Every student deserves to feel accepted, welcomed, valued, and appreciated. Middle school students are at a formative age where they are navigating and forming their identity, sense of self, and self-security. Students who identify as LGBTQ+ and gender nonconforming can often feel rejected and ostracized by their classmates and teachers, which can lead to depression, bullying, harassment, and even suicide. The goal of this instruction For All was to help middle school teachers see the value in implementing LGBTQ+ and gender nonconforming inclusive strategies into the classroom, and to intend to use them with students and those around them. This instruction took the form of web-based learning modules, and aimed to address the affective domain by pushing teachers to see the value in being inclusive for all students. A usability study and an asynchronous learning assessment were conducted to evaluate the instruction’s usability and effectiveness. The usability study (n=4) helped to point out flaws in the design and make changes for improvements, and the learning assessment (n=16) was used to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the instruction. Overall, participants saw value in implementing the strategies, and intended to do so in their classrooms. However, future work will be needed to find ways for teachers to educate their students to increase student advocacy, and teach fellow educators the strategies to improve overall school climate.
Naomi Grace Lau