"Content Matters" Web Site Promotes Inclusive Syllabus Design
Katherine Friedrich

Content Matters, a growing collection of innovative inclusive syllabi, is now available on the CIRTL web site. The collection was developed by the CIRTL Diversity Team and psychology professor Mary Wyer of North Carolina State University.

In the following interview, Wyer explains why the Content Matters project is an important resource for faculty and future faculty.

Why, in your opinion, is it important to highlight inclusive courses?

There is a growing body of scholarship to suggest that. the lack of diversity in classrooms is especially hard on students who are in the minority group or groups, and that diversity. benefits all of the students.

Where did you get the idea of compiling inclusive syllabi?

The idea developed from the project that my colleagues and I did. in an ecology course. My colleagues and I revised an ecology syllabus by including material from women's and gender studies. We tested students (pre and post) for their assessment of the classroom climate. And we also tested control groups. And what we discovered was that the new material led to more positive attitudes. about the classroom.

When you look at the syllabus for the course, it look[s] like a standard ecology course. All of the information was meant to enhance the learning goals of a standard ecology course. They were able to use examples that drew on the contributions of women to ecology. That drew on the effort to teach students about how social bias distorts scientific knowledge.

There are many good-willed educators who are committed to diversity in science. We hope that they'll share their techniques and. syllabi.

What was your vision for the syllabi project?

I would hope that the syllabi project becomes a long-standing, ready resource for faculty in the sciences and in engineering who really want their courses to speak to diversity themes in their field, while at the same time relaying the core information that they need to relay in their discipline. The project really does provide people with. a wide range of materials that they can tap for use.

Some ways of incorporating diversity into a syllabus include announcing your intention to be welcoming to all students. and that can be part of the standing apparatus of the syllabi. There are [also] syllabi in the collection that do. deeper work.

What have been some of the advantages of partnering with the National Women's Studies Association?

The science and technology task force. represents an intersection of interests and expertise in applying women's studies perspectives to science and engineering. [It provides] a reservoir of talent and expertise and ideas for us.

What, in your opinion, makes a course inclusive?

Best case scenario, an inclusive course is one in which. you look at the faces of the students and you see a variety of cultures and a variety of life experiences represented. And those people's experiences and cultures are also represented in the content of the course...

What effect do you hope the collection will have on STEM practitioners?

I hope that it sparks their interest in enriching their own courses and promotes their innovation in developing newer, better, even more exciting ways to do this work.

We are currently seeking inclusive syllabi from STEM courses to add to Content Matters. Syllabi can be emailed to Katherine Friedrich, Associate Editor, at diversity@cirtl.net .

October 12, 2006

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