Theme: Class in the Classroom

Spring 2021 Speaker Series: Remote and hybrid classrooms have highlighted the kind of class inequities that have always existed but have been easy to ignore in higher education.

This Lightning Talk session, offered in collaboration with BU Diversity & Inclusion and its Learn More series’ theme of social class, focuses on areas of practice and content that help us understand the myriad ways that class plays out in our classrooms, with strategies to create more inclusive classes.

Video Topics

Watch the individual, five-minute video presentations:

• Virtual Worlds, Virtual Reality and Mind Mapping to Engage Learners in the Remote-Hybrid Environment
• Three Strategies for Inclusion
• Teaching to All: Creating Classrooms Inclusive of First-Gen Students
• Teaching With and Without a Classroom
• WE Have One Job! Be Inclusive!

I am a First Gen student and I am also over 40 years of age. This was my first time attending an event at which First Gen experiences were discussed. It was nice to see that I am not alone. – Class in the Classroom Lightning Talk Attendee

About the Moderator: Maria Dykema Erb, M.Ed., Director, BU Newbury Center

Maria Dykema Erb is the inaugural director of the Newbury Center which was established to foster the success of first-generation undergraduate, graduate, and professional students at Boston University. Prior to joining BU, Maria has held numerous positions at The University of Vermont, Elon University, and Duke University. Most recently, she served as Co-Director of Diversity & Student Success in The Graduate School at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she established multiple diversity and inclusion initiatives at the graduate education level, including the Carolina Grad Student F1RSTS for first-generation graduate and professional students. She has a BS from the University of New Hampshire and an MEd in Interdisciplinary Studies from The University of Vermont.