Managing “Hot Moments” in Diverse Classrooms for Inclusive and Equitable Campuses

Abstract

Classrooms are fundamental components of university campuses. The creation of inclusive and equitable campus environments is incumbent upon the teachers who need to navigate through “hot moments”, which typically refers to situations or incidents that generate intense emotions or strong reactions among the students or between the students and teachers. The literature suggests that many “hot moments” occur due to microaggressions in the classroom and that issues of difference, power, and privilege underlie “hot moments”. Based on qualitative research done with university teachers in a Dutch institution, our research shows that teacher-described “hot moments” can be analyzed under three interrelated dimensions: individual, interactional, and institutional. We suggest educators and higher education policy makers read through these experiences as a way to better understand the challenges their colleagues face, most often alone as the classroom’s leader; in the hope of advancing change efforts to create more inclusive and equitable class environments which will change how minoritized students experience university education.