In this blog post I will share my views on inclusion from a student’s point of view pursuing studies in the field of science. Throughout the last four years at UVic I have encountered many individuals from fellow classmates to professors, who have expanded on my learning experiences. The people I have connected with come from very diverse backgrounds in terms of their ethnicities, their field of study, their age, and their gender.

In my PLN I believe I am learning from the variety of voices around me. I enjoy being an active listener and like to gain new knowledge from different people to better understand their perspectives. The information they present to me could be related to schoolwork, their professional lives, or their personal experiences in life. This allows me to have a broader outlook in life and become a more understanding and mindful individual. In spite of this, there are many instances where I consider myself to be the loudest in the room. Whenever there is teamwork involved I like to make sure that everyone feels included in the project or assignment and they know what their roles are. I like to hear out everyone’s opinions and ideas before moving along to the next step and make sure everyone is on the same page.

Although many of my connections are from the same field of study (i.e. Science) we tend to have a wide range of interests outside of school. Much of this is due to differences in our cultural backgrounds and past experiences. The presence of social media has brought people closer together in terms of being able to share their thoughts on a certain subject in a matter of seconds. As mentioned by Colunga (2017), the concept of confirmation bias is readily seen in the use of social media. Most people have certain beliefs that have been ingrained in them for years and years and therefore have a difficult time understanding the views of the opposing sides.

A diverse PLN will include personalities from different professional backgrounds, ethnicities, cultures, gender, and age groups. Each of these individuals will have distinct life experiences from the rest and sharing those whether in person or by the use of social media can help everyone understand how unique people are and how much there is a lot to learn from every single individual. Not only does this show diversity but sharing our personal experiences with others will provide an opportunity to create a sense of community in which everyone feels included. The end goal is to make everyone feel appreciated for the similarities they share and respected for their differences.

As a student my learning outcome is to have an open mind to the ideas, opinions, and views of my fellow classmates. Every individual has a different mindset and their distinct way of thinking can help us progress together. There are a number of ways that we can ensure diversity and inclusion in our respective PLN’s. The first step would be awareness of unconscious bias. If I am in a situation where I don’t agree with the views someone holds, I think it is important to take a step back and analyze why they are saying what they are saying and go from there. Most of us have probably been in a situation where we just want to be understood, however, people are so strongly determined by their perspective that they don’t have the ability to understand another opinion. Therefore, in order to successfully include others and create a diverse environment, it is extremely important to acknowledge another person’s perspective and understand where they are coming from.

Shelly Moore does an amazing job at explaining inclusion and how our current education system needs to reform so we don’t just integrate those individuals that have a difficult time learning, but we include them in the same way we would include any other student. I found her videos extremely informative and also eye opening because it made me realize how we treat some people so differently even when they are just as capable but need a little bit more support.

 

References:

Colunga, K. (2017). The social media silo situation. Viewpoint. https://viewpoint.pointloma.edu/the-social-media-silo-situation/

Moore, S. (2016, April 4). Shelly Moore: Transforming Inclusive Education. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYtUlU8MjlY&feature=youtu.be

Moore S. (2016, October 1). The evolution of inclusion: The past and future education. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQgXBhPh5Zo&feature=youtu.be

Moore, S. (2018, November 10). Don’t Should on Me: It’s not easy being NOT green. YouTube.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeRNhz0nGts&feature=youtu.be