Workshop Series on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in the Classroom

Workshop Series on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in the Classroom – Spring 2022:  Request to Participate

Description of Workshop Series:

The purpose of this Faculty Workshop Series is to introduce faculty members to best practices in teaching and interacting with students of diverse backgrounds as well as to practices that support meaningful and accessible learning for all students. Sessions will encourage participants to examine their beliefs about diversity and equity, gain knowledge and understanding about how diversity and identity influence higher education practices. Participants will further explore their biases and become equity-minded instructors. Upon conclusion of the Workshop Series, participants will be equipped to implement culturally responsive pedagogy in their instruction. This is a philosophy of teaching that is imbued with multicultural knowledge and is embedded in issues of social justice. This teaching approach recognizes cross-cultural identities and dimensions and honors and respects these differences. The sessions will particularly address best practices for teaching and working with ethnically diverse students, first year students, first-generation students and students from low-income families

Goals of Workshop Series:

Interactive sessions and online assignments will help participants

  • Create inclusive classrooms by recognizing the diverse strengths and abilities that students bring to the classroom and incorporating their diverse experiences into our curriculum
  • Develop strategies that foster equity and inclusivity in teaching, interaction, and assessment in the classroom environment in support of student success.
  • Learn about how students best interact with and respond to each other in the classroom
  • Learn about how race and culture mediate student development and how everyday racism shape the experiences of diverse students in the classroom
  • Understand the intersecting identities of our students and how they could be used to facilitate learning in the classroom
  • Understand the nature of micro-aggression and micro-affirmations and how instructors can manage them in the classroom
  • Develop inclusive, learning-centered syllabi, transparent assignments, active learning techniques, and classroom assessment techniques

Another goal of this workshop series is to build community among faculty, so that once the program is completed, they still have a cohort (or at least a group) with whom they remain connected personally or professionally.

Eligibility/Qualifications: All Unit 3 employees are eligible to participate.

Format of Workshop Series:

Participants will commit to 5 interactive sessions scheduled during the spring 2022 semester. This is a requirement for participants to receive their full stipends. Participants will be divided into small discussions and work groups during each session. Dates and times for the sessions are as follows:

Session 1 (Friday, February 4, 10am – 1pm): Session will introduce topics for the workshop series, lay the groundwork for facilitators and participants, and engage participants in activities that involve sharing experiences as a first step to creating a space in which they become more comfortable being vulnerable with each other.

Sessions 2, 3, and 4 (Fridays, February 18, March 18, April 22, 10am – 12 Noon): Each of these sessions will address specific Workshop Series themes. The Faculty Workshop Series will adopt a flipped learning model. Weekly readings, videos, and recommended classroom strategies and activities will be posted on a BeachBoard Organization (created for participants and facilitators), which participants are expected to address prior to each of these sessions. Participants will have to opportunity to post questions on BeachBoard that facilitators will respond to.

Session 5 (Friday, May 6, 10am – 1pm): This session will address another workshop theme during the first two hours. The final hour will provide the opportunity for facilitators to provide a synthesis of their sessions and to final address questions that participants may have.

Requirements and Responsibilities

  1. Each participant is expected to commit to participating in all sessions, and all discussions shall be confidential
  2. Sessions will adopt a flipped classroom format. Participants will commit to doing the readings, watching the videos, completing assignments, and implementing recommended classroom strategies and activities pertinent to each session prior to the meeting.
  3. Participants will prepare a final report on how the information obtained in the workshop series will be incorporated into their syllabi and/or class requirements.
  4. Participants will submit updated syllabi highlighting inclusive pedagogy, interaction, and assessment strategies that they plan to incorporate into classes they are assigned to teach in fall 2022. A copy of the updated syllabi will be due to the Faculty Center by August 31, 2022.
  5. Participants will meet with the Director of the Faculty Center at the end of the fall 2021 semester to discuss changes they observed in implementing the inclusive teaching strategies.
  6. Participants will be encouraged to share their observations with the CSULB community at sessions organized by the Faculty Center.

Compensation:

Each faculty participant will receive a stipend of $750 upon completion of the workshop series.

Submission: Please submit a statement of interest (about 1-2 pages), providing detailed information on why you are interested in participating in this Workshop Series electronically (Word or PDF document) to the Director, Faculty Center (fc@csulb.edu) by Friday, January 7, 2022.

Participants in the workshop series will be limited to fifteen (15); So, please submit your statement of interest early.