Confront, Connect, Communicate: Diversity and Inclusion in Design Education

Equity and inclusion are essential in building a rich classroom experience, however, many design educators interested in developing inclusive teaching practices may not know where to turn for guidance. Confront, Connect, Communicate: Diversity and Inclusion in Design Education is a repository for the variety of diversity and inclusion related resources that have already been developed and implemented in design education. This curricular toolkit takes a practical approach to the topic of equity by providing college and university design educators with the tools they need to build inclusive practices and assignments into their curricula. Among other components, this toolkit will include a glossary of inclusive terms, guidelines for language setting, project ideas, and resources designed for integration into course curricula. A digital version of the toolkit, along with an addendum of links and digitally accessible resources will also be available through a companion website, enabling educators to find a range of diversity and inclusion materials in one place. Using Confront, Connect, Communicate as a resource, educators can discover new ways to educate students about the necessity of diverse and inclusive design practices. They can also arm students with the skills to navigate the field to build meaningful careers in design. By sharing resources in one place, the toolkit can help create more equity-minded design programs and offers educators an opportunity for sharing and learning from each other.