What diversity looks like in a class
Any group of students differs in ways that are easy to see and in many that are not. Students come with different languages, cultures, ages, family situations, abilities, prior schooling, religious beliefs, gender identities, financial circumstances and reasons for studying. In an open online course, the range can be especially wide, because there may be no admission process and learners may join from many countries.
Diversity describes this variety; inclusion describes whether the course actually works for the people in it, so that each student can take part, be treated with respect and have a fair chance to learn. A class can be diverse without being inclusive, if students from some groups are present but ill-served. This article concentrates on how a course can reflect varied students, and what part openness plays.
Varied backgrounds
Courses carry assumptions about what students already know and have experienced. A course for adults returning to study may assume more life experience than one for school leavers, but it may also wrongly assume time, money or family support. Examples that rely on particular holidays, sports, foods, household arrangements or school systems can puzzle students who do not share them.
Some practical habits help:
- Vary the examples. Draw on a range of settings, names and situations rather than a single default.
- State assumptions. Say what background knowledge the course expects, and where to find it. Unstated expectations favor those who already know them.
- Offer different routes. Provide optional extra explanation for newcomers and extension tasks for those who want more.
- Avoid unnecessary jargon, and define terms the first time they appear.
- Plan for different circumstances. Flexible deadlines and recorded sessions help students with jobs, caring duties or time-zone differences.
Open resources make revision easier. Because open licenses allow changes, a teacher who finds that an example puzzles students can replace it. The change can be shared so that other teachers benefit.
Varied languages
Many students study in a language that is not their first. Course designers can help by writing plainly, defining terms, supplying glossaries and providing captions or transcripts for audio and video. When resources are openly licensed, others can translate them, and learners may find a version in a language they use at home. Support for second-language learners improves comprehension for many students, including native speakers who find dense text hard.
Multilingual classes are also a resource. Students who know more than one language bring perspectives and skills, and a course that invites them to use all their languages for thinking and discussion can benefit everyone, as long as it is practical to do so. How much to allow the use of a student’s first language in assessment is a matter on which educators differ and depends on the course aims.
Varied identities
Students also differ in how they identify, whether by culture, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexuality, disability or other characteristics. A course that reflects this does not need to focus on identity in every lesson. It can still do a lot through quieter choices:
- Representation. Show a range of people as authors, experts and examples, avoiding the assumption that any group is the default.
- Respectful language. Use terms that people use for themselves, and keep to current, widely accepted usage while recognizing that preferences vary.
- Forms and systems. Avoid asking for information a course does not need, and offer flexible options where information is requested. Names, pronouns and titles are sometimes a source of difficulty in online systems.
- Discussion norms. Set clear expectations for respectful behavior, moderate actively and make it easy to report problems.
- Avoiding tokenism. Do not ask individual students to speak for a whole group.
Courses aimed at a worldwide audience face a particular challenge: norms and sensitivities differ between countries. Clear and courteous rules, and a willingness to listen to feedback, are better than a rigid assumption that one set of norms is universal.
Varied abilities and needs
Inclusion includes students with disabilities and learning differences. Features such as captions, text alternatives for images, clear headings and readable layout help many students at once. Following established web accessibility standards is a useful starting point, and offering materials in alternative formats allows students to choose what works for them. Universal design, the practice of planning for variety from the beginning, tends to be cheaper and more effective than retrofitting.
What openness adds, and what it does not
Open education adds a few concrete things to this work. It permits revision, translation and adaptation. It allows many contributors to improve a resource. It makes examination possible, since anyone can read the materials and point out problems. It also allows students to take part in building content, an approach sometimes called open pedagogy, which can bring their experiences into the course.
It does not ensure inclusion. An open course can be written entirely from one perspective, lack basic accessibility, or host discussions that are unwelcoming. Open licenses give permission to improve things, but somebody must actually do it. Diversity and inclusion also depend on how people behave and on the rules of the institution, not only on materials.
Asking students
The most reliable guide to whether a course works for its students is to ask them. Short, anonymous surveys, open comment boxes, feedback channels and conversations with student representatives can reveal problems the designer cannot see. Responding visibly to feedback builds trust and encourages more of it.
A modest conclusion
Open education offers useful tools for courses that reflect a varied student body: the freedom to adapt, translate and improve materials, and the possibility of sharing improvements. The result depends on the decisions of the people who design and teach the course, and on listening to the students it serves. Evidence on how much these steps improve learning is still developing, so it is sensible to treat them as good practice rather than guaranteed fixes.