Every student in my classroom environment deserves equal access to success. 

Agree or disagree?

Responding to the level of diversity in your classroom is more important than ever. But all too often, our education system reinforces the same inequalities it was designed to overcome. 

From preschool through higher education, actively promoting equity in the classroom helps remove barriers so all of your students can succeed. And when every student has the resources they need, the entire classroom thrives!

We put together a list of seven steps you can take today to build an open and equitable classroom for all your students. 

But first, let's dive into the what and why of equity in the classroom. 

What Does Equity in the Classroom Mean?

Equity in the classroom, or educational equity, means making sure every student has the resources and support they need to be successful. 

In an equitable classroom, individual factors don't hold back students from reaching their full learning potential – factors like:

• Race
• Culture
• Gender
• Religion
• Ethnicity
• Sexual orientation 
• Immigration status
• Individual experiences
• Socio-economic status

Promoting equity in the classroom involves culturally responsive teaching, an approach that recognizes, values, and incorporates students' diverse backgrounds, experiences, and learning styles into daily instruction. This method helps create inclusive learning environments where students have a sense of belonging – they see themselves reflected in the curriculum and feel empowered to participate fully in their education.

Equity Versus Equality

As Clayton Carr, 3rd grade teacher, puts it:

Our education system often fails to adequately provide for certain student populations:

• Students of color
• Neurodivergent students
• Students living in poverty
• Students with physical and mental disabilities

These disparities are becoming increasingly critical as our student population grows more diverse. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, between fall 2012 and fall 2022, the percentage of public school students who were Hispanic increased from 24% to 29%, while white student enrollment decreased from 51% to 44%.

Recent events have further highlighted the need for educational equity. Since March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed existing socio-economic inequalities in our education system, while the Black Lives Matter movement has prompted important conversations about racial justice and equality in schools around the world.

Everyone brings unique elements to the classroom, including their:

• Biases
• Traumas
• Identities
• Experiences
• Assumptions
• Backgrounds

There is no such thing as a typical student. And if education doesn't actively work to break down existing barriers, it reinforces the inequalities that have existed all along.

When equity in the classroom is a priority, all students benefit:

"A positive transfer effect of the demand to accommodate students with learning differences may be to disrupt this structural bias and stretch our education systems to support and even foster diversity." – Jutta Treviranus, Director of OCAD 

University's Inclusive Design Research Centre

Teachers like you need to be aware of these issues, examine what they're bringing to the classroom, and find meaningful ways to foster equity in the classroom. 

The Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 outlines three levels that can work to foster equity in education:

1. Institutional. What do the district and school administration value, and what policies do they put in place?
2. Personal. How do teachers engage with the complicated emotional and cognitive processes needed to work toward equity?
3. Instructional. What books, lesson plans, assignments, and teaching strategies do you use in the classroom?

Equity often depends on a school's culture and leadership, but there are always ways to promote it at a classroom level. Let's dive into eight ways to start creating a more equitable classroom today, whether you teach remotely or in the classroom.

1. Start with yourself

It's not just learners bringing assumptions, experiences, biases, and backgrounds into the classroom.

The first step to building equity in the classroom is to challenge your own beliefs. Of course you're not deliberately excluding students, but there's always work to be done that advances equity. 

Examine your assumptions about:

• Immigration status: Avoid making assumptions about citizenship, language abilities or cultural practices based on a student's name or appearance.
• Socio-economic status: Remember that access to resources, technology and time for schoolwork varies greatly among families.
• Holidays your students celebrate: Keep all religious holidays in mind when creating your schedule.
• Where your students or their parents were born: Don't assume all students or their families were born in your country – many have rich cultural heritage from around the world.
• The gender of people from particular professions: Challenge stereotypes about who can succeed in different careers by using diverse examples in your teaching.

When you're aware of your own biases, influences and cultural background, you're better equipped to thoughtfully engage with your students and build equity in the classroom from the ground up. 

2. Model equity for your students

Effective classroom equity starts with intentional modeling – showing students appropriate behaviors and creating inclusive spaces for learning. 

Here are some classroom setup tips that promote equity:

• Dynamic teaching positions: Move throughout the classroom to monitor student engagement and distribute power away from the traditional front-of-room structure.
• Flexible seating arrangements. Consider circular configurations or small group setups to promote collaboration and participation.

Key modeling strategies for an equitable classroom include:

• Set high expectations: Challenge every student to reach their full potential, regardless of past performance or external factors.
• Use inclusive language: Frame questions to acknowledge diverse experiences (e.g., "How was your break?" rather than assuming holiday celebrations).
• Address challenging topics: Create safe spaces for honest discussions about current events.

3. Be flexible with online learning

Remote learning has exposed significant student inequalities, from internet access to family responsibilities. Here's how to build a more equitable virtual classroom:

• Flexible scheduling: Provide extended time frames for assignments to accommodate diverse student schedules and responsibilities.
• Mixed content delivery: Combine real-time activities with pre-recorded lessons to increase accessibility.
• Privacy options: Allow camera-off participation or virtual backgrounds to respect student home environments.
• Individual support: Work directly with families to identify and overcome specific barriers to learning.

As computer lab teacher Lindsay Guthrie explains: "We work with each child… checking in every day to see how we can help. We've even tried handing out hotspots where we can."

Remember, students face varied challenges – from managing part-time jobs to caring for siblings. Success comes from understanding each student's situation and creating flexible solutions that work for them.

4. Address inappropriate remarks

Every student comes to the classroom with their own set of biases, assumptions, and prejudices. And sometimes they voice them in ways that are inappropriate, leaning on stereotypes and false information. 

Open dialogue is important in an equitable classroom. But part of building equity is shutting down insensitive remarks so every student feels comfortable bringing their whole selves to class. 

Teach appropriate language around asking questions about other students' cultures. When a student uses language that doesn't follow classroom guidelines, follow these steps:

• Pause: Stop the lesson immediately to focus on the problem. If you let it sit, any discussion loses its impact.
• Address: Bring attention to the remark without shaming the student. Explain why it doesn't promote equity and identify why the statement is harmful. 
• Discuss: Talk with the student one-on-one to help them understand why the comment they made was not appropriate.
• Follow up: If this is a repetitive behavior, follow up with your school administrator or guidance counselor to determine the next best steps.
  

It can be tricky at first, but addressing inappropriate remarks immediately is a powerful tool for promoting equity – much more powerful than calling out the student and passing judgment without a discussion. 

5. Accommodate different learning styles

Every classroom needs both formal accommodations (IEPs, assistive technology) and informal support strategies to ensure all students can succeed. Special education teacher Caralena Luthi emphasizes using diverse learning tools: "I provide audio recordings, videos, interactive online lessons, editable documents, live lessons and more."

Key strategies to support diverse learners include:

• Accessible online materials: Provide video captions, recorded lessons, and flexible scheduling options for remote learning.
• Multi-modal instruction: Use videos, written materials, hands-on activities, and interactive content to teach new concepts.
• Varied engagement styles: Combine individual work, paired activities, and group projects to promote cooperative learning and mutual respect.
• Multiple assessment types: Use diverse ways to measure understanding and encourage different approaches to problem-solving.
• Equitable participation: Implement random response strategies and ensure all students engage with challenging content.

Creating an accessible classroom benefits everyone, not just students who need additional support. When you adapt your teaching to different learning styles, all students have more opportunities to succeed.

6. Examine your teaching materials

Teaching materials often reflect limited perspectives, focusing on Western, white, male and middle-class narratives. Elementary teacher Lesley Pike emphasizes representation: "Does every student in my class see themselves in a book that we read? Can they identify with the problem? The character?"

Create an inclusive curriculum by:

• Diversifying content: Include authors of color and examine historical narratives from multiple perspectives, like exploring how civil rights intersect with gender equality and immigration.
• Analyzing existing materials: Help students identify and critique biases in current texts.
• Using inclusive examples: Write math word problems that reflect your students' diverse cultural backgrounds.
• Choosing inclusive tools: Use platforms like Prodigy Math that let students customize avatars and choose from diverse character names, following our Motivation First! philosophy.

Remember: When students see themselves represented in learning materials, they're more likely to engage and succeed.

7. Give students a voice

What better way to build equity in the classroom than promoting student voices?

Every student has unique experiences and perspectives – harness them! Students want and need meaningful ways to voice their opinions in the classroom, so involve them in planning classroom events and actively seek their feedback on what's happening in the classroom. 

This is especially important when students are learning remotely, and you have fewer ways to gauge understanding, engagement, and enthusiasm. 

To make sure involvement is equitable, try these strategies:

• Seek out the perspectives of students who don't share as much, and make sure that outgoing students don't dominate. Unequal opportunities for involvement can do serious harm to equity in your classroom. 
• Find ways for students to offer input in different ways. Class discussions are a great tool, but not every student feels comfortable sharing with the whole class. Set up an online form or hold office hours for one-on-one discussions with students.
• Implement the feedback students give. When students see that you value their input and take it seriously, they understand that their voices and opinions matter. Where possible, take feedback seriously and build it into your classroom and teaching. 

When every student has a voice in the classroom, you're well on your way to equality.

A More Equitable Classroom

Equity in the classroom is a process, not an immediate result. And promoting equity can have a whole host of benefits for every student in your classroom. 

In one OECD study on equity in education around the world, researchers noted:

"Achieving greater equity in education is not only a social-justice imperative, it is also a way to use resources more efficiently, and to increase the supply of knowledge and skills that fuel economic growth and promote social cohesion. Not least, how we treat the most vulnerable students shows who we are as a society."

Consider the seven steps above and ask yourself: What can I do today to start building a more equitable classroom? Prodigy can help. Just ask Cheryl:

"I am so happy with Prodigy and being able to use it in my classroom. It does not intimidate even the lowest level student in my class and everyone can get the skills they need while playing a game. My high-level and low-level students are able to battle each other and it equals the playing field for them. There is no judgment of "I am better than you" and they just have a blast being able to compete against someone who may be on more challenging material. Prodigy meets the needs of all my students, and I know that I am doing everything I can to make them ready for the next subject, standard, or school year." – Cheryl Sayers, 6th Grade Teacher

See how your students can benefit.