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Faculty of Humanities

Fostering inclusive pedagogy: a conversation with Moustapha Fall

November 25, 2025

Dr. Moustapha Fall (French and Francophone Studies, SLLC) directs the Inclusive Pedagogy Cluster (IPC), providing a structured platform where faculty collaborate to share teaching expertise, develop innovative approaches, and advance inclusive practices across disciplines. By uniting instructors from diverse fields, the Cluster fosters a vibrant community of educators dedicated to enhancing student learning and creating classrooms that are equitable, engaging, and accessible to all. Through monthly workshops, discussions, and resource-sharing, the IPC serves as a hub for cultivating best teaching practices and promoting a culture of inclusivity within the Faculty of Humanities and across the university.

How did the Inclusive Pedagogy Cluster get started?

The inception of the Inclusive Pedagogy Cluster occurred several years following my co-creation of Le Cercle Philologique de Victoria with Dr. Hélène Cazes, during which we hosted numerous guest speakers. In 2022, I formally advanced the initiative by establishing an Interdisciplinary Pedagogy Cluster and invited esteemed colleagues—Dr. Ben Pin-Yun Wang from Pacific and Asian Studies, Dr. Azra Fanoos, and Mrs. Ying Liu from UVic Libraries—to join as co-directors. Initially situated within the Faculty of Humanities, the cluster began by offering workshops and presentations centered on pedagogical practices within this faculty. Encouraged by this successful launch, the cluster expanded to engage participants from additional faculties, including the Faculty of Education.

To further extend its reach and impact, the cluster sought a strategic partnership with the Learning and Teaching Innovation (LTI) unit, which now serves as its institutional home. This collaboration enables the cluster to function as a conduit for pedagogical developments occurring at the faculty level throughout the university. The support provided by LTI has been instrumental in fostering the cluster’s continued growth and influence

What is the cluster? What are its goals, and who is this space for?

The UVic Inclusive Pedagogical Cluster (IPC) brings together international faculty, newcomers, and junior faculty at UVic to exchange ideas and perspectives on pedagogical issues, innovations, and emerging trends in teaching and learning. Its core purpose is to foster collaborative reflection on how we can enhance everyday teaching practices in our classrooms.

Beyond this, the IPC aims to provide a space where faculty members from all disciplines across the UVic campus can think together about pedagogy—questioning assumptions, exploring new trends, and discussing innovative approaches to teaching. It serves as a forum for examining emerging instructional strategies and for sharing potential solutions to the challenges that arise in the classroom. With the support of the Faculty of Humanities, Learning and Teaching Innovation (LTI), the School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures (SLLC), we have been able to bring teachers together to talk openly about teaching and pedagogy. Equally important, we have cultivated a supportive environment where faculty—particularly those new to Canada—can discuss concerns, exchange experiences, and adapt to the teaching culture at UVic. We have also hosted guest speakers who are national and international leaders in pedagogy and innovation.

Since its inception, the IPC has organized workshops on a wide range of topics, including AI and classroom practice, transnational education, and innovative teaching methods. Many of our conversations grow out of informal story-sharing: faculty reflect on their teaching experiences, celebrate successes, and examine the challenges new instructors face as they transition into a new educational environment. In this sense, the IPC functions as a kind of peripatetic school—akin to a contemporary “Prague Linguistic Circle”—where novices, practitioners, and theorists explore the nooks and crannies of pedagogy across disciplines. Participants in IPC roundtables share concerns, challenges, and current projects, while collectively seeking trends, innovations, and insights within the diverse pedagogical landscapes of the university.

Above all, the IPC is a supportive, collegial community. It offers a reassuring reminder that our challenges as educators are shared, not faced in isolation. Teaching is fundamentally transformative—and when educators come together to talk, reflect, and imagine new possibilities, the result is a rich, dynamic, and deeply meaningful community of practice.

What does it mean for the cluster to be inclusive? What is inclusive pedagogy?

For the cluster, inclusivity signifies a deliberate commitment to creating an environment in which all colleagues feel welcome, valued, and able to participate fully. Although the group initially formed as the Interdisciplinary Pedagogical Cluster, its focus has evolved. In recent years, the term inclusive has emerged as a more accurate reflection of our goals: to broaden participation across research areas, to embrace a wide range of teaching interests, and to support international faculty who may be seeking a community in which to discuss pedagogy and share professional experiences. Our aim is to ensure that no member of our academic community feels excluded.

As a person of colour, this commitment carries particular resonance for me. Inclusivity extends not only to who is invited into the cluster but also to how we engage with one another’s diverse pedagogical perspectives. Ultimately, it reflects the type of learning environment we strive to cultivate in our classrooms—one in which multiple viewpoints are respected, and all students and instructors are afforded equitable opportunities to contribute and succeed.

Why is having a professional development space to explore inclusive pedagogy particularly relevant for instructors teaching language and culture courses in the SLLC?

The creation of a professional development space dedicated to the exploration of inclusive pedagogy holds particular significance for instructors within the SLLC, as it fosters engagement beyond familiar comfort—and even apprehension—zones and facilitates meaningful interaction with colleagues who employ diverse teaching methodologies and pedagogical approaches. Such interactions serve to deepen our understanding of effective instructional practices while reinforcing the collaborative ethos that underlies our work. One of the motivations for my early support of the SLLC’s establishment was its potential to function as a central hub integrating research, teaching, and service. From my perspective, a defining hallmark of the SLLC is its steadfast commitment to cultivating interdisciplinary environments in which research, pedagogy, and service collaborations can flourish. The work of our Inclusive Pedagogical Cluster (IPC) aligns directly with this commitment.

Participation in sustained dialogues concerning pedagogy enables instructors to move beyond the confines of specific language and culture content and to critically reflect upon the design and delivery of meaningful learning experiences for students. Even with more than thirteen years of teaching experience, I continually benefit from the insights of my colleagues. Inclusive pedagogical spaces foster sustained professional growth, rigorous reflection, and constructive discourse—ultimately equipping educators to address with greater efficacy the diverse needs of their learners.