At Caltech, training for teaching assistants (TAs) provides specific tips to new instructors on how to support all students. This training includes tips on dealing with issues related to cultural, ethnic, and gender differences, supporting students with disabilities, and how to avoid creating a "chilly climate" in the classroom or lab. The following sections include modified excerpts from TA training and the TA Handbook (pdf), and may be of interest to you.
Links and Contact
Please click on one of these links to be navigated to another page within this site that will give you more detailed information regarding Cultural Issues and Students with Disabilities.
Cultural Issues
Your primary contact
regarding disability issues for undergraduate and graduate students: |
Dr. Barbara Green Associate Dean of Students x6351 |
Students may receive free assessment
for Attention Deficit Disorder or other learning disabilities if
referred by the Student Counseling Center. Students should contact the Counseling Center for an appointment at ext. 8331. |
|
Gender and Ethnic Group
Some studies indicate that women and members of several ethnic groups may lose interest and self-confidence because of stereotyping behavior by professors, TA's, advisors and peers, who collectively generate a chilly climate for learning. If you believe that a certain “type” of student will fail, that expectation may become self-fulfilling. Stereotyping of situations and individuals begins at an early age. By the time one reaches the university level, it may be so ingrained in the behaviors of both men and women that, unless it is brought to our attention and we make a conscious effort to stop it, the behavior perpetuates itself unnoticed.
So, examine your own attitude. Observe your behavior and that of others around you. Ask yourself whether you or they inadvertently treat students differently on the basis of gender, cultural background, or some other classification.
Avoid behaviors that contribute to a chilly climate:
- Avoid disparaging (and false) generalizations about any given group (for example, about women’s intellectual abilities or professional potential). Avoid comments that indirectly, and incorrectly, imply that members of a given group are not as competent as others.
- Avoid off-hand questioning of a female or an ethnic minority student’s seriousness of purpose or academic commitment, even (especially) in a joking style.
- When advising women or minority students, be sure you do not unconsciously set less challenging academic goals for them.
- Never use sexist or racial humor as a classroom device. If a student uses such humor in class, you should state politely, but clearly, that it is in poor taste. At minimum, do not “go along with” such humor in order to be friendly or nice. Saying simply “remarks like that are inappropriate” can go a long way toward eliminating gender or racial humor, and send a strong, positive message to the other students.
- Obviously, never refer to a woman’s (or man’s) physical attributes in a classroom or laboratory situation.
Suggestions
Create a welcoming learning environment for all your students. Encourage interaction and respectful discussion. Put people of different genders and backgrounds in the examples you use to explain principles. Not only does this help everyone better relate to your examples, your creativity can make the principles more interesting.