EDI module 2 journey with social identities

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Seven two-man fishing boats, of a variety of sizes, styles, materials and ages sit tied up to a weathered wood dock on a perfectly calm lake during sunset.

Image by Nan Ingraham via Unsplash 

The new EDI module continues the journey for instructors with how social identities affect their teaching  

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Written and edited Brenda Boughton

As a post-secondary educator, my work has been a journey of coming to greater appreciation of learners and the wealth of experiences and diverse perspectives and insights they bring to their studies.

Kristen Hardy, course module author

Everyone’s journey is affected by their social identities, which are the physical, social and mental characteristics that make you the person you are. They include factors like race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, disabilities or abilities, and religious beliefs. 

These identities can affect teaching behaviour and expectations in the classroom in explicit and implicit ways.  

“Understanding social identities among faculty and students” is the second of six self-study modules in the MB Hub course Incorporating EDI into Your Course and Teaching. In this module, instructors can learn to recognize their own identities and those of their students, to help them develop strategies that promote engagement and success in the classroom. The module also provides additional resources for those who wish to take their learnings further. 

A South Asian person in a wheelchair brings mini cupcakes out on a platter to four other excited disabled people of color. They are all sitting around a rooftop deck.
Image by Chona Kasinge from Disabled and here

Brandon University’s Kristen Hardy, Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Health Studies, has authored this latest course module. “I hope that those who engage with it come away with a stronger sense of how they can make connections with their students as whole, unique people, and feel more confident about their ability to use inclusive practices in their classrooms,” she says. 

The EDI course was developed by the MB Hub, at the request of six partner institutions through the Flexible Learning Advisory Group, for a shared post-secondary course in EDI fundamentals. Each partner institution is hosting the course on its learning platform, with access for over 10,000 instructional and support staff across the province.  

Partner institutions participating in the EDI series are Assiniboine Community College, Brandon University, University College of the North, Red River College Polytechnic, University of Winnipeg, and the University of Manitoba. 

The next step in the journey, Module 3 of the EDI course, is currently in development. It is titled “Power, Privilege and Oppression” and is slated for release in the fall of 2024.  

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