Ideas

Idea #3: Recognizing Implicit Bias and Assumptions

"On an intellectual/cognitive level, teachers and trainers must be able and willing to acknowledge and accept the fact that they are products of the cultural conditioning of this society, and as such, they have inherited the biases, fears, and stereotypes of the society"¹

Learning Intention

Within today’s society, implicit bias “manifests in law, healthcare, politics”² as well as within higher education. By increasing awareness toward a student's implicit bias, as well as the educator’s own bias, there is a reduction of “negative consequences such as perpetuating stereotype threat, denial of individual’s experiences, or the dehumanization of others.”² Research suggests that educators often interpret “student behavior through racialized and racist lenses,"³ so by recognizing implicit bias instructors can disrupt this cycle.

Considerations

• Model Vulnerability by acknowledging that you also have biases and stereotypes.

• Introduce "Assumption Searching" by having students identify assumptions in their readings and whether they agree or disagree with those perspectives. Have them write or state some of their own assumptions they bring.

• Invitations to critical reflection are not questions of competency. Often people see opportunities for critical reflection as an attack on their competency or moral code. Keeping in mind that one’s competence is not in question can be helpful when engaging in critical reflection work.

Activities

• Have students take multiple implicit bias tests online. Project Implicit, one site that has developed bias tests, offers many different tests where students can test their own bias towards people who belong to different groups or identities.

• Practice Mindfulness. Actively engage with a deliberate critical reflection of internal decision-making processes.⁴ Walk students through mindfulness exercises and reflect on how the effort to be mindful can assist in cultivating awareness of implicit biases.

References

1. Sue, D.W. (2016). Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
2. Deckman, S. (2017). Managing Race and Race-ing Management: Teachers’ Stories of Race and Classroom Conflict. Teachers College Record, 119(11), 1–40.
3. Williams, J. C., & Wright, C. N. (2020). Developing implicit bias awareness in the communication classroom: From Project Implicit to Jane Elliott’s Brown Eye Blue Eye. Communication Teacher, 34(4), 320–326.
4. The Ohio State University. (n.d.). Implicit Bias Resources, The Women’s Place.