Appreciative and non-discriminatory communication and interaction is fundamental for a positive learning environment and a constructive approach to diversity. Here, you can learn more about the following topics:

• Respectful learning environments
• Gender sensitive, non-discriminatory language
• Group work and diversity

01. Respectful learning environments

Only mutual respect can create a classroom atmosphere that can promote each individual student’s learning. In order to foster respectful interactions and establish a welcoming learning atmosphere, it is fundamental that you are approachable as an instructor and that you show interest and attentiveness towards your students. [1].

For teaching staff, this would mean the following:

• Engage in dialogue with your students and consider their personal situations.
• Try to accept students unconditionally and show them appreciation. Take students seriously when they encounter challenges and difficulties during the learning process.
• Accompany students during the learning process by allowing them to actively acquire knowledge from the course. Avoid merely passing on your knowledge.

Be empathetic and try to put yourself in your students' shoes. Try to understand what might help them achieve the learning goals.[1]

An appreciative atmosphere is created on three different levels:

1. Academic-cognitive level

One way to improve the academic-cognitive environment is by setting high yet achievable expectations and formulating them clearly. Demands made of students should not be too high or too low.

2. Structural-organizational level

Structure your courses so that students know what they are expected to achieve by the end. To do this, you should ask yourself in advance:

• What knowledge do you want students to acquire?
• How is teaching organized?
• What kind of commitment do you expect from students?
• What exactly will you cover in which teaching unit?
• What sections will be covered in the exam?

3. Social-communicative level

Try to set your own standards for respectful interactions in a trusting environment in your classes. This is the foundation of an appreciative atmosphere. For this purpose, it could be helpful to brainstorm with the students to formulate common goals or to establish guidelines for holding discussions with each other. [1]

02. Gender-sensitive, non-discriminatory language

To set the stage for the topic of gender-sensitive or anti-discriminatory language, we ask you to read the following short story:

A father and son are riding in a car. They have an accident and they are both injured. They are taken to a hospital where a well-known surgeon works. The operating room has been prepared for the boy and they are ready to begin when the surgeon enters the room, turns pale and says, "I can't operate, this is my son!" (https://genderdings.de/gender/gendern/ only in german)

Were you a little confused at first when you read the short story? Perhaps you wondered if it was about a gay couple. Many will only notice upon further reflection that the well-known surgeon could also be a well-known female surgeon and thus the boy's mother.

This is only a brief example that shows that language and other social norms do have an impact on our perception of facts and thus require sensitivity.

Background

In most cases of social discrimination, language plays a key role. Language is a primary means of discrimination, but it also becomes an object of discrimination and, moreover, a medium for combating discrimination.  [2]

03. Group work and diversity

Many of you likely already use group work in your teaching because it has so much to offer and is relatively easy to implement.

In the following, we would like to show how group work can also be used specifically with regard to diversity-sensitive university instruction.

For your course, it is first important to ask yourself:

What categories and characteristics have you identified in students and in yourself with respect to diversity and how they can influence your teaching methods? [3]

First of all, it should be mentioned that diversity can be divided into different dimensions:

• Personality
• Inner dimension (relatively unchangeable characteristics such as skin color, age, nationality, etc.)
• External dimension (relatively changeable characteristics, such as place of residence, work experience, religion, etc.)

• Organizational dimension (changeable characteristics, such as degree or major) [4]

Diversity is often invisible!

In light of this classification and the large number of various diversity characteristics, you as a professor or lecturer will probably already be aware that diversity is not always visible from the outset. Initially, this makes it difficult to divide students into groups that are as heterogeneous as possible. However, you can start by asking yourself which diversity characteristics can influence your instruction and to what extent certain dimensions can be noted for this purpose. A study by Maassen & Ruschin (2018) revealed that instructors rated the organizational dimension, such as the location of one’s bachelor's degree, the major, or even the semester, as particularly relevant. The external and internal dimensions hardly played a role (pp. 449). Perhaps you could ask about these dimensions before the next session of group work and thus do justice to the disparate levels of prior knowledge and various interests or perspectives. According to Massen & Ruschin (2018), this also makes students feel seen by the teachers. In addition, strengths and weaknesses can be dealt with openly, which promotes a sense of community and synergy.

By the end of the course, the learning process will have been enhanced for all students and it will have a positive impact on their entire degree program. [3]

Group composition

You are probably asking yourself whether the other diversity dimensions also have an influence on teaching and thus on learning success. In addition to the characteristics of the organizational dimension, which are directly relevant, the characteristics of other dimensions can also have an indirect effect on educational success. It is important to avoid a situation in which only the students who already know each other get together for group work. To create random groups, there are many simple options:

• Counting off is certainly well known. The advantage is that it is extremely simple, understandable and quick.
• Would you like the groups to solve different problems? Then simply prepare several slips of paper with the group name and the respective task and then let the students draw a slip of paper from a hat. The students can find each other via the group name and get right to work on the task at hand.
• Do you want the process to be livelier? You could ask students to sort themselves by their shoe size and only then count them off into groups.
• Likewise, you can have students form groups by playing the Mayer-Meyer-Maier game. According to the size of the group, each family must consist of different family members who have to come together to form the "right" family. The Mayer family must not be confused with the Meyer family or the Maier family. Depending on the number of groups, other families, such as the Mayr family, can be added. Chaos is desired!
• A fun idea with a little surprise – affix stickers of different colors under the chairs before the class starts.

However, if you actually want to create groups according to certain characteristics, it is difficult to leave the groupings to chance. You can create heterogeneous groups using a targeted process. As an example, if the proportion of male students in your seminar is low, you can make sure that they do not all end up in the same group. The same applies to other characteristics such as native language, nationality, etc. But it is not always easy to discern which characteristics students share. Of course, there are also characteristics that the students do not want to reveal. In one of the first sessions, you can speak openly with the students and express your desire to make the course as diversity-sensitive as possible. Students can also be addressed with the necessary sensitivity by offering to talk and by taking concerns seriously.

Sources

[1] Reitzer, Christine (2014): Erfolgreich lehren: Ermutigen, motivieren, begeistern. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, Berlin.

[2] Reisigl, Martin (2017):  Sprachwissenschaftliche Diskriminierungsforschung. In: Scherr, Albert; El-Mafaalani, Aladin; Yüksel, Gökçen (Hrsg.): Handbuch Diskriminierung, Springer, Wiesbaden

[3] Maassen, Kathrin & Sylvia Ruschin (2018): Diversitätsorientierte Lernumgebung: Heterogene Lernvoraussetzungen für Gruppenarbeit nutzen. Ein wirtschaftsingenieurwissenschaftliches Lehrprojekt an der Universität Duisburg-Essen. In: die hochschullehre. Interdisziplinäre Zeitschrift für Studium und Lehre. Beiträge zu Praxis, Praxisforschung und Forschung. 2018, p. 443-458.

[4] Boomers, S., & Nitschke A. K. (2013). Diversität und Lehre. Empfehlungen zur Gestaltung von Lehrveranstaltungen mit heterogenen Studierendengruppen (Hrsg.), Gemeinschaftsprojekt der Arbeitsbereiche Qualitätssicherung in Studium und Lehre des FB Geschichts- und Kulturwissenschaften und des FB Politik- und Sozialwissenschaften. Freie Universität Berlin. https://portal.uni-freiburg.de/gleichstellung/Lehre/fu-berlin-lehrveranstaltungen-mit-heterogenen-studierendengruppen.pdf. (last accessed: 14^th August 2020)