EDI Skill-Building Tools: Preparing Learners to Effectively Intervene in Bias Incidents

Leaders at universities and other institutions of higher learning recognize as a moral imperative the need to prepare students-and faculty and staff-to be effective allies in bias incidents, whether or not they identify with a marginalized community. Bias incidents refer to comments or actions that subtly and often unintentionally express prejudice toward a member of a marginalized group, such as a racial/ethnic minority (Shea et al., 2019). To reduce bias incidents, there has been a proliferation of diversity-focused courses and training programs across many disciplines in higher education, including psychology, education, and management, although assessments of their effectiveness have been mixed (Dobbin & Kalev, 2016; Kalinoski et al., 2013; Paluck et al., 2021). One of the greatest challenges higher education faces is how to prepare individuals to take effective action. Bystander intervention training is perhaps the most empirically supported method for preparing people to intervene whenever they witness harm being done (Haynes-Baratz et al., 2021; McDonald et al., 2016). A critical component of bystander intervention training programs is educational tools that provide participants with opportunities to develop behavioral skills for intervening in bias incidents. In this article, we review educational tools that can support the development of bystander intervention skills. We present a study that provides evidence on the effectiveness of one promising tool-avatar-based simulations-on learners' self-efficacy related to taking action in a bias incident. We conclude with reflections on our personal experience as educators using simulations with more than 1,200 undergraduate, graduate, and adult learners.