2023-2024 Inclusive Design Award Recipient Announced

The CTLR and the Advisory Group on Disability, Access, and Inclusion (AGDAI) wish to share with you the wonderful news that Olga Parshina, Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology, has won the Inclusive Design for Learning Award. The numerous nominations submitted for this year’s award highlighted the efforts of faculty who have implemented thoughtful design choices in their teaching. These efforts have increased students’ access to productive learning and have had a transformative impact on student engagement. 

While student nominators provided inspiring examples of inclusive teaching across the curriculum, the nominations for Olga stood out. They noted how important and helpful it was that Olga established and effectively communicated clear academic standards and course policies as well as grading rubrics that were easy to understand. Students described how a simple “Help” button on Olga’s Canvas course made it possible for them to leave anonymous feedback about the classroom environment, pace of lectures, and office hours availability. And students were impressed that Olga swiftly responded to the feedback received through this channel to address student concerns transparently and with real-time adjustments to her approach. They were particularly appreciative of the framing Olga used in her Introduction to Psychology course (PSYCH 105), starting each class with a question of the day based on assigned readings and the topic to be discussed. This approach drew students into each class period in its first moments, and then Olga kept them engaged throughout the session, using inclusive strategies such as role plays, debates, game-based learning, and low-stakes writing activities. In reflecting on the multiple access points Olga provided for students to dig into the material and the range of practices Olga embraced to increase flexibility and equity for student learning, one nominator wrote, “I felt as if this class did the best in diversifying the course content material to make it navigable and comprehensive.”

We look forward to celebrating Olga and learning from her inclusive design strategies in a lunchtime session on Wednesday, February 19th in the CTLR Lounge. We are excited to bring into this conversation the rest of the faculty who received nominations for this award. They will have helpful, inclusive approaches to share as we head into a new semester.

Please stay tuned for the registration details for this February 19th professional development session. And in the meantime, please join us in congratulating and thanking Olga Parshina.

Wishing you well and hoping you stay warm,

Amy Morsman, for the CTLR and AGDAI