Equitable Pedagogy | 014 | Beyond the Buzzword
Teaching that meets the moment.
Sometimes one sharp insight is all we need to hold on, reset, or reengage with purpose.
Practical takeaways pulled from the Student Success Podcast, so you don’t have to listen to the whole episode (unless you want to).
Episode with Dr. Michel Estefan: Show Notes | Apple | Spotify
We often hear to use an “equity lens.” In teaching, that often means being encouraged to adopt equitable pedagogy. But here’s the problem: when college practitioners invite speakers to talk about equity, they’re often left disappointed. Why? Because when college practitioners ask the practical, nuts-and-bolts how questions, they usually get the same vague answer: “It’s a mindset.”
And yes, it is a mindset. That part matters. But when faculty are looking for specific guidance to improve their practice, a mindset alone isn’t enough. Also, let’s be honest: most journal articles don’t offer much more than theory.
That’s why I was so glad to come across the work of Dr. Michel Estefan. He gets it. He knows how to unpack equitable pedagogy with clarity and specificity. Along with his colleagues, he co-authored a practical article titled From Inclusive to Equitable Pedagogy: How to Design Course Assignments and Learning Activities That Address Structural Inequalities, and it delivers.
I unpacked even more of his thinking through our conversation on the Student Success Podcast. It’s one of the most useful equity pedagogy resources I’ve encountered, and one that’s worth your time.
UC San Diego teaching professor, Dr. Michel Estefan’s equity framework—rooted in values, structure, and shared responsibility—gives you practical steps to teach with both heart and high expectations at any institution of higher education.
And at a time when anything related to DEI is being attacked, as I’ve said for years, you don’t need to use the word “equity” to do equity work. Just do the work.
1. Start with Values
Dr. Estefan doesn’t open his courses with a syllabus overview. He starts with the values that guide his teaching: kindness, community, and respect.
That’s not fluff. That’s foundation.
Action Prompt: What values ground your pedagogy? How do students know that?
Try starting your next course by naming the values that shape your classroom decisions. Let students see your “why.” It builds trust and sets the tone.
2. Authenticity Builds Trust
Dr. Estefan doesn’t code-switch into academic speak to prove he belongs. He speaks like someone who’s lived a working-class life. Because he has.
He uses accessible language, stories, and moments of real vulnerability to create bridges, not barriers, with students.
Action Prompt: How does your teaching voice reflect your authentic self? What can you share (appropriately) to create connection?
3. Use Collaboration Intentionally
Collaboration is more than group work. Dr. Estefan’s “deliberative interdependence” means designing learning tasks that make students accountable to each other, not just to you.
Think: collective quizzes, oral group exams, peer feedback loops.
Action Prompt: Where in your course can students learn with and from each other, not just near each other?
Design at least one group assessment that rewards consensus-building and requires mutual support.
4. Don’t Just Include. Dismantle.
Dr. Estefan outlines three structural barriers that show up in college classrooms all the time:
Academic inequities (students entering with uneven foundations)
Resource disadvantages (students working full-time, caregiving, navigating housing insecurity)
Cultural discrimination (whose norms are centered, and whose are othered)
He challenges educators to build classrooms that anticipate, not punish, these realities.
Action Prompt: Review your current assignments. Do they assume a level playing field? Or do they acknowledge the realities your students are navigating?
5. Community is a Strength, Not a Shortcut
Dr. Estefan reminds us: many students, especially those from historically marginalized groups, are wired for collective success. But our classrooms often reward individual hustle over community wisdom.
Action Prompt: What’s one way your classroom could honor collective learning? Peer feedback, co-created rubrics, shared accountability?
Effective teaching reflects the cultures of our students. Not just our own.
6. It’s Not About Student Readiness. It’s About Instructor Readiness.
As the fabulous teacher that he is, Dr. Estefan flips the tired “students aren’t ready” narrative on its head.
The real question: Are we ready to teach the students we have—not just the ones we wish we had?
Action Prompt: Build regular student feedback into your course: midterm check-ins, exit slips, anonymous pulse surveys. Then act on it.
Instructor readiness is a muscle. Flex it often.
Final Thought
You don’t need to overhaul everything overnight. But you do need to reflect, adjust, and commit to teaching like all your students belong.
Because they do.
Onward…
Dr. Al Solano
Founder, Continuous Learning Institute | About
Host, Student Success Podcast
A meaningful test of success is how helpful we are in contributing to our fellow human being’s happiness.