Bias-Aware Teaching, Learning and Assessment

This book offers university teachers informed and practical strategies for raising awareness of bias in teaching, learning and assessment practices.

Conscious and unconscious biases influence judgements, perceptions, decision making and actions, and societal awareness has now turned the spotlight on how higher education (HE) is addressing bias at institutional and individual levels. The urgency to do so is evidenced through recent studies which reveal the extent of the effects of discrimination and exclusion experienced by individual students, groups of students and members of staff. It can be difficult to know where to start and how to sustain effective impact to achieve inclusion, equity and equality of opportunity. This book offers informed and practical strategies for raising awareness of bias in teaching, learning and assessment practices and provides approaches to eliminate, limit and mitigate the negative effects of bias on university students.

Donna Hurford is an academic developer at the University of Southern Denmark where she leads on the lecturer training programme, teaching about collaborative learning, addressing bias, integrating sustainable development goals, assessment and questioning. She has a background in school teaching and later pre-service education at the University of Cumbria.

Andrew Read is Head of the Education Division at London South Bank University. He previously taught in primary schools in east London, worked as a university lecturer in the field of education and was head of primary teacher education at the University of East London.

Joy Jarvis is currently Professor of Educational Practice at the University of Hertfordshire and a UK National Teaching Fellow. She has experience in a wide range of education contexts and works to create effective learning experiences for students and colleagues. She is particularly interested in the professional learning of those engaged in educational practice in higher education settings and has undertaken a range of projects, working with colleagues locally, nationally and internationally, to develop practice in teaching and leadership of teaching. Joy works with doctoral students exploring aspects of educational practice and encourages them to be adventurous in their methodological approaches and to share their findings in a range of contexts to enable practice change.

Karen Smith is Reader in Higher Education in the School of Education at the University of Hertfordshire. Her research focuses on how higher education policies and practices impact on those who work and study within universities. Karen has worked within educational development and on lecturer development programmes. She holds a Principal Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy and is currently the Director of the University of Hertfordshire’s Professional Doctorate in Education. Karen also leads collaborative research and development in her School, where she engages in externally funded research and evaluation and supports the development of scholarly educational practice through practitioner research.