Inclusion in the curriculum: How to weave diversity into online teaching

There is a fairly popular billboard that shouts “Unsee this!” at drivers along highways, enticing local businesses to rent that billboard space. Yet, no one who drives by will be able to unsee it. This same idea applies to fundamental theories of inclusion when applied in the higher education classroom. Once students “see” inclusion as core to their field of study, the workplace, and daily life, it will be very difficult for them to overlook, or “unsee,” these basic principles in their practice as professionals after graduation. Educators use theoretical frameworks in foundational and core courses to help students feel and recognize the pulse of the ethos of their given field. Once students learn to feel this pulse and “see” the their field or profession as a growing organism they have the power to influence, they become players in designing a more diverse and flexible workplace and creating increasingly inclusive services and spaces.