Abstract

Inclusion is a multifaceted concept with multiple definitions. In our chapter, we consider inclusivity as comprising intellectual and affective dimensions, and that inclusive teaching involves adapting curriculum content, teaching methods, and teaching resources. Inclusion is, therefore, not simply an outcome or a practice, but also a philosophy and process. As student retention and success become linked to inclusive learning environments, inclusive teaching strategies have been proposed as solutions for low student retention and engagement. Using a new second-year undergraduate course as our case study, we outline how our course and instructional design, including students’ learning experiences, were shaped by backward design (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005), constructive alignment (Biggs, 1996), and inclusive adaptation strategies (Westwood, 2024). At the core of our inclusive teaching strategy was the use of active and inquiry-based learning in the classroom and via Canvas, an online learning management system, to foster learner agency and increase student engagement. We paid particular attention to designing learning activities and assessment tasks that were creative, leveraged digital media technologies, and allowed for learner agency. As the student evaluations showed, students appreciated the autonomy to adapt assessment tasks, the relevance of their learning to their interests and career aspirations, and the supportive in-person and online learning environments we created. Drawing on findings from our case study, we discuss and reflect on the innovative ways to embed inclusion into course and instructional designs, focusing on using digital tools and technologies and designing creative scenarios for assessments and learning activities. Finally, our chapter highlights several challenges and opportunities to implementing inclusive teaching pedagogy in higher education learning environments.

Keywords

Student retention, student engagement, learner agency, inclusive education, higher education, inclusive teaching

Introduction

Inclusivity in the classroom has gained attention as an educational practice and a focus of scholarly inquiry following the adoption of the United Nations Salamanca Statement in 1994 (Hernández-Torrano et al., 2022). In the Salamanca Statement on Principles, Policy and Practice in Special Needs Education and a Framework for Action, inclusive schools are defined as institutions that “include everybody, celebrate differences, support learning, and respond to individual need” (UNESCO, 1994, p. iii, emphasis in original). The notion of inclusive education is closely linked to human rights, specifically the right to education. As set out in Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, education is a fundamental right (United Nations, n.d.). In addition to the Salamanca Statement, other international covenants, such as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, also codify the right to education for children, women, and persons with disabilities, as do several state legislations in Australia (see ACT Government, 2004; Queensland Government, 2019). At the same time, as Knight et al. (2025) contend, conceptions of inclusion must go beyond “the placement of disabled children and young people and those who require additional support in mainstream schools” (p. 496).

Inclusive classrooms have been linked to “increased completion rates, better qualifications, the development of critical thinking, greater professional aspirations and increased self-confidence and self-esteem” (Sánchez-Díaz et al., 2024, p.2). However, while research shows that highly engaged students have low attrition rates (Zepke, 2021), increasing student attendance to in-person lectures and tutorials can be challenging for courses without mandatory attendance requirements or in-class participation marks. Compounding irregular student attendance, in the global north the cost-of-living crisis has also compelled students to prioritise work commitments over their university classes (Jacks et al., 2023). While not the focus of this chapter, the impacts created by the global trend of casualisation in the higher education sector cannot be ignored. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the trend of casualisation within academia has grown significantly across the global north. Job precarity can negatively impact the wellbeing of precariously employed staff and the quality of teaching and learning (Klopper & Power, 2014; Smithers et al., 2025). Designing inclusive teaching strategies requires both time and expertise, but academics on casual employment contracts often have insufficient time to adapt the teaching materials given to them and have less access to professional development opportunities (Leathwood & Read, 2022).

In our chapter, we approach inclusion as “an explicit intellectual and affective inclusion of all students into our fields and disciplines, through course content, assessment, and/or pedagogy” (Brown University, 2024, para 1). For teaching to be inclusive, educators must adapt “the design and physical structures, teaching methods, and curriculum as well as the culture, policy and practice of education environments” to ensure students can access them without discrimination (UNICEF, 2017, p. 3). Adaptation is pivotal to creating inclusive classrooms that facilitate student-centred learning and respond to diverse learning needs (Westwood, 2024). For teaching to be inclusive, three areas of adaptations are often necessary. Adapting curriculum content involves “matching content more effectively to students’ learning characteristics and to the types of learning involved in [a] particular subject matter” (Westwood, 2024, p. 44). Adapting teaching methods refers to modifying instructional approaches – that is, selecting appropriate teacher-directed or student-centred teaching methods based on the learning required. Finally, adapting teaching resources is premised on providing “appropriate materials at the right level of difficulty” to involve “students actively and productively in the processes of learning” (Westwood, 2024, p. 78).

Using a new undergraduate course as the case study, our chapter outlines how curriculum design and students’ learning experiences were shaped by our adaptation and inclusive teaching strategies. Global Media Industries was a new second-year course in the Bachelor of Media and Communication, a three-year program offered at the University of Newcastle in Australia. Completing this core course is mandatory for students majoring in Media Production, Public Relations, and News Media, which includes students enrolled in combined programs (e.g. Law, Psychological Science, Business, and Development Studies). Our case study illustrates how backward design (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005) and constructive alignment (Biggs, 1996) were used to adapt the curriculum content, teaching methods, and teaching resources for mixed-ability classrooms (Westwood, 2024). Our inclusive teaching methods combined teacher-directed with student-centred teaching, facilitating active and inquiry-based learning in both in-person and online learning environments, and redesigning assessments to be creative, leverage digital media technologies, and enhance learner agency. As shown through the informal in-class feedback and end-of-semester student surveys, students appreciated our inclusive adaptations. They particularly valued the use of relevant, real-world examples, diverse learning activities, clear assessment expectations, and the supportive learning environments.

We begin this chapter by discussing the importance of inclusive classrooms and how Universal Design (UD) fosters inclusivity in higher education learning environments. Following this, we explain our selection of the Global Media Industries course as our case study, describe the student cohorts, and outline the teaching team’s employment contexts. We then outline the inclusive teaching strategies we used, which involved adaptations in three areas: (i) curriculum topics and assessments; (ii) learning activities and materials; and (iii) print and digital teaching and learning materials. These adaptations were aimed at removing barriers to student learning. Reflecting on our experience teaching and adapting the Global Media Industries course, our chapter proposes a variety of innovative ways to embed inclusive adaptations into course and instructional designs. We also outline several challenges and opportunities to implement inclusive teaching pedagogy, including academic structures and fragmented institutional training, as well as the positive impacts of academic kindness and co-designing curricula and assessments with students.

Inclusivity in higher education learning environments

Student retention and engagement

In the higher education sector, inclusive education and classrooms are integral to student retention and engagement (Zepke, 2021). On the one hand, efforts to increase inclusivity in higher education learning environments reflect a commitment to inclusive education, which is “vital to achieving quality education for all, and fairer, more inclusive societies” (Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2016, para 11). On the other hand, the increased focus on inclusive learning environments is emblematic of student retention and engagement being used as measures of success for courses and higher education programs and, more broadly, for measuring and benchmarking institutional performance (Tight, 2020).

Student retention and student engagement are closely related concepts that have emerged in research about student success at university. Student retention relates to “students completing a course of study or continuing it after passing through check points such as assessments or enrolment periods” (Zepke, 2021, p. 65). A low rate of student retention results in high attrition, where students leave a program before completing it. Four risk factors have been identified to impact on student retention: a sense of belonging, workload stress, intellectual engagement, and feeling supported (Naylor et al., 2018). In relation to student engagement, Wolf-Wendel et al. (2009) put forward that it comprises two facets: the degree to which students participate, and the efforts made by the higher education institution to engage them. For Thomas et al. (2021), “student success is achieved through active engagement in an inclusive learning community, which requires institutional transformation” (p.2). In addition, institutional strategies to engage students must also be complemented by the “engaging power of discipline knowledge” where teaching “[satisfies] simultaneously a tacit demand for content, for understanding content, for relevance and application of that content” (Zepke, 2021, p. 78).

In the Australian context, inclusive classrooms are perhaps more important than ever. Australian universities now have higher rates of non-traditional students, including first-in-family, low socio-economic status, Indigenous and other equity groups, which have often experienced challenges in study (Oliver et al., 2012). Between 2009 and 2014, the attrition of domestic and international students commencing at Australian public universities increased 3% to 18.7% (Naylor et al., 2018, p. 329). Since 2014, attrition rates in the Australian higher education sector have remained stable at around 14.7% (Australian Government Department of Education, 2025). There is also a noticeable rise in the number of undergraduate students with declared disabilities. In 2023, undergraduate students with disabilities make up approximately 20% of the student population at five Australian universities. The University of Newcastle, the authors’ affiliated institution, is ranked second highest for the number of undergraduate students with disabilities (20.8%). It also has the fifth highest percentage of First Nations Australian Students within its undergraduate student population (4.81%), while other Australian universities typically have 1-2% (Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success, n.d.).^[1]

Inclusive teaching approaches and practices

Higher education institutions are increasingly focusing on inclusive education and actively working to diversify their classrooms; these efforts reflect a growing commitment to the principles of equality and equity within education (Atanasova & Papen, 2025). Understanding by Design (UbD) principles have been instrumental in shaping course and instructional designs in higher education (Burgstahler, 2015), including the design of educational products and environments (e.g. websites and classrooms). The strategies Westwood (2024) proposes to adapt curriculum content, teaching methods, and teaching resources also reference UbD principles, as does the Understanding by Design framework which emphasises using a backward design approach to designing curriculum to teach for understanding (see Wiggins & McTighe, 2005).

The UbD framework is based on seven core principles. The principles are presented below using definitions provided by North Carolina State University (n.d.), which used US spelling:

• Equitable use: the design is useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities.
• Flexibility in use: the design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities.
• Simple and intuitive use: use of the design is easy to understand, regardless of the user’s experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level.
• Perceptible information: the design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient conditions or the user’s sensory abilities.
• Tolerance for error: the design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions.
• Low physical effort: the design can be used efficiently and comfortably and with a minimum of fatigue.
• Size and space for approach and use: appropriate size and space is provided for approach, reach, manipulation, and use regardless of user’s body size, posture, or mobility.

The development of UbD is rooted in the Barrier Free movement started by Ronald Mace and the work by the Centre for Accessible Housing at North Carolina University, which Mace founded in 1989 and on which he served as director.^[2] An architect by training, Mace advocated for the use of UbD in architecture design and building – “a way of designing a building or facility, at little or no extra cost, so it is both attractive and functional for all people, disabled or not” (Mace, 1985, cited in Lanteigne et al., 2022, p. 9). In higher education, applying Universal Design to practice involves designing multiple means of engagement, representation, as well as action and expression to support learners and create an inclusive learning environment (CAST, 2024b). A systematic review of the literature on the use of Universal Design principles in post-secondary education reveals two dominant educational frameworks: Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Universal Design for Instruction (UDI). Both frameworks recognise students are diverse learners and require differentiated instructions and learning environments (Reardon et al., 2021).

In the UDL framework, the design of instruction is based on seven principles: (i) it is useful and accessible to diverse learners; (ii) it accommodates individual abilities; (iii) it is straightforward and predictable; (iv) necessary information is communicated effectively; (v) it anticipates variability in learning pace and prerequisite skills; (vi) minimises non-essential effort, and (vii) considers the appropriate size and space and the communication needs of learners (Rose & Meyer, 2002). The UDI framework, on the other hand, also espouses the seven UDL principles, but includes two additional principles – community of learners and instructional climate. The first relates to promoting interaction and communication, both among and between the learners and teaching staff, and the second to creating a welcoming and inclusive climate of instruction (Scott et al., 2003).

One of the strong proponents of UDL is CAST, a global non-profit organisation in educational research and development. It receives public and philanthropic funding from entities such as the US Department of Education and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. CAST has developed comprehensive guidelines to apply its UDL framework and provides design options and considerations for educators to think through how best to “change the design of the environment rather than to situate the problem as a perceived deficit within the learner” (CAST, 2024a, para. 3). The goal of UDL, according to CAST, is learner agency, defined as “the capacity to actively participate in making choices in service of learning goals” (CAST, 2024a, para. 1). Several Australian universities, such as James Cook University (see Centre for Education and Enhancement, n.d.) and the University of New South Wales Sydney (see UNSW Sydney, 2025.), draw explicitly on CAST’s UDL framework to create checklists and case studies to help staff embed inclusivity into their course design and delivery. Importantly, previous research on the application of UD in higher education has identified institutional support and training as enabling factors for inclusive teaching (Hitch et al., 2015; Reardon et al., 2021).

The case of CMNS2510 Global Media Industries

Before describing our inclusive adaptation in the Global Media Industries course, it is important to briefly outline the factors that resulted in the lead author (Xu) and Rokobauer (the second author) working together.^[3] Xu and Rokobauer will be referred to collectively as the ‘teaching team’ for the rest of this chapter, using their last names or roles (coordinator, lecturer, or tutor) when describing the adaptation strategies employed and the challenges or opportunities identified. Global Media Industries is an on-campus course delivered face-to-face using two primary contact types: lectures and tutorials. The course is also offered transnationally in Singapore, with the local teaching teams having access to our teaching resources (e.g., slides, worksheets, tutorial lesson plans, and content on Canvas). In Australia, post-census enrolments showed 122 students and 112 students in 2023 and 2024, respectively (see Table 10.1). In both years, students from the Bachelor of Media and Communication formed the majority of enrolments (over 86% and 80% in 2023 and 2024, respectively), with some coming through our combined programs with Law, Development Studies, and Psychological Science. Most students lived in metropolitan areas; a substantial number had a declared disability and were first in their family to attend university. International student numbers were small. Post-census data showed 10 international students in 2024 (8.9%) and 14 in 2023 (11%).

Table 10.1. Overview of student cohorts in Global Media Industries.

The cyclic process of inclusive adaptations

Initiating the process of adaptation

When Xu became a faculty member at the University of Newcastle in 2022, she inherited the Global Media Industries course. As the coordinator, her responsibilities included reviewing the course learning outcomes (CLOs), curriculum content, assessments, learning activities, and instructional materials. Xu started redesigning the course 18 months before its delivery in July 2023. The redesigning process had to begin early because of institutional deadlines to submit major course revisions. Because the redesign involved changing over 80% of the curriculum content and learning materials, she was awarded ‘points’ that counted towards her annualised teaching workload. These ‘workload points’ subsequently reduced Xu’s teaching hours and marking load. An overview of the course information of Global Trends in Media and Communication and Global Media Industries is presented in Table 10.2.

Rokobauer was recommended to Xu as a potential tutor in early 2023 by a colleague who had taught a media and communication theory course with her. Then a second-year PhD student, Rokobauer had completed the course as an undergraduate student and tutored in the earlier iteration of the course for three years. Xu gained three key insights from speaking to Rokobauer and reading the students’ anonymous end-of-semester course and teaching surveys from 2021 to 2022. First, from the students’ perspective, the previous Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) and assessments in the Global Trends in Media and Communication course lacked alignment. The term ‘constructive alignment’ is used to describe the alignment between learning outcomes and students’ performances of understanding (Biggs, 1996). For example, it was not apparent to students how writing a report assessing the role of a media professional in a foreign country (Assessment 3) helps them understand the global media industry’s impacts on their professional practice (CLO 3). Second, students wanted the content and learning activities to be linked to their future professions. As an example, some students did not find the country case study (Assessment 2) relevant to their interests or careers. In this assessment, students adopted the role of a policy advisor to write a briefing report for a minister visiting a foreign country to discuss approaches to media and communication policy. Third, the students wanted changes to the learning activities and weekly course topics, which were structured around theoretical perspectives towards global media. That is not to say students did not desire theoretical content and discussions, but wanted learning activities that were engaging, relevant, and learner-centric over didactic instruction and activities.

Table 10.2. Course information for Global Trends in Media and Communication and Global Media Industries.

Using backward design to implement inclusive adaptations

To foster learner agency and create an inclusive learning environment, Xu integrated backward design (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005) with Westwood’s (2024) adaptation strategies into the Global Media Industries course. The backward design approach to curriculum design comprises three interrelated stages: (i) identify the desired results for students so that the educator’s goals and priorities are clarified; (ii) determine the acceptable evidence to demonstrate and validate that students have achieved the desired results; and (iii) plan learning experiences and instruction using the WHERETO instructional principles. Each letter of the WHERETO acronym contains a question to guide the development of learning experiences to teach for understanding.^[4] When students understand, it means they can explain, interpret, apply and empathise, and have gained perspective and self-knowledge (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005).

Using backward design, Xu first determined the understanding students should develop through the Global Media Industries course (refer to the course description in Table 10.2). Next, Xu revised the CLOs and assessment tasks to ensure that the appropriate levels of understanding and performance are assessed. Constructive alignment is important because competence and understanding develops over the semester (Brown, 2004). Xu specified these competencies and understanding in the CLOs (e.g. see CLOs 3 and 4 in Table 10.2) and redesigned the assessments to increase learner agency (CAST, 2024a) by leveraging students’ interests, creativity, and career aspirations in assessment designs. For example, Assessment 2 (Case Study Analysis) allows students to select the global media text to analyse based on their interest (e.g., a film, music album, or television show) or the media industry in which they want to work. Students can also use their career aspirations to guide their selection of the global media text. Those with interests in marketing or public relations can analyse the media text’s promotion, whereas those aspiring to be content producers or film reviewers can analyse its reception.

In the redesigned Global Media Industries course, students develop an understanding of the interactions between local and international developments in global media industries and the cultural, historic, economic, and technological factors influencing the creation and consumption of media texts. In line with this focus, Xu’s instructional design utilised active and inquiry-based learning strategies to enable students to “actively construct or make their knowledge that reality is determined by [their] experiences” (Elliott et al., 2000, p. 256). Active learning is “an approach by the educator which actively engages the learners as participants in their learning” (Lutsenko & Lutsenko, 2022, p. 28). When using active learning, students contextualise their learning by incorporating their previous experiences (Lutsenko & Lutsenko, 2022). On the other hand, inquiry-based learning seeks to adopt a learner-centred and learner directed approach that places more control of the learning process with the student than with the educator (Blessinger & Carfora, 2014).

The teaching resources (for students) and instructional materials (for tutors) in Global Media Industries were key to teaching for understanding and fostering inclusivity and learner agency. To help students develop an understanding of the course topics and learn to “perform effectively with knowledge” (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005, p. 82), Xu integrated Webb’s (2007) four Depth of Knowledge Levels into the design of in-class and online (Canvas) learning experiences. As students progress through their learning, they move from Level 1 (recall), Level 2 (apply skills or concepts), Level 3 (strategic thinking) and finally, Level 4 (extended thinking). Each course topic had its own module detailing the CLOs addressed by that week’s learning. Every module had three pages: Pre Class, In Class, and Post Class, which focused on creating enduring understandings and raising essential questions about global media industries. Enduring understandings are “statements that clearly articulate big ideas that have lasting value beyond the classroom and that students can revisit throughout their lives” whereas essential questions refer to “big, open-ended interpretive questions that have no one obvious right answer” (Brown, 2004, p. 18).

In Xu’s tutorial lesson plans for Global Media Industries, she provided instructions on conducting teacher-directed teaching, where students engage with the teacher throughout the class, and student-centred teaching to capitalise on students’ personal and intellectual interests (see Westwood, 2024). The lesson plans explained the links between the key learning concepts and learning activities, and how these were linked to the CLOs and assessments. Xu also provided suggestions on adapting the learning activities and discussion questions. While lesson plans ensured instructional equity, tutors could make modifications to manage time or address skills and knowledge gaps. Lesson plans also became a conduit to share effective teaching strategies and for Xu, who had worked in the media and communication industries, to share key developments in these industries with Rokobauer.

To prepare for tutorials, students are required to use the learning prompts and readings in the Canvas pre-class modules to engage with the topic. During tutorials, in-class and online learning activities are used to build skills, understanding, and confidence to complete the assessments. Following the tutorials, optional supplemental learning activities on Canvas allow students to deepen their learning. Responding to student feedback from 2021 to 2022, Xu ensured that the learning activities were relevant to students across the three majors. Redesigned learning activities include a comparative analysis of an Australian television drama with its Chinese adaptation (Media Production), reviewing examples of stereotypical news reports and racist media texts about a diaspora community (News Media), and roleplaying hiring a virtual influencer (Public Relations). These active and inquiry-based learning activities enhanced learner agency, allowing students to draw on their knowledge and experiences and tailor the activities to their interests and curiosity. Positive student feedback was received for the curriculum content, engaging teaching methods, and creative roleplaying scenarios. In their end-of-semester surveys,^[5] students noted the structured organisation of the course content on Canvas and the diverse range of course topics, engaging class discussions, and interesting assignments as some of the best aspects of the course.

As an example of enhancing constructive alignment and creative learning activities, in the week on food media, students watched mukbang videos (recorded or livestreamed videos of people eating large quantities of food). They could choose to watch traditional or non-traditional mukbang, or an eastern or western hybrid of mukbang. The internationalisation of the curriculum was intentional and strategic: to draw attention to non-western cultures, perspectives, and media texts and to encourage students to probe their roles as producers, consumers, and global citizens. This mukbang learning activity also connects to Assessment 3, which requires students to write a report about adapting a media text for audiences in a country (e.g. adapting a book into a television series, or a western television reality series for another country). After watching the mukbang videos, students were placed in groups and provided with a food item to photograph or film. A Padlet activity board with custom prompts written by Xu guided students in describing their upload of the food image or video. Through discussions, students critically reflected on their dual roles as creators and audiences, considering the real-world applications of that week’s concepts relating to ‘spectacular bodies.’^[6] and ‘platformed bodies’^[7] The Padlet content also served as ‘live’ teaching aids for the tutors and was used to facilitate peer learning in class and across tutorials. Online access to images and videos resulted in greater engagement and discussion amongst tutorial groups and with the course materials.

The teaching team was not idealistic in thinking that every student would complete the pre-class preparations and post-class reflective activities on Canvas. However, this method of presenting the learning content proved advantageous for increasing student engagement, learner agency, and inclusivity, because of the underlying UD principles in backward design (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005) and inclusive adaptation strategies (Westwood, 2024). For example, the course’s structured, three-part format offered predictability and accommodated students’ learning pace, aligning with UDL principles of simple and intuitive, perceptible information, and tolerance for errors. Students shared with us that this course format alleviated their stress and anxiety, particularly when work or illness prevented adequate tutorial preparations. Instead of feeling overwhelmed and missing tutorials, students attended class and used the online content to follow along with the tutorial discussions. It was noteworthy that tutorial attendance remained high and consistent throughout the semester, even though it was non-compulsory and did not contribute to students’ grades.

Challenges and opportunities

We received overwhelmingly positive student responses to our inclusive teaching and adaptations of Global Media Industries, as shown by formal and informal feedback about the course and our teaching. Reflecting on our inclusive teaching practice, we identify several challenges and opportunities to implementing an inclusive teaching pedagogy. According to Molbaek’s (2018) literature review on effective teaching strategies, inclusive teaching practices comprise four dimensions – namely, the framing, relational, didactic, and organisational dimensions (refer to Table 10.3 for definitions). These four dimensions reflect the wide range of factors impacting the development and implementation of inclusive teaching, including the educators’ priorities, expectations, and actions. Neither academic structures and employment nor knowledge and competencies for working with precariously employed staff are considered aspects of the organisational and didactic dimensions, respectively. However, these factors were most significant in their impacts on our inclusive teaching pedagogy, as elaborated below.

Table 10.3. Four dimensions of an inclusive teaching practice (Molbaek, 2018).

At the point of writing this chapter in 2025, Xu is a full-time academic on a continuing contract, while Rokobauer is currently employed on a six-month fixed-term contract (FTC) but was a casual academic when she taught the course in 2023 and 2024. The financial instability of casual work, coupled with a heavy marking load of around 100 submissions per assessment, led Rokobauer to experience marking fatigue. Xu and Rokobauer also had uneven distributions of teaching and marking loads because of differences in how their workload was calculated. As a continuing staff, Xu accumulated ‘points’ to meet her teaching obligations by coordinating courses, lecturing, tutoring, and marking assessments. In contrast, Rokobauer was paid based on the hours she was contracted to work. In retrospect, the success of our team teaching could be attributed to our sustained practice of ‘academic kindness’. Such acts of kindness are characterised by “generosity of thought and action” (Burton, 2021, p. 30) and cooperation involving sharing resources of cultural capital. For instance, Rokobauer shared her experiences teaching the previous course and co-designed certain learning activities with Xu. Later, Xu invited Rokobauer to co-present pedagogical research on Global Media Industries at Te Puna Aurei LearnFest symposium in 2023, which developed into this co-authored chapter. In the former example, our practice of academic kindness was a conscious action, but the latter was serendipitous and instigated by the call for papers for the online symposium.

A key strength of the Global Media Industries course was the option to personalise assignments and learning activities. The teaching team observed that the use of active and inquiry-based learning resulted in deeper engagement with the assessment tasks, as students were afforded the opportunity to personalise their learning. For example, in the case study analysis and report, students had 32 options of media texts, ranging from films, television series, books, video games, to music albums. Students must be familiar with the media text, so popular media texts like Barbie (Gerwig, 2023) and Bluey (Brumm & Jeffery, 2018–present) were chosen to ensure the selection was accessible. The selection of media texts, however, was limited to those familiar to the teaching team, limiting suggestions for each global media industry. To address this challenge and to increase the assessment’s inclusivity, in future students could complete a learning activity to identity global media texts representative of media industry developments and also engage in peer reviewing. Responding to student feedback about the extensive research involved in the assessments, Xu changed the assignment criteria the following year. Students could choose the same media text for their case study analysis and report, which deepened their understanding of developments and practices within global media industries. In 2024, Xu also created documents to help students unpack and ‘break down’ the assessment tasks. This approach to inclusive assessments, as suggested by Thomas et al. (2021), involved providing students with clear expectations, guidelines, and checklists.

Another challenge we faced related to limited resources and fragmented institutional support and training. Xu’s ongoing adjustments to the learning content and lesson plans took a significant amount of time and required weekly chats between Xu and Rokobauer. The chats were brief and helpful in providing social support, but they increased the time spent on lesson preparations. Manually mapping constructive alignment and applying backward design were also time-consuming but possible because Xu was allocated workload points. Institutional support and training are also crucial for teaching teams, particularly those comprising precariously employed staff. It is paramount for course coordinators to build knowledge and competencies in teaching mentorship and knowledge transfers (e.g. through lesson plans), as well as designing inclusive curricula and teaching strategies that allow for differentiated adaptations by tutors. Thus far, the inclusive adaptations for Global Media Industries have focused on improving access to learning (e.g. diversity of learning activities and integrating in-person and online learning environments) and access to assessments (e.g. the ‘breaking it down’ documents). Involving students in co-designing curricula is a participatory approach to inclusive learning that has not been utilised in Global Media Industries yet but will be a key priority. Enabling student participation through assessment, in tandem with internationalising curriculum, is part of inclusive teaching and learning and fosters an inclusive society (Westwood, 2024). Assessments can promote and hinder the inclusion of students (and their peers), because they “know themselves through assessment experiences” and “each assessment encounter codes knowledge about inclusion and exclusion” (Nieminen et al., 2024, p. 14, emphasis in original).

Conclusion

Building inclusive educational environments goes beyond placing students of different abilities, needs, and backgrounds into the same classroom. It also requires educators to consider the need to adapt curriculum content, teaching methods, and teaching resources so that inclusivity is explicitly embedded into course and instructional designs. As our case study of the Global Media Industries course shows, our students responded positively to the inclusive learning environments we created and were highly engaged with the learning content, which prioritised constructive alignment and alignment with the students’ interests and career aspirations. Notably, students consistently praised the teaching team as the best aspect of the course. Where it was difficult to implement broader course changes mid-semester, the teaching team could create a dynamic, inclusive, and engaging learning environment because they were in genuine dialogue and practiced academic kindness.

To help educators attune their teaching practice towards inclusivity, checklists based on the UDL and UDI frameworks and WHERETO principles could be developed to increase the ease of implementing inclusive teaching pedagogy. To build on our pedagogical insights from adapting the Global Media Industries course, in our future research we plan to develop teaching-for-understanding prompts for teaching teams in creative, media, and communication programs. The prompts will serve as a guide to apply UD principles in backward design and make use of digital tools and platforms (including learning management systems) to make inclusive and creative adaptations to curriculum content, teaching methods, and teaching resources.

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