Teaching Diversity and Learning Outcomes: Bringing Lived Experience into the Classroom

Abstract

This study examines the learning outcomes of an institutionalized program that provides artists as guest speakers. Art, guest speakers, and institutionalized programs are commonly analyzed teaching techniques, but studies have not examined their effectiveness for diversity education. Study of the diversity guest speaker program was guided by two questions: What kinds of learning outcomes does presenting the diversity speaker bring about for students? Which groups of students are most (least) likely to find the diversity speaker rewarding? Findings from the quantitative analysis Indicate learning outcomes varied among student groups; older students and female students both found the program more rewarding. Qualitative analysis suggests three kinds of learning outcomes: diversity outcomes, personal outcomes, and resistance. The paper concludes by discussing diversity, resistance, and learning outcomes