by Manju Adikesavan

CUNY strives to facilitate the upward mobility of underprivileged, first-generation, and low-income students. More than 80% of CUNY undergraduates are students of color, 50% are from families that earn less than $30K per year, 45% are first-generation students, 50% work while going to school, and more than 80% of first-year students attended a New York City public high school. On the one hand, these intersecting identities make CUNY undergraduates driven, complex, insightful, and critical learners. On the other hand, they signal a greater likelihood of systemic, educational, economic, and cultural barriers to college-level learning. Given CUNY’s mission of “supporting students regardless of means and background,” CUNY instructors are implicitly responsible for facilitating an equitable learning climate where marginalized and minoritized students with intersecting first-generation, working-class identities belong and thrive. CUNY’s mission notwithstanding, Graduate Center doctoral students employed as teaching fellows or adjunct instructors may be personally interested in equity-oriented teaching or, like me, develop an interest in equitable teaching and learning practices after teaching at CUNY. Equity-oriented pedagogy, which aims to create a learning environment where all students have the opportunity to succeed, regardless of their background, ability, or life experience, is thus integral to teaching at CUNY. 

In the first half of this post, I share snippets of my journey with equity-oriented pedagogy, reflecting on a few CUNY teaching experiences that prompted my metamorphosis from an instructor who delivered course content to one whose instructional practices recognized and proactively mitigated the structural barriers adversely impacting first-generation, working-class, and immigrant-identifying, students of color. The second half of the post offers resources to get you started on your equity-oriented teaching journey. I offer an “Equitable Learning Climate Framework” that synthesizes my approach to equity-oriented teaching into actionable pathways for advancing equity in the classroom. I discuss the ongoing activities of the TLC’s Equity-Oriented Teaching Focused Inquiry Group based on the Equitable Learning Climate Framework and end with TLC resources that can help craft your version of the Equitable Learning Climate Framework.

Reflecting on my six-plus years of teaching at CUNY, a few recurring experiences alerted me to how systemic inequities play out in the classroom. For example, when teaching a fully online course during the COVID-19 pandemic, I observed that some students felt free to seek accommodations or clarifications about assignments during office hours or over email. In contrast, others wouldn’t reach out to explain the circumstances negatively impacting their performance unless I contacted them individually. When asked, the latter group of students typically said they did not know they could negotiate accommodations with their instructor. They assumed gaps in understanding assignment instructions, lack of familiarity with college-level writing or reading, or juggling work, caregiving, parenting, and other life commitments were personal limitations and untenable excuses for poor academic performance. I intervened by setting aside class time for reviewing assignment instructions, allowing students to submit up to three low-stakes assignments late, and repeatedly urging students to discuss any barrier keeping them from completing assignments or otherwise succeeding in the course.  These interventions addressed a few, if not all, systemic inequities deterring the academic success of working-class, first-generation, and immigrant-identifying CUNY students. To a similar end, I took to individually emailing students at risk of failing around midterm.  Not all students responded to my email. But, a few usually did, and I had the satisfaction of proactively helping students who didn’t know or didn’t have the time to reach out to their instructor and negotiate a pathway to successfully completing the course. This approach undoubtedly increased my workload in the second half of the semester. By checking in at midterm, I gave my students and myself enough time to submit and grade late assignments well ahead of the final exam period. Many other CUNY teaching experiences continue to signal that students need different kinds and levels of support to succeed and thrive in the classroom.  

Image sources: From https://belonging.berkeley.edu/equity-vs-equality-whats-difference Variations of these images have been created by Craig Froehle, Angus Maguire, the Center for Story-Based Strategy and the Interaction Institute for Social Change.

My quest for equity in the classroom led to many changes in my pedagogy, the foremost of which was a shift in identity. I ceased being an instructor contracted to deliver course content and grade student performance. Instead, I self-identified as an instructor-advocate whose instructional practices recognize and proactively mitigate structural barriers to learning and support students regardless of their level of preparation, life circumstances, and identities. I replaced my deficit views of students with asset-focused framings and increased expectations for my teaching and students. 

Next came the task of aligning my teaching persona with my equity-oriented instructor identity. I critically examined the diverse ways in which students interacted with me. Student perceptions spanned the spectrum, ranging from students viewing me as a facilitator of learning with whom they could, and indeed were expected to, interact freely to those who viewed me as an authority figure and gatekeeper not to be approached. After five semesters of consistent effort, which included refining my teaching persona with advice from Teaching and Learning Center staff, faculty observers, like-minded professors, and course coordinators, I developed a teaching persona that communicated my intention to support students in their learning irrespective of their effort, preparation, or life constraints. Eventually, I tweaked three other pedagogical components—Syllabus/Assignment Design, Assessment, and Classroom Dynamics—to align with my teaching persona. 

While my efforts were energizing and empowering, they required me to acknowledge the limitations and constraints of attempting equity-oriented teaching as a doctoral student instructor. Doctoral student instructors work and live in precarious and austere conditions, juggling coursework, teaching, and research while earning a living and maintaining other life commitments. To prevent burnout and disenchantment, equity-oriented graduate student instructors must establish clear expectations about their availability, level of effort, and access to resources and carefully consider the stakes of battling inequitable departmental and institutional cultures.

Equitable Learning Climate Framework, created by Manju Adikesavan in 2024. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Public License 

The Equitable Learning Climate Framework synthesizes my approach to equity-oriented teaching. Discussions with TLC colleagues and my equity-oriented teaching experiences suggest that any of the four components can be an entry point to equitable teaching. Given the interconnectedness of the components, changing one domain will likely entail changes in other aspects of your teaching, including but not limited to the four components identified in the Framework. I offer the Framework in the hope that it might spark an idea and help you navigate your journey with equity-oriented teaching. 

In Fall 2024, TLC Fellow and Sociology Doctoral Candidate Kristi Riley and I co-facilitated the first half of the Focused Inquiry Group (FIG) on equity-oriented teaching at CUNY. TLC Fellow Kristi Riley, who will facilitate the second half of the equity-oriented teaching FIG in Spring 2025, writes, “So many CUNY student-instructors already practice equity-oriented teaching because they are also CUNY students with firsthand experience about how inequality impacts their pursuit of knowledge. The Equity Oriented Teaching FIG provides the support and space to think about the power and agency doctoral student-instructors have that can make a difference and open up new possibilities for their students.”   

FIG members Ana Maria Granados Romero, Hui Peng, and Rani Srinivasan, all of whom are Graduate Center doctoral student instructors, are using the Equitable Learning Climate Framework to craft open education resources (OER) that employ assessment practices and classroom dynamics as pathways to equity in their classrooms. The FIG members are collectively working to define equity-oriented teaching in the CUNY context and identify points of convergence and divergence between equity-oriented teaching and critical pedagogical practices such as liberatory, abolitionist, and decolonial pedagogies that aim to mitigate or dismantle systemic barriers to learning that adversely impact first-generation, low-income, and racially and ethnically minoritized students. 

Five participants from left to right: 1) Kristi Riley, 2) Rani Srinivasan, 3) Hui Peng, 4) Ana Maria Granados Romero, and 5) Manju Adikesavan

Ana Maria Granados Romero is a doctoral student in the Latin American, Iberian, and Latino Cultures (LAILAC) Program and a Spanish Instructor at Lehman College. One of the primary challenges Ana Maria faces is the disparity between students who have previously taken a Spanish course and those who have not. Students with foundational knowledge of grammar concepts—such as nouns, prepositions, pronouns, and verbs—enjoy a distinct advantage. Conversely, those lacking this knowledge encounter additional challenges, requiring extra effort to keep pace with their peers. Ana Maria’s project advances equity in the classroom by addressing individual student needs and strengths while creating opportunities for collaboration. Ana challenges the idea that learning is linear by “providing foundational materials that offer a common ground for students learning a new language, and recalibrating in-class group activities to encourage mutual support and collaboration amongst students.” By intentionally facilitating group work amongst students with diverse needs and skill levels, Ana will ensure that students view diversity as an asset, appreciate the benefits of collaborative and collective learning with peers, and recognize the importance of social interaction in language acquisition.

Hui Peng, a doctoral candidate in Theater and Performance, has taught Theater courses at Baruch College and Hunter College. Incorporating ungraded narratives—in the form of writing, video, or audio— in weeks 1, 7, and 14 of the semester, Hui’s project advances equity by acknowledging the diversity of students, varying degrees of prior knowledge, and differing levels of language proficiency. Hui views ungraded narratives as a tool to democratize access to an “A” (recognizing the inequities inherent in our current higher education grading system) by emphasizing effort, engagement, and revision rather than relying solely on outcomes shaped by prior preparation or privilege. Hui notes, “The iterative process of these narratives creates a constructive feedback loop between students and me, allowing students to receive formative feedback on their research and writing throughout the semester. While students will ultimately receive a grade, the narratives and my feedback serve as a space to demystify how grades are determined. This process fosters a mindset focused on growth rather than fixed achievement and prioritizes the learning process over outcomes.”

Rani Srinivasan is a doctoral student in English and teaches English courses at Lehman College and Queens College. Rani’s project on ungrading advances the premise that equity is about meeting students where they are rather than where instructors would like them to be. Rani argues, “When we assess students using traditional grading metrics, we, as teachers, impose our expectations for a student’s performance without recognizing the host of factors that may influence the work they produce for our class. By designing courses that implement non-traditional grading methods like ungrading, where students are evaluated based on the effort put into their assignments, their engagement with the course, and the factors that impede their ability to dedicate more time and effort to their coursework, students may focus more on their learning journey and less on their grades.”

Stay tuned for updates on Ana Maria Granados Romero, Hui Peng, and Rani Srinivasan’s equity-oriented OER. 

I invite you to use the resources below to create your version of the ELC Framework. If you want to fine-tune your equity-oriented teaching plan, contact Teaching and Learning Center staff members at https://cuny.is/tlc-consult  to schedule a one-on-one session throughout the year.

Equitable Learning Climate Resources

Entry Point #1 Assessment Practices

• Student Agency and the Labor of Grading
• Critical Approaches to Grading: Models and Resources
• Why Do We Grade? Critical Approaches to Grading.
• Toward Generative Assessment

Entry Point #2 Syllabus Design

• Equitable Syllabus Design 
• Equity-Based Teaching We Can Implement Immediately
• Transform Your Syllabus With an Equity Mindset

Entry Point #3 Classroom Dynamics

• Structuring Interactions
• Effective Discussions and Seminars
• Cultivating An Equitable and Inclusive Classroom

Entry Point #4 Teaching Persona

• Discovering Your Teaching Persona
• Who Am I When I Teach
• Building Your Teaching Persona
• Developing Your Teaching Persona and Classroom Community

Acknowledgments: I sincerely thank Equity-Oriented Teaching FIG members Ana Maria Granados Romero, Hui Peng, and Rani Srinivasan for generously sharing their OER descriptions. A special thank you to TLC fellow and FIG co-facilitator Kristi Riley for the blurb and commenting on a draft of the blog post. I am grateful for TLC Director Luke Waltzer’s edits and feedback and TLC Fellow Brooke Thomas’s assistance with publishing this post.

Manju Adikesavan is an architect, urban planner, and doctoral candidate in Environmental Psychology at the CUNY Graduate Center

This entry is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.