Assessing Students' Engagement with Pedagogies of Diversity

Abstract

This study analyzes student discourse to assess the influence of multiple pedagogies on student engagement and understanding of diversity course content. Student discourse demonstrates the value of synthesizing lectures, class and small group discussions, videotapes, and other pedagogical practices. Students' high engagement with the course enhanced their ability to interpret media representation of diversity. Students' colorblind discourse on race and gender underscores the need for diversity courses to use videos and group discussion to help students become more media literate. Students are still reluctant to embrace a race/gender cognizant perspective.