Engaging in Ongoing Self-Inquiry
As instructors seek to understand their students’ backgrounds and needs, they should reflect on their own identities. Research shows that a multi-cultural competency approach to teaching starts with self-awareness (Gwendolyn Lee-Thomas, 2008). Self-inquiry can help instructors identify how their teaching practices might unknowingly perpetuate dominant beliefs and biases related to privileged and marginalized social identities (Vera Stenhouse, 2012). Thus, self-inquiry can inform instructors’ approach to teaching and guide their decisions about curriculum. The resources in this section include guidance for reflecting on how educators’ individual backgrounds and experiences can affect their teaching attitudes, assumptions and behaviors.