatives attempt to improve and bridge the gap in the area of representation and diversity in higher education. Considering inclusivity helps us to identify whether the stories and examples we share and the course textbooks and materials we use accurately reflect the diverse populations and experiences in the United States and of the students in our classes. 

Woman sitting at a table smilingEquity Rubrics

A variety of rubrics and guiding principles have been developed to assist instructors in improving their resources and classroom environments with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. For example, the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC) Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI) suggests that to design and present resources always with students in mind, we should: 

  • Ensure content supports students and provides space for, and valuing of, their own contribution to collective learning and knowledge.
  • Strive for meaningful inclusion of diverse populations to ensure that their perspectives and their experiences are reflected and valued.
  • Develop resources that contribute to a learning environment that facilitates student learning and growth.
  • Support students as they examine society as a system and the role that they play in perpetuating or changing the system.
  • Facilitate students’ ability to challenge their own knowledge and opinions, process the discomfort, and, if warranted, choose to change.
  • Assist students in understanding how information is created, validated, and disseminated, including their role in this process, and how to critically examine evidence and responsibly share information.

The Equity Rubrics collection below includes resources, guides and recommendations that you are free to adopt and use. 

Open sign on windowOpen Pedagogy

Open pedagogy views students as "co-creators of knowledge" and as "critical and reflective participants in the learning process" as described by Paulo Freire in "Pedagogy of the Oppressed." From this perspective, the classroom becomes an anti-oppressive space where students actively construct meaning. Beyond cost savings and open access, utilizing open pedagogy to provide free alternatives to a fee-based textbook also allows us to apply culturally responsive pedagogy focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. In adopting or creating open learning resources, we choose what images are utilized in our text, whose stories are told, what history is revealed. 

Inclusive Images That Are Openly Licensed*

Want to Learn More?

Faculty Resource Course - Canvas Studio

Exploring OER & Open Pedagogy COC Faculty Resource Course

This resource course contains resources and guides on finding and using Open Educational Resources to support student learning and engagement! Explore this course, to learn how to use, find, and embed OER:

  1. What is OER? 
  2. How does using OER lead to student success?
  3. How does OER support anti-racist and equity-based pedagogy? 
  4. How do I find OER?
  5. What is legal to use? 

*Source: “What are good resources for finding diverse images of people?” by Liz Yata is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0