Implicit Bias

Self-Reflective Teaching Practice

This reflection-based activity guides instructors in understanding and exploring methods to reduce their implicit biases. The purpose of this activity is to promote anti-racist teaching practices, support instructors in educating themselves further, and guide them in examining the impact that implicit biases can have in their classrooms. As instructors complete the activity, they will be empowered with area-leading, science-based tools that help to identify and manage the unconscious biases which are revealed.

What is Bias and what is Unconscious (Implicit) Bias?

Bias is a prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair (Oxford Reference Definition, n.d.).

Conscious (or Explicit Bias) is bias that is expressed with verbal plainness and distinctness that there is no need for inference and no room for difficulty in understanding. (Merriam Webster Definition, n.d.).

Unconscious (or Implicit) Bias refers to unconscious attitudes, reactions, stereotypes, and categories that affect behavior and understanding, and are often incompatible with one’s own conscious values (Oxford Reference Definition, n.d.).

Why is this awareness important to us as instructors?

It is human nature to have implicit bias. Malcolm Gladwell (2006) in his book Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, explores this subject matter deeply and comprehensively. All people will have implicit biases. We develop these biases as survival mechanisms, enabling our brains to efficiently process large quantities of information. Our implicit biases control our perceptions of people and circumstances, as well as how we respond to both. It is crucial therefore to regularly self-reflect on what our implicit biases are. These are not tied to conscious thoughts but there are tools that can assist us in self-identifying and further reflecting on our implicit biases.

It is crucial therefore to regularly self-reflect on what our implicit biases are. These are not tied to conscious thoughts but there are tools that can assist us in self identifying and further reflecting on our implicit biases.

Tools and strategies

Self-reflective and mindful practice, which we explore in the activity section below, can help us establish situational awareness of the mental models that drive our behaviours. (Yale Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, n.d.) If educators make this kind of self-reflection an ongoing practice, implicit biases may be reduced. Instructors should consider a variety of strategies and positive classrooms outcomes that come with discovering and addressing implicit bias, in themselves, their curriculum and pedagogy. The activity section of this document will guide instructors through an exercise to identify what mental models they may have and address what is revealed. As well there is an Instructor Resource section that provides further materials to help instructors explore the area of implicit bias and the activity which they complete below.

Over decades, social scientists have been working on instruments to assess unconscious bias. As Inclusive Teaching at University of Michigan reports, many of these started out as self-survey tools. Of the various tools available today, the Implicit Association Test (IAT) has risen as one of the most studied and wellused.

Project Implicit, an ongoing study on implicit bias which remains on Harvard servers, uses the Implicit Association Test (IAT), a tool developed by Anthony Greenwald, Professor of Psychology at the University of Washington, and Mahzarin Banaji, Professor of Social Ethics at Harvard, to study prejudice in social settings.

The study is still ongoing. View both founders Dr. Greenwald and Dr. Banaji discussing the research, this linked video published by Edge Foundation.

Goals

  1. Understand implicit bias and how awareness of it can empower instructors to create inclusive classrooms, curriculum, and pedagogy.
  2. Reflect on individual unconscious bias.

Activity

An instructor can implement this activity at any point throughout the year. Consider beginning the term with a reflection activity as it can set the stage for offering an inclusive classroom experience for your students. It is advisable to keep revisiting this activity, and as well become curious and continually reflect on your teaching practice and how implicit bias can affect it. Continual reflection helps to ensure instructors recognize that being anti-racist is not a state of being at any given moment or attributed to one activity. Instead, it is an intentional evaluation and adjustment of actions, thoughts, and behaviours (LSA Inclusive Teaching University of Michigan n.d.).

1. Setup Arrange a desktop or laptop computer in a room without distraction.
2. Self-Assessment
  1. Visit Project Implicit.
  2. Select the Racial Bias test and any other bias test that you feel is relevant* to your classroom participant demographics.

(Each test takes about 5-10 minutes).

* According to the founders of Project Implicit, The Implicit Association Test (IAT) measures the strength of associations between concepts (e.g., black people, homosexual people) and evaluations or stereotypes (e.g., good, bad or athletic or clumsy).

3. Self-Reflective Practice After taking the RACE IAT (or any of the IAT relevant to the classrooms you have), you will incorporate all 10 of the below prompts into a short reflection:
  • How do you feel about your results? Are your feelings towards this activity negative or positive?
  • How would you interpret these results? Are there any experiences or attitudes, from your past (upbringing, career etc.) that could help you to understand the results?
  • Did you feel defensive or dismissive when you read your outcome? If you did, why do you think you felt this way?
  • If you showed no implicit bias, do you feel your work as a teacher is done?
  • After learning more about Implicit Bias and understanding the results, why do you think it is important to continue to reflect on unconscious biases?
  • How can your implicit biases, or implicit bias in general impact how students experience you or your classroom?
  • Does implicit bias affect any other parts of or relationships in the classroom? What about in the school/institution as a whole? What about in your region or communities?
  • Have you experienced implicit bias showing up in research, a project, or in your profession?
  • How will you continue to expand your knowledge on implicit bias?
  • What support do you need to continually self-reflect and expand on your learning?
4. Implicit Bias Management Methods Where biases have surfaced, you can work to counteract and minimize them, by gaining exposure and understanding. Some examples of activities that can be undertaken are:
  1. Consciously expanding your network and developing new friendships or connections with those from that group, to help diversify and broaden your perspective.
  2. Making a concerted effort to read literature and watch media that informs a better understanding of the uncovered population.
  3. Locating a community group that works with this specific population (this could be hosted by the targeted population or others) and seeking out volunteer opportunities that assist in developing a better appreciation for the people from that group.

This is just a sample list of methods to gain understanding and exposure.

Instructors may use these practices regularly to help improve how they accommodate and host all learners in their classroom.

Resources

Articles

“Your Brain on Bias: 5 Steps to Keep Implicit Bias in Check” points out the Deloitte study which states that “inclusive leaders are mindful of personal and organizational blind spots and self-regulate to help ensure ‘fair play.’” It also features the “A Mile in My Shoes” app listed under #2 of this resource section. (Implicit Bias Beginner friendly)

A Mile in My Shoes developed by Michigan State University can help all individuals recognize unconscious bias through different real-world situations. Instructors may find this VR tool helpful to use as an exercise for themselves or in the classroom.

Measuring Implicit Bias in Schools, this article probes the connection between bias and outcomes, and explores how implicit bias can affect student outcomes. (Implicit Bias Beginner Friendly)

This article suggests a path that educational leaders can take to adopt a mindset that can work through discomfort and help guide open and authentic conversations about bias in their educational institution. (Implicit Bias Beginner Friendly)

Though prepared for K-12 educators, this resource can aid all educators with vetted resources to help instructors prepare for unsettling incidents. (Implicit Bias Beginner Friendly)

This article covers areas of research on implicit racial associations in education, calling for collaboration between scholars of racial inequality in education and scholars of implicit racial associations. The research provides a new perspective for understanding for when school instructors and personnel engage in behaviors that reproduce racial inequality, often despite best intentions and commitments to racial equity. (Implicit Bias Advanced Level)

Books

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, By Malcolm Gladwell

This book is a helpful read for instructors who want to dive more deeply into the psychology of implicit bias. It introduces and explores the concepts of mental models and blind spots, and how decisions made quickly can be as important as ones made over an extended period. It explains how our instincts can betray us sometimes. Finally, it provides insights into how our first impressions and snap judgements can be educated and controlled. (Implicit Bias Advanced Level)

Unconscious Bias in Schools

In this book “Unconscious Bias in Schools” two seasoned educators describe the phenomenon of unconscious racial bias and how it negatively affects the work of educators and students in schools. “Regardless of the amount of effort, time, and resources education leaders put into improving the academic achievement of students of color,” the authors writes, “if unconscious racial bias is overlooked, improvement efforts may never achieve their highest potential.” (Implicit Bias Beginner Friendly)

Tools

The UCSF Office of Diversity and Outreach and Clinical and Translational Science Institute have developed this website full of resources to educate individuals on implicit bias. It provides a thorough overview of the current state of the science on unconscious bias. There is also a summary of strategies to further assess and address unconscious bias along with a list of resources and references for those interested in learning more. (Implicit Bias Beginner friendly)

This website provides a rich set of resources which instructors can explore and employ to learn more about implicit bias and apply the tools provided within their classrooms. (Implicit Bias Advanced Level)

Videos What is implicit bias? NYT/POV’s Saleem Reshamwala unscrews the lid on the unfair effects of our subconscious. (Implicit Bias Beginner friendly)

References

College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA), University of Michigan. (n.d.). Racial Bias Test. Inclusive Teaching.

Dhaliwal, T. K., Chin, M. J., Lovison, V. S., & Quinn, D. M. (2020, July 20). Educator bias is associated with racial disparities in student achievement and discipline. Brookings. Retrieved May 30, 2023.

Yale Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning. (n.d.). Reflective Teaching. Navarro, J. R., Chadiha, K.,

Salazar, R., Scherzer, T., Youmans, S., Ozer, E., & Centore, L. (n.d.). Unconscious bias training. UCSF Office of Diversity and Outreach. Retrieved May 30, 2023.

Authors

Written by: Reva George (Instructor, Business at NorQuest College)

Reviewed and edited by: Rotem Lavy (Faculty Developer at NorQuest College) & Branka Turnbull (Instructor, Business at NorQuest College)