Student success in history gateway courses is key to retention and persistence in college and can help reduce inequitable outcomes for underserved and underrepresented groups. Historians have the chance to lead the way in increasing access to success and equity in higher education through pedagogical innovation and thoughtful course design in their gateway classrooms. But for many history instructors, particularly those teaching in large lecture halls, as contingent faculty, or subject to curricular regulations in a department, institution, or state, making changes to pedagogy can be overwhelming and intimidating.

This panel is here to help: research shows that even small adjustments to incorporate more active learning and other inclusive pedagogies into these courses benefit all students, and benefit historically underserved students even more. This panel will feature five historians who also do faculty development work sharing innovations in pedagogical approaches based on the latest in the scholarship of teaching and learning. Each presenter will include one strategy audience members can take and apply to their gateway history classes immediately. These small changes help shrink achievement gaps and reduce failure rates in all courses, and they are easy to implement. We will include approaches that can be adapted for any topic, and adjusted for any class size.