Implicit bias, or unconscious bias, refers to subtle cognitive processes of forming judgments that happen so fast that they often operate below conscious awareness and can be based on stereotypes or unexamined and limited assumptions about what constitutes “typical.” Dasgupta and Stout (2014) describe how everyone is vulnerable to such biases as they are by-products of normal mental processes such as memory, perception, and learned associations. And, such implicit bias can lead to unintentional errors and subtle (or not so subtle) patterns of discrimination without individual awareness or control. The cost of not paying attention to implicit bias disadvantages individuals who are impacted by them, creating unfair obstacles for learning and thriving and allowing systemic disadvantages to continue unchecked.
Content from Teaching & Learning in the Diverse Classroom, used under CC BY license
While anti-basis education has its foundation in the K-12 curriculum, strategies that form this framework can be incorporated into college classrooms and andragogical practices. The following represent relevant principles from Teaching Tolerance's Critical Practices for Anti-Bias Education:
Learn more at https://www.tolerance.org/frameworks/critical-practices
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