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Why Do We Need Inclusive Teaching if Everyone Learns in the Same Way?

Credit: iStock.com/Nazan Akpolat
Credit: iStock.com/Nazan Akpolat
Do people learn in the same way or different ways? According to cognitive science, the answer is the former. There are general principles of learning that apply to everyone, such as the importance of attention and the value of good learning strategies like spacing and retrieval practice (e.g., Weinstein et al., 2018). At the same time, some educational researchers, especially ones who emphasize diversity, equity, and inclusion, focus on differences in learning. Ives and Castillo-Montoya (2020), for example, state that “academic learning is understood as situated within a particular sociohistorical context and shaped by sociocultural identities and practices” (p. 140). By this definition, learning is as unique as the cultural backgrounds of each student. Thus, to assume that there is a normative way in which students learn is to estrange a certain segment of the class, and the groups that are traditionally marginalized are most likely to experience this fate. Thus, we have numerous resources on inclusive teaching (e.g., Finklestein et al., 2021; Sathy & Hogan, 2022).

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