The importance and potential of intentional DEI instructional design

The concept of instructional design is typically encountered during teacher training and it is an incredible resource, providing valuable insight into classroom teaching and learning. Yet somehow, after graduation, there is never enough time to develop quality lesson plans.

Instructional design

There are so many requirements to include, and so many pieces to focus on, that the whole task starts to feel daunting or overwhelming. As a result, the lesson plan is modified quickly when needed and then, we have found, rarely used. If you have experienced intentional instructional design falling by the wayside in your classroom, we encourage you to rediscover it — and ultimately use it to share your wonderful lessons with others, to the benefit of all Latin teachers and students.

We’d like to invite you into the approach used to develop the lesson plans featured in this series.

1) First, establish the general lesson components that are important to your state, district, school, and department. For example: 

Start with this modified ACTFL lesson plan template, which we created for this series.

Select appropriate teaching frameworks such as Intercultural Competence, Comprehensible Input (CI), Social Emotional Learning (SEL), Culturally Responsive Practices (CRP), or Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

Align to standards such as state, district, and national organizations.

Consider techniques such as the use of technology, language functions, and target language.

2) Once you have clarity on the components above, dive into the design and identify an essential question, an evaluation, lesson goals, and objectives. Pause and spend a few more minutes intentionally thinking about the role that social justice plays within the content you are teaching. 

3) At this point, we encourage you to select the appropriate Social Justice Standards to include in your lesson plan. These standards, developed by Learning for Justice in 2014, are a set of age-appropriate anchor standards and learning outcomes divided into four domains: Identity, Diversity, Justice, and Action (IDJA).

The common language and organizational structure that they provide guide teachers in curriculum development and administrators in making schools more just, equitable, and safe. The standards are leveled for every stage of K–12 education and include school-based scenarios with examples of what anti-bias attitudes and behavior can look like in the classroom.

As you’ll see in the lesson plans in this series, we modified the ACTFL lesson plan template to include the Social Justice Standards (in the area of “connects with other standards,” along with the ACTFL “C’s” of Connections, Comparisons, and Communities). By integrating the Social Justice Standards with the World-Readiness Standards and instructional planning, teachers can create more accessible classroom experiences, building equity through individualized learning and differentiation and representing diversity in engagement strategies.

4) For the best part of all, share and swap lesson plans with other teachers! We can all benefit from each other’s time investment in intentional instructional design.

By intentionally using the Social Justice Standards in your lesson design, you will:

Identify and reflect on any biases or inequities that you might have about the content you are teaching.

Engage in critical self-reflection.

Handle distractions and redirect to your lesson-learning outcomes when necessary.

Focus on a path ahead to address challenging topics in the language classroom.

Build empathy and understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion in your classroom.

Acknowledge, appreciate, and respect the uniqueness of every individual.

Integrate different perspectives as needed to ensure learning outcomes are met.

Navigate conversations with colleagues, administrators, and parents knowledgeably and with confidence.

Lead your department and school in anti-bias curriculum and awareness.

Invest in your instructional design plans for years to come.

Instructional design in action

For examples of incredible instructional design in action, take a look at the lesson plans added to this series in 2022, each developed by a talented teacher revising one of their own favorite lessons with this approach.

In The Prince Who Never Saw Women, by Kristin Masters, students consider bias in literature and relate it to biases in society.

In Memorialization, Justice, and Diversity, by Abbi Holt, epitaphs provide a window into social identities and fights against oppression.

Constructing Identities through Foundation Stories, by Diana Pai, dives deep into how creation myths, Roman foundation stories, and modern nation-founding stories shape identities and reflect values.

In Roman Foods and Modern Slavery, by Katy Reddick, learners compare ancient and modern diets and investigate how human rights are connected to the foods we eat.

The Queen of Nubia and Enemy of Augustus, by Emma Vanderpool, uses Gholdy Muhammad’s Five Pursuits in uncovering the history of Kandake Amanirenas, exploring how the queen who repelled Roman forces is remembered.

In Ceres and Ascabalus: A Story of Xenia and Hospitium, also by Emma Vanderpool, students explore how the concept of hospitality differs across cultures.

We are preparing lessons for students who will graduate in five to ten years. While it is hard to predict the exact skill sets they will need to be successful, we do know that emotional intelligence and intercultural and global competencies are necessary. Making social justice standards a priority in lesson planning will foster greater awareness, knowledge, empathy, perspective, and purpose in our learners. In our world, with so much to do in so little time, what could be better than creating meaningful and magical lesson plans and sharing them with each other?  