A Mixed-Methods Research Design to Advance Inclusive and Equitable Teaching

Abstract

We designed this project to advance inclusive and equitable teaching by leveraging data to motivate, inform, and tailor teaching development initiatives to the varied needs and resources of academic departments. We developed an innovative framework and mixed methods research design to systematically assess inclusive and equitable teaching at the student, course, department, and institution levels. In the context of a decentralized institution, we partnered with academic departments to collect data about their current practices, existing resources, and needs for advancing inclusive and equitable teaching through a student survey, analysis of course syllabi, and interviews with instructors. We shared and discussed results with partners in academic departments to support and inform departmental change initiatives. We highlight how synthesizing findings across multiple levels of analysis using a mixed methods design provides a new perspective on the perennial issue of the uptake of inclusive and equitable teaching practices in higher education. We discuss lessons learned and future directions with the hope that the framework and/or the research methodology can be a template for other researchers or educational developers to support implementation and sustainability of inclusive and equitable teaching practices.