Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
1
Class Activities
Chapter 9: Embracing Diversity and Inclusion
Guide to the Class Activities
Each activity is designed based on Fink’s Learning Taxonomy and is tagged with the following
tags under the taxonomy’s learning and assessment structure:
1. Foundational Knowledge (F)
2. Application (A)
4. Human Dimension (H)
6. Learning How to Learn (L)
These activities may be used in either small-group or large-group settings, depending on class
size and time available. Some may also be suitable as homework.
Activities
In-Group Privilege (A, H, C)
This activity can alternatively be used for chapter 10. The concept of white privilege was first
proposed in 1935 and has since become a central concept of critical race theory. It relates to our
consideration of inclusion because it conceptualizes racial inequality not just as disadvantages
experienced by people of color, but also as advantages that white people gain from North
American society simply by being in the dominant group. Many websites offer exercises on
Inclusion questions can be formulated along different demographic lines (gender, ethnicity, age,
physical ability, etc.). Some examples:
Gender: Ask students to stand up (sit down, or take a step backward) if…
You have ever been told to “act like a man”
You have ever felt forced to fight in order to prove your manliness
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
2
Ethnicity
You attended elementary or high school comprised mainly of students with the
Age
When speaking to you, people don’t assume you’re hard of hearing and raise their
voice
You see people your age frequently represented in TV shows and movies
The exercise is best done without talking, so students can feel the accumulation of exclusionary
experiences. After each statement is read, allow a few seconds for the class to look around and
notice who has moved and how the composition of the class has changed. Students should be
Global Snapshots (F, A, H)
As homework, assign students to research a country other than their own and report back to
class. Have them explore cultural values/dimensions such as:
• Attitude toward age
• Gender equality?
• Attitude toward different ethnicities
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
3
My World View (F, A, H)
In class, have students sketch out their multiple social identities using Table 9.1 as a starting
point. This can be drawn in any way that students find helpful – as lists, Venn diagrams, icons,
etc. In what ways do they exemplify the primary dimensions? The secondary dimensions? Are
Clarifying Concepts (F)
Chapter 12 contains many important concepts that are similar yet offer important distinctions.
Create a worksheet for students and ask them to find the definitions for each term and give an
example of it. These lists can then be referred to during class discussion and used as study guides
for a quiz. The instructor can also create a Jeopardy style quiz to test student recall.
Diversity
Inclusion
Parity
Equity
Inequality
Campus Study (A, H, C)
Assign students in groups to research different aspects of their campus’s diversity efforts.
Sample topics: Hiring and retaining minority faculty; hiring and maintaining minority staff;
recruiting and retaining minority students; creating “safe” communication on campus; college
Instructor Resource
Northouse, Introduction to Leadership, 4e
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Writing Assignments
Diversity, Inclusion, and Leadership (F, A)
Have students write a 1 page paper on why diversity and inclusion are “not usually discussed as
core leadership concepts.” Do they agree that, historically, diversity and inclusion management
should be “center stage” for organizational leaders? Why or why not?
Millennial Leadership (F, A)
Assign students to read this report of a study by Deloitte and the Billie Jean King Leadership
Initiative on generational differences in defining diversity:
Select some of the questions below to address in the paper:
• How are millennials distinct from Boomers and Gen-Xers according to this review?
• How is the “millennial viewpoint” described? Do you agree?
• What is cognitive diversity? Can you give an example?
• How can leaders help millennials be engaged at work?
• What are some “narrow walls that surround diversity and inclusion” in organizations?
How can they be broken down?
Diversity Backlash (A, H, C)
An important, but challenging, topic to explore is the backlash to diversity efforts in U.S. society,
One Minute Paper Topics (F, A, I)
In a group, what is your ideal balance of being included vs. differentiating yourself from others?