The Four Step Approach

The Four Step Approach is an adaptation of Anne-Françoise Gilbert’s Three Step Approach, which she introduced to SDU at her course on Gender Aware Teaching and Learning in April, 2016. The Four Step Approach provides a framework for identifying and addressing a ‘critical incident’ in a teaching or supervision situation, which may have been affected by bias.

Application: The resource includes a short introductory Four Step Approach Presentation 4 Step Approach Presentation and the accompanying The Four Step Approach Template for recording the four steps. The resource is designed to be used in conjunction with bias awareness raising resources available above and resources on the Think Pieces page.

Beyond Stereotypes- counteracting particularly gender biases in teaching, learning and assessment

Emma Hammarlund, Assistant Professor, Translational Cancer Research, Lund University, Sweden.

 Through her think piece videos on gender-sensitive teaching, Emma shares how her roles as researcher, funding applicant and HE teacher led her to recognise the need for practical resources to address gender bias in her teaching. Inspired by Moss-Racusin et al.’s (2012) findings, where gender bias favoured male applicants for science positions, Emma set her students an editing task, where they found more mistakes in the same text when assigned a female rather than a male name. This exercise heightened Emma’s and her students’ understanding of how bias, in this case gender bias, can affect us all and reasons for anonymous marking.

Application: See Emma’s poster for insights into gender bias and practical suggestions for mitigating bias and its effects. Stereotype Poster Hammarlund

7 Steps to: Mitigating Unconscious Bias in Teaching and Learning

Muneer, R., Cotton, D. and Winter, J. (2015) 7 Steps Series, Educational Development, Plymouth University.

Application: This 7 step checklist for teachers, is designed to keep us aware of possible biases and to inform our teaching practices. The 7 steps to decolonising assessment is also available.

Ten simple rules for unbiased teaching.

Dean Mobbs & Sarah M Tashjian. PLoS Computational Biology. 2022 Oct 6;18(10):e1010344. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010344. PMID: 36201408; PMCID: PMC9536547.

Application: recommendations for bias-aware teaching and learning practices.

Handbook Cognitive Biases

Federal Intelligence Service, Bern, Switzerland (2024).

Application: The handbook includes insights into and strategies for mitigating the effects of 18 different categories of unconscious biases.

Gender Inclusive English Language

The Writing Centre at the University of Carolina provides a helpsheet on Gender inclusive language

Application: This resource can help raise awareness of gender stereotyped language and provide alternative gender-inclusive language.

Empirically Validated Strategies to Reduce Stereotype Threat

Strategies To Reduce Stereotype Threat – Compiled by Greg Walton, Geoff Cohen, and Claude Steele (May 2012). 

Gendered innovations

Gendered innovations provides navigation through sex and gender analysis for scientists and engineers – developed at Stanford University.

Application: This resource – aiming for state-of-the-art methods for gender and sex analyses – provides practical tools, checklists, and case studies to assist in the time and cost-efficient research and development within natural science, medicine, health, engineering and environmental sciences.

Seven actionable strategies for advancing women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine

Smith et al 2015

Application: This resource provides a shortlist of recommendations to promote gender equality in science and stimulate future efforts to level the field.

Inclusion Nudges – by Tinna Nielsen and Lisa Kepinski 

Application: The book ‘Inclusion Nudges’ provides practical examples of how to address unconscious bias from three approaches: Feel the Need – awareness raising; Process – changes at organisational level and Framing – challenging and changing our frames of reference.

You can access more of Tinna’s and Lisa’s work on the Think Pieces page and on the Inclusion Nudges website.

Cognitive Bias Cheat-Sheet and Codex

The Cognitive Bias Cheat-Sheet and Codex – compiled by Buster Benson – organises cognitive biases into four categories: 1. Too much information, 2. Not enough meaning, 3. Need to act fast, 4. What should we remember. Each bias is briefly defined and exemplified.

Application: The resource includes a diagrammatic representation of the categorised cognitive biases, and whilst its scale can be overwhelming, selecting a range of biases from each category and inviting colleagues and students to reflect on their bias experiences can facilitate stimulating discussions and workshops. (Click on image to enlarge)

Supporting criteria-aligned, fair and transparent oral exams – pilot study

In 2019-2020 an engineering course at SDU piloted ‘Oral Exam Checklist for Bias Aware Assessment – 16 check-ins’ to support criteria-aligned, fair and transparent oral exams. The checklist was positively reviewed and recommended to fellow teachers by the course leader and an interviewed student. The pilot study was designed and led by a team representing SDU’s Centre for Teaching and Learning, Gender Equality Team and Student Services.  

Application: The checklist provides guidance on preparing students for oral exams, bias-aware examining during and after oral exams.

The nature of unconscious bias – Beige and Purple

© Shire Professional Chartered Psychologists
Application: A handy list of research-based practices for mitigating the effects of unconscious bias.

‘Recognising and including LGBTQ+ identities in language teaching‘ toolkit

University College London.

Application: The toolkit is meant to be actionable and spark reflection for individual teachers and programme/departmental teams, and there should be something in there for colleagues who are relatively new to teaching as well as those with a lot of experience.
While created with HE language teachers in mind, the authors hope and think it can also be useful for non-language teachers, and it should work very well together with other initiatives such as decolonising the curriculum.