Taking the Pulse: CRP and UDL in the Faculty of Health
Something good is growing roots in the Faculty of Health. Seeds have been dropping for years, doing their work within the soil.
That soil is rich with recognition that academic institutions were founded upon the mission to support the intellectual pursuits of elites and that the implications continue today. Moreover, that the daily decisions made by administrators, faculty, and staff – which can feel like fixed truths - rest upon values, beliefs, and assumptions. These insights, vast though they are, can also leave us energized to plant new seeds, toward facilitating the capacity contribution of all students, staff, and faculty. That energy is critical for the work needed to redress the systems of educational inequities we create and sustain. I’d like to share some news of the seeds that have taken root in the Faculty of Health.
In the spring of 2021, the Centre for Learning and Teaching offered a retreat to Faculty of Health, that served as an introduction to Culturally Responsive Pedagogies and Universal Design for Learning. Over 90 faculty members attended, and it was repeated that summer, given the interest among those faculty members who couldn't make the initial offering. While I don't always value quantifying what are rich qualitative experiences, I am struck by these numbers, because I think they speak to an interest within the Faculty. And where there is an interest among the masses, there can be a groundswell of support. So we sought to nurture that growth, and since the spring of 2022, the Growing the Garden of Teaching & Learning Community of Practice has hosted learning events, informal chats, and online reading circles, and created a Teaching & Learning Sharepoint site, all of which have continued the dialogue, via multiple methods, around the core principles and concrete practices underpinning CRP, UDL, and trauma-aware education.
At the same time, the Faculty of Health Inclusion and Equity Committee had been working on a Student Success Framework, and brought it forward for discussion to Faculty Council, the decision-making body for the Faculty of Health, in the fall of 2022. This document is an aspirational and action-based expression of commitments in the Faculty of Health including these, under the heading, Support through how and what we teach:
The Faculty of Health prioritizes including diverse perspectives and pedagogies across all disciplines and teaching diversity inclusiveness and accessibility.
Action #1: support and promote culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) which applies decolonizing anti racist an anti-oppressive theories and practices in the design, teaching, an evaluation of courses
Action #2: seek to become inherently accessible, by developing and addressing accessibility directly with attention to learners, instructors, an institutional facilities slash supports
Action #3: support and promote modalities for learning and applying universal design for learning (UDL) learner centred framework, the core principles of which—multiple means of engagement representation and action and expression—are each situated for every learner within their cultural framework
These are unequivocal commitments on the part of the Faculty of Health, translating what can be abstract concepts of equity and social justice into daily work to meet named responsibilities.
Additionally, in the fall of 2022, a strategic planning process was underway in the Faculty of Health, with renewal of values, focus areas, and strategic projects. It’s not insignificant that two measures identify projects focussed on the advancement of teaching & learning and increasing the capacity of faculty to incorporate CRP and UDL. Their inclusion rests upon influence from the soil - that groundswell - as well as the environmental conditions – the leadership heeding the call and understanding that institutions are responsible for addressing equity. Inclusion in the strategic plan has been instrumental in maintaining focus and visibility on the teaching & learning sphere with a distinct commitment to CRP and UDL.
In spring 2023, we set out to benchmark understanding and integration of CRP and UDL in the teaching and learning of the Faculty of Health. We developed a survey asking questions about obstacles and opportunities and efforts at meeting what we consider to be foundational actions of CRP and UDL. Our ‘pulse check’ was completed by 49% of faculty members, and we are taking forward into discussions regarding supports and resources, as well as workload, the needs, concerns, and questions shared by faculty.
We know that equity needs to be understood as a structural issue requiring systemic change. We also know that inequities are perpetuated through the spoken and written language of policies and procedures, and as well as their expression through behaviours. At the base of it all are our values, beliefs, and assumptions, always operating and available for our reflection. These initiatives in the Faculty of Health are calls to action at each of the levels of individual, group, and Faculty, together providing several inroads to have dialogue and enact transformative change; they are our efforts to sow what we want to reap. We welcome the chance to share through this Focus blog. Thank you for the invitation. =)
Marion Brown
Associate Dean Academic, Faculty of Health