The Provost’s Teaching for Equity & Inclusion Faculty Course

Course Mission

This faculty course is designed to raise awareness of potential inequities both faculty and students face when engaged in the process of teaching and learning. Through dialogue and self-reflection, participants will interrogate traditional approaches to teaching and learning in effort to reshape their own teaching practices. This course aims to help faculty reflect upon and identify possible changes to address specific student learning needs in their course context and/or curriculum. A wide range of teaching frameworks, stories, and perspectives will be presented via guest speakers, short readings, and explorations of student learning data from UC Berkeley contexts. Participants will have the opportunity to practice inclusive and equitable teaching techniques with a group of their peers using collaborative learning strategies like peer review of instructional materials, interactive learning techniques, and arts-based exercises.

This course will be offered in Spring 2026 and enrollment is limited to 20 Senate faculty, which includes both faculty in the Professor and Teaching Professor series. Senate faculty from all ranks are invited to apply. Applications will be accepted until Friday, November 20 , 2025. The Center for Teaching & Learning will notify applicants of their acceptance in early December. Any questions about the program or application can be directed to teaching@berkeley.edu

Recognition

Faculty who participate throughout the Spring semester will be provided a course improvement grant of $3000 and a letter recognizing their commitment to teaching signed by Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Benjamin Hermalin in support of their next merit review.

Participating faculty are expected to complete the following in order to receive full recognition:

Attend course meetings and engage in the learning experience alongside a group of their peers.
Submit a revised course syllabus.
Prepare and submit a 1 page cover letter reflecting on their experience in the course and how it has shaped their revised syllabus.

Campus Partners

This course is a collaborative effort between the Office of the Provost, the Division of Equity & Inclusion, the Division of Undergraduate Education, and the Center for Teaching and Learning. It is also affiliated with UC Berkeley's Thriving Initiatives.

Overview

Course Learning Objectives

Explore teaching frameworks designed to enhance learning for students of color and students with disabilities as a starting point for strengthening your skill set as an equity-oriented teacher
Reflect on how your positionality informs your teaching and impacts student learning and experiences
Develop a community of like-minded educators around shared teaching values

Course Schedule

Participants will be invited to attend 8 meetings scheduled on Thursdays from 10am to 12pm in the Academic Innovation Studio (Dwinelle 117) from January through April.

Each meeting will spotlight an evidence-based teaching framework, strategy, or point of inquiry that advances our collective understanding of equitable approaches to teaching. Faculty will engage with each topic across teaching and learning contexts and identify one or more of these strategies to adapt in their own teaching practice. Participants can expect to spend 2-3 hours of combined preparation and meeting time every two weeks, which is a maximum total of ~24 hours for the entirety of the Spring semester.

Course Meeting Dates & Session Topics

January 22 - Unpacking our teaching values as individuals and as a community of educators

February 5 - Using data to learn about your students and inform your teaching practice

February 19 - How does your course content, discipline, or teaching practice endure legacies of racism? And what can you do about it?

March 5 - Active learning, instructor identity, and instructional behaviors to cultivate a sense of belonging

March 19 - Mid-semester check-in & Community syllabus workshop

April 2 - Instructor positioning in/and advancing equity in assessment

April 16 - Universal Design for Learning and its relationship to disability justice

April 30 - Our teaching values revisited and advancing equity and inclusion outside of the program

Inclusive Community

Applicants are encouraged to communicate a request for accommodation directly on their application form when prompted. Participating faculty can submit a request for accommodation to course facilitators at any point during the semester.

The course facilitators are committed to creating an inclusive learning environment where learners with different experiences and perspectives - expressed through race and ethnicity, culture, gender identities and sexual orientations, political and social views, religious and spiritual beliefs, learning and physical abilities, language and geographic characteristics, age, veteran status, and social or economic classes - feel welcomed and prepared to effectively engage in this course. We welcome requests for accommodations and observations and/or recommendations for greater inclusion and access to learning.

All community members of this course - including participants, facilitators, and stakeholders - will respect all members with regards to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition, ancestry, marital status, age, sexual orientation, citizenship, and/or service in the uniformed services. By engaging with this course, participants demonstrate a commitment to advancing a more human-centered approach to teaching and learning.

This program prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities, and prohibits discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin.