C-I and Culturally Responsive, Antiracist, Anti-Oppression and/or Restorative Justice Pedagogies

While UDL provides a framework for inclusivity in teaching practices, these practices highlight that when designing courses for student success, histories of power, disenfranchisement, marginalization, and oppression carry with them a particular set of academic challenges for students. Another common question we hear is, “what does C-I do to help me support and mentor my Black students?” or a similar question posed about Indigenous students, other students of color, etc. 

Disclaimer: We do not believe that C-I pedagogy is the single-dose measure to create justice and equal opportunity in the American education system. While we obviously believe in its efficacy as a strong educational framework, we also don’t want to oversell the opportunities it provides. C-I alone will not create inclusion and equity. But it is one tool in your toolkit to further the cause if this is an area that you are committed to. The toolkit C-I provides focuses primarily on how your process of teaching—particularly the ways you communicate, the communication skills you’re helping your students foster, and the iterative feedback you provide—reflect, engage, and perform those skills in a deep and meaningful way. 

C-I is a pedagogy that promotes teachers’ self-reflection and intentional communication.

When it comes to social justice in the classroom it can be difficult to separate a declared intent to apply inclusive, culturally responsive, antiracist, and/or other approaches from the microaggressions that occur despite the best of intentions. Here, thinking about our own role as communicators in the classroom becomes helpful.