By Valentina Iturbe-LaGrave, Ph.D., Director of Inclusive Teaching Practices
The University of Denver’s Faculty Institute for Inclusive Teaching, known as FIIT, launched in 2020 through the Canvas LMS; the program has been redesigned and integrated into the Cornerstone system for enhanced user experience.
This self-paced, online institute is the first comprehensive, asynchronous, self-paced faculty program focused solely on inclusive teaching. To date, no other higher education institution requires, nor offers, any similar programming to their faculty. The program was created on an expedited timeline, consisting of over 100 pages of original content created in less than three months. This presentation will provide a detailed timeline of the design, development, implementation, and assessment of this signature program.
FIIT was designed in-house by DU experts: Dr. Valentina Iturbe-LaGrave, Dr. Christina Paguyo, and former IRISE postdoctoral research fellow Dr. Myntha Anthym. The Institute consists of eight content modules. Each module explores a specific topic through critical definitions, content to advance understanding, pedagogical tools, and pre- and post-assessments to gauge faculty understanding. Resources such as handouts, worksheets, and Tiny Guides from Cultures of Dignity are embedded throughout to introduce key socio-emotional concepts related to the topic being explored.
Designed as a “choose your path” program, FIIT is user driven. A built-in assessment provides the University with data on faculty understanding of topics both pre- and post-Institute; and likelihood faculty will implement learnings into their teaching. The new version of FIIT provides a real-time assessment tool that lets faculty compare answers with peers. We hope you engage with this vibrant resource and revisit it over time to explore new topics and pedagogical tips and tricks.