Holistic Pedagogy

Holistic pedagogy offers a transformative approach to teaching that supports the intellectual, emotional, and ethical growth of students by honoring their full humanity and lived experiences. By fostering inclusive, student-centered learning environments, this approach encourages deep engagement, personal connection, and a sense of belonging.

This page provides faculty with theoretical frameworks and curated resources to help integrate holistic methods into their teaching and create more responsive, compassionate classrooms.

Resources on Holistic Pedagogy

The following are resources that can be helpful when learning more about holistic pedagogy and it's impact on students:

The following is a list of informational reading focusing on pedagogies associated with holistic pedagogy:
- Galoozis, L. S. (2021). How to organize opt-in antiracist pedagogy discussions for professional growth (opinion). Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs.
- Mentor M, Sealey-Ruiz Y. Doing the Deep Work of Antiracist Pedagogy: Toward Self-Excavation for Equitable Classroom Teaching. Language arts. 2021
- Giles, B. (2020). Embracing Radical Inclusivity: Practical Steps for Creating an Intersectional, Interventionist Syllabus. (2020, August 14). Visible Pedagogy.
The following is a list of books focusing on key topics associated with holistic pedagogy:
- Souls of Black Folk by WEB DuBois (1903)
- Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin (1955)
- Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire (1968)
- Deschooling Society by Ivan Illich (1971)
- Playing in the Dark by Toni Morrison (1992)
- Teaching to Transgress by bell hooks (1994)
- Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum (1997)
- White Like Me by Tim Wise (2004)
- Working Toward Whiteness: How America’s Immigrants Became White: The Strange Journey From Ellis Island to the Suburbs by David R. Roediger (2005)
- The Myth of the Model Minority: Asian Americans Facing Racism by Rosiland S. Chou and Joe Feagin (2008)
- The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander (2010)
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (2011)
- Citizen by Claudia Rankine (2014)
- Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul by Eddie Glaude, Jr. (2016)
- How to be Less Stupid about Race: On Racism, White Supremacy, and the Racial Divide by Crystal Fleming (2018)
- White Fragility by Robyn DiAngelo (2018)
- How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi (2019)
- Black Feminism Reimagined: After Intersectionality by Jennifer C. Nash (2019)
- Caste by Isabel Wilkerson (2020)
- Teaching White Supremacy: America’s Democratic Ordeal and the Forging of our National Identity by Donald Yacovone (2022)
- The Race Track: How the Myth of Equal Opportunity Defeats Racial Justice by George Lipsitz, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Charles Harris Luke (2025)
The following is a list of articles that focus on key topics associated with holistic pedagogy:
Kishimoto K. Anti-racist pedagogy: from faculty’s self-reflection to organizing within and beyond the classroom. Race, ethnicity and education. 2018;21(4):540-554.

Kandaswamy P. Beyond Colorblindness and Multiculturalism: Rethinking Anti-Racist Pedagogy in the University Classroom. Radical teacher (Cambridge). 2007;80(80):6-11.

Mentor M, Sealey-Ruiz Y. Doing the Deep Work of Antiracist Pedagogy: Toward Self-Excavation for Equitable Classroom Teaching. Language arts. 2021;99(1):19-24.

Giles, B. Embracing Radical Inclusivity: Practical Steps for Creating an Intersectional, Interventionist Syllabus. (2020, August 14). Visible Pedagogy.
The following is a list of movies and films that focus on key topics associated with holistic pedagogy:
- 13th (2016)
  - Direted by Ann Duvernay
- I Am Not Your Negro (2016)
  - Directed by Raoul Peck (2016)
- Just Mercy (2019)
  - Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton
- Stamped from the Beginning (2023)
  - Directed by Ibram X. Kendi
The following is a list of scientific research that focus on key topics associated with holistic pedagogy:
- Scheuermann NL, Idlebird C, Kukday S, McCracken VJ, Bradley RE, Bergan-Roller H. University Biology Classrooms as Spaces for Anti-racist Work: Instructor Motivations for Incorporating Race, Racism, and Racial Equity Content. CBE life sciences education. 2024;23(4):ar61.
- Grunspan DZ, Eddy SL, Brownell SE, Wiggins BL, Crowe AJ, Goodreau SM. Males Under-Estimate Academic Performance of Their Female Peers in Undergraduate Biology Classrooms. PloS one. 2016;11(2):e0148405-e0148405.
- Lewis KL, Stout JG, Pollock SJ, Finkelstein ND, Ito TA. Fitting in or opting out: A review of key social-psychological factors influencing a sense of belonging for women in physics. Physical review Physics education research. 2016;12(2).
The following is a list of YouTube videos that focus on key topics associated with holistic pedagogy:

Antiracism
- TED. (2020) “The Difference between Being “Not Racist” and Antiracist | Ibram X. Kendi.” YouTube.
Equity vs. Equality
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. (2025). “Equity, Equality & Justice: What’s the Difference | #Shorts.” YouTube.
Race and Identity
Strand Book Store. (2018). Crystal Fleming | How to Be Less Stupid About Race (Audio). YouTube.

TED. (2020). The difference between being “not racist” and antiracist | Ibram X. Kendi. YouTube.

TEDx Talks. (2015). Is it only White People who can be racist? | Afra Raymond | TEDxPortofSpain. YouTube.

TEDx Talks. (2016). I Am Not Your Asian Stereotype | Canwen Xu | TEDxBoise. YouTube.

TEDx Talks. (2016). White Bred, White Noise | Patricia Smith | TEDxVirginiaTech. YouTube.

TEDx Talks. (2017). Black Self / White World — lessons on internalized racism | Jabari Lyles | TEDxTysonsSalon. YouTube.

TEDx Talks. (2018). Bad White People | Travis Jones | TEDxCharlotte. YouTube.

TEDx Talks. (2020). Seeing White | John Biewen | TEDxCharlottesville.YouTube.

Implicit Bias

TEDx Talks. (2016). Are you biased? I am | Kristen Pressner | TEDxBasel. YouTube.

TEDx Talks. (2017). We all have implicit biases. so what can we do about it? | Dushaw Hockett | TEDxMidAtlanticSalon.YouTube.

TEDx Talks. (2020). What if white people led the charge to end racism? | Nita Mosby Tyler | TEDxMileHigh. YouTube.

Fighting Racism

TEDx Talks. (2019). Dismantling White Supremacy in Education | Noelle Picara | TEDxYouth@UrsulineAcademy. YouTube.

TEDx Talks. (2019). Facing Racism: What You Can Do to Fight Injustice | Dan Gannon | TEDxBemidji. YouTube.

TEDx Talks. (2022). White Supremacy: Same Dog, Same Tricks-Time to Change the Training | Russell Ellis | TEDxSUNYGeneseo. YouTube.