Supporting DEIB Curriculum–and Those Who Teach It

Since 2022, the Teaching Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Professional Development Workshop at the Academy of Management Conference has explored innovative approaches to DEIB instruction while offering educators support and community. This article offers highlights from the teaching demos (featuring in-person exercises) and Q&A panel at the August 2024 workshop. In the first demo, the instructor led participants through a gamified learning exercise called “The Quiz Game.” Designed to demonstrate the dynamics of privilege and disadvantage, participants were separated into three groups that were given different sets of rules. In a demo of the second game—“Family Face-Off”—two teams guessed the answers to survey questions posed to 100 individuals. This game illustrates how “meta-stereotypes”—one’s belief about how others perceive their group—can negatively impact a person’s identity, school and workplace performance, and interpersonal relationships. In the teaching panel Q&A, Dr. Adam Waytz recommended bringing up divisive current events in order to show nimbleness and authenticity. When asked about managing disagreements between students, Dr. Erika V. Hall emphasized the importance of laying ground rules in the classroom. In the case of students struggling to understand the other side’s position, she recommended bringing the discussion back to specifics of the curriculum and data-backed material. Finally, in terms of teaching heavy topics or facilitating difficult conversations, Dr. Waytz cautioned against catering excessively to critics in the room who might never be satisfied.

• DEI best practices, Academy of Management Conference, teaching diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging Professional Development Workshop, DEIB instruction