How to use this Toolkit effectively

NorQuest College is committed to the journey of becoming an anti-racist institution. As such, every individual working at the college is accountable for their role in working towards this goal. In line with a key objective of the NorQuest College Strategic Plan, leaders at different levels are expected to adopt and integrate an anti-racist commitment in their approaches and decision-making processes. Instructors, who develop the most impactful relationships with students, will be adopting and embedding anti-racism in their pedagogy. This work also advances the Deans’ Joint Commitment to Anti-Racism for Equity.

Data collected from interviews and consultation with students, instructors and staff contributed to the development of the Anti-Racist Curriculum and Pedagogy Review Toolkit and this review tool. This tool will provide a starting point for instructors to adopt and enhance an anti-racist pedagogy in their respective courses and classrooms. In some cases, instructors may already have their own toolkit and can use this to supplement their own practice.

Purpose of the Review Tool

The Anti-Racism Curriculum and Pedagogy Review tool has been designed to help instructors review and make changes to curriculum and teaching practices using an anti-racist lens. It promotes the internalization of an anti-racist pedagogy in line with NorQuest’s Anti-Racist Curriculum Development and Pedagogy Toolkit and Anti-Racism Policy.

This tool addresses four key domains related to instructor practice in the context of anti-racist pedagogy. Focusing on specific aspects of instructors’ roles and practice, it also provides references to additional resources that may support instructors improve their anti-racist pedagogy. The tool offers a range of ideas to support instructors in the process of modifying their course/teaching practices.

How to use the Review Tool

Instructors will use this tool as a guide to examine their curricula and make or suggest modifications and improvements in course design and teaching practices utilizing anti-racist education approaches. The tool provides a set of criteria to assist instructors in critically reviewing and improving their curriculum, teaching, and classroom management approaches to align with anti-racism principles and philosophy. Instructors can apply it during pre-implementation, implementation and post-implementation phases of curriculum review to identify and address gaps, leading to more inclusive experiences and outcomes for all learning participants at NorQuest College.

The Anti-Racism Curriculum and Pedagogy Review tool is a high-level resource that will be immediately applicable across all programs and courses at the College. In the future, additional discipline-specific tools will be created for major program areas across NorQuest College.

Step 1: Preparing to be an anti-racist educator

Understand and acknowledge your positionality (worldview you bring to the course and teaching, and how your identity/ies locate you socially, politically etc.).

Understand unconscious bias and how it affects the learner experience, as well as classroom interactions, feedback and assessments. Create a personalized land acknowledgement. Design or plan for classroom and teaching practices that are inclusive of all students.
Step 2: Evaluating and Selecting Reference Texts and Resources for the Course Consider the context of the class that will be engaging with the material and if your materials are representative of learners. Resources such as videos, slides, podcasts, games, images, textbooks should include diverse representations of people from racialized groups including Indigenous, Black and Asian, as well as other ethnicities. Analyze author’s bias and consider power dynamics in your choice of curriculum resources. Consider using OERs (Open Education Resources), which are free resources for learners making them more accessible. OERs can also promote representation and can empower the co-creation of knowledge.
Step 3: Establishing and Maintaining an Anti-Racist Classroom Create a sense of community in the classroom, and an environment where students feel safe, included, and comfortable. Build expectations and classroom culture:
  • Set clear expectations and communication guidelines to provide a safe space for students to express themselves while assuming responsibility for the protection of other participants
  • Co-develop with students, practices to address conflicts between students or between students and instructors.
  • Reiterate/communicate your classroom’s culture and expectations for discussion
  • Student-Led Classroom Agreement
  • Communication Guidelines for Anti-Racist Discussions
Ensure that learners (and instructors) understand the College’s processes and protocols for racist incidents, whether they are a victim, persecutor, or witness. When responding to racist comments and microaggressions, ask for clarification on
the comment and challenge the person to consider the impact of their words.
Step 4: Implementing a Critical Anti-Racist Discussion & Assessment Pedagogy

Use a facilitatory rather than directional model/approach to promote critical engagement and dialogue.

Consciously manage power relations by ensuring that one individual or group does not dominate the discussion or dialogue.

Use appropriate prompts and procedure to spark anti-racist discussions/dialogue.

Make goals and objectives explicit for learners (learning objectives and outcomes, connected to an assessment plan, specific expectations for each assignment/assessment and rubrics).

  • Tools for anti-racism curriculum & pedagogy

    The toolkit contains 13 tools along with other relevant resources and information. These items equip users with the knowledge and skills needed to understand and integrate anti-racism into their thinking, actions, reflections and professional practice.

    Take a deeper dive into the Ant-Racism tools and resources

  • About this Toolkit

    The Anti-racism Curriculum and Pedagogy Toolkit supports the process of embedding an anti-racist and inclusive approach in program, curriculum, teaching and workplace practices. It facilitates individual and institutional culture transformation from “I am not a racist” to “I am anti-racist".

    Explore the Anti-racism Curriculum and Pedagogy Toolkit

  • Anti-racism principles

    Our anti-racism principles guide and anchor our work in anti-racist pedagogy and curriculum within the academic portfolio. They help us promote anti-racist practices in the way we conceive, develop, implement and review programs and curricula at NorQuest College.

    Peruse the principles that guide our anti-racism work