In the rapidly evolving landscape of education, there is an increasing need to create inclusive learning environments that cater to the diverse needs of students. As the student population grows in numbers and dimensions of diversity, educators must strive to design learning experiences that foster academic, cultural, and social growth for all learners. Unfortunately, there is little practical guidance available to university teachers on how to design (and implement) more inclusive learning.
Many curriculum design models focus on the learning activities and/or assessment areas but do not centre values, context and evaluation. The pressing need for a more comprehensive, inclusive approach to designing learning environment and experiences has led me to create my own approach called the ‘roots to shoots’ inclusive learning design approach, which I explain in detail in the book Inclusive Learning Design in Higher Education – A Practical Guide to Creating Equitable Learning Experiences (Routledge).
My roots to shoots approach is an invitation to tackle learning design from the perspective of inclusivity, intentionally, from the start and in all aspects. It is a more holistic, comprehensive way of designing learning, to support every student to thrive. It can be used to design courses and modules from scratch - especially to create its initial overall, big picture - or to refresh or enhance existing courses and modules. It challenges educators to critically assess the inclusivity of their teaching design and practice(s) from the outset, rather than as an afterthought.
