Activities for Equitable Classrooms

Activities Overview

This section catalogues resources that are appropriate for a variety of classroom settings. Each activity includes the overview, goals, and instructions for implementing the activity successfully and includes advice on how to best utilize it. Several resources fit into more than one category, so you may find them under multiple tabs. If you have any feedback about these resources or would like to have an additional activity included, please use our contact form to reach us

How to use these Resources

Many of these exercises are simple to carry out but can have a powerful impact on the classroom experience. As such, instructors should employ these activities with attention to core learning objectives and care to ensure the ethical use of student experiences. Given that students come from various backgrounds and experiences, instructors should examine their own assumptions in advance, give students a lot of choice about what they may write and share with others in the class, and be highly transparent about how student responses will be used.

These activities represent the entire catalogue of activity guides found on our website and it is recommended that you use the different categories under the Activities Menu to find resources relating to a specific component of your classroom. Under the Activities Menu, found at the top of the page, you can find the following categories:

• Quick-Prep Activities – These activities may be incorporated into existing courses or lessons with relatively little preparation.
• Icebreakers – These icebreaker activities are inclusive in that they allow students to bring themselves and their identities into the classroom, setting the tone for mutual learning, connection, and respect
• Group Development – These activities help students to examine group relationships and learn about each other beyond appearances on their own terms.
• Self-Reflection – These activities prompt students to consider their relationships to social identity, structural oppression, and intergroup dialogue.

We are grateful to our colleagues in the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching, the Program on Intergroup Relations, the Comprehensive Studies Program, and many others for generously sharing inclusive teaching materials they have developed over years of practice for use on this website.

BARNGA

In this activity, students play a card game silently, each operating with a different set of rules, unbeknownst to them. Read more

Core Values

In this activity, students will explore their personal values by examining a list of values and ranking each of them Read more

Dialogue Blocker Activity

This activity is designed to help students recognize common dialogue blockers, why people use them, and to become more aware Read more

Dominant Narratives

Students will discuss dominant narratives - explanations or stories told in service of the dominant social group’s interests and ideologies. Read more

Examining Privilege and Oppression

This discussion-based activity guides students in understanding privilege and oppression as concepts. Read more

Group Process Activity

This collection of activities assists instructors in developing group cohesion, thoughtful engagement, and reflective responses to challenging material. Read more

Growth Mindset Activity for STEM

Students will explore the concept of having a growth mindset, examining the science behind intelligence and its development. Read more

Icebreaker Grab Bag

This collection of icebreakers provides a variety of activities to choose from and implement throughout the semester. Read more

Invisible Knapsacks

This activity uses independent reflection and small-group discussion to guide students in understanding white privilege as a concept and recognizing Read more

Mapping Social Identity Timeline Activity

In this activity, students will create a visual map of their socialization in some aspect of identity (race, gender, sexual Read more

Name Story

In this icebreaker activity, students will have the option to share their first name, middle name, last name, nickname or Read more

Perfectly Logical Explanations

This activity guide is intended to serve as an example of how to engage with “perfectly logical explanations” or dominant Read more

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We appreciate your interest in our site. Generally, we are very happy to have our resources widely used in educational settings of all kinds. Reuse in a classroom, webinar/ professional development, or for individual reflection are all appropriate, so long as it is not for commercial purposes. If you share our resources, we ask that you please include an acknowledgement of our website or specific page reference, as suggested in our Reuse Permissions Guide in APA or MLA format, in addition to any acknowledgement of the original authors. 

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