Center for Faculty Development and Innovation

Strategies for Inclusive Teaching & Learning: Reducing Stereotype Threat

Sponsored by Faculty Development

Beth Fisher (Director of Academic Services at Washington University’s Teaching Center)

This workshop will provide the opportunity to learn about research on “stereotype threat,” a phenomenon in which students’ awareness of negative stereotypes about academic abilities can depress their performance on exams and other assessments. After discussing this phenomenon, we will identify evidence-based approaches that instructors across the disciplines can use to reduce this threat in the classroom and to create inclusive learning environments that support learning and achievement by all students.

About the presenter:

Beth A. Fisher, PhD, joined The Teaching Center at Washington University in 2006 and has been Director of Academic Services since 2012. At The Teaching Center, Beth works with colleagues on the development of The Teaching Center’s faculty programs—such as workshops, Summer Faculty Institutes on Teaching and the biennial iTeach symposium. Beth also directs the Center’s programs on inclusive teaching and learning. Other areas of expertise include integrating writing into courses across the curriculum, and structuring and facilitating discussions. In addition, Beth collaborates on Teaching Center scholarship projects, including initiatives on improving STEM Education and studies that investigate the effectiveness of professional-development programs for future faculty. She has published articles in the fields of faculty development and American literary studies. A lecturer in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Washington University since 2001, Beth currently teaches the writing-intensive course, Gender and Consumer Culture in Late 19th- and Early 20th-Century US Fiction.