Inclusive pedagogy
Literacy, Inclusion & Transit

In the 2019-2020 academic year we continues with a team of faculty to engage with pedagogical theories connected to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the classroom. 

• Chiara Cannella (lead) - Associate Professor of Education
• Deanne Grant - Visiting Professor of Native American & Indigenous Studies 
• Bridget Groat - Visiting Professor of Native American & Indigenous Studies
• Lorraine Taylor - Assistant Professor of Management
• Steve Fenster - Associate Professor of Biology
• Sarah Roberts-Cady - Professor of Philosophy (Fall 2019)

We continued and then concluded work with the initial cohort of 18 faculty for the 2019 Mellon FIT Faculty Development program. The goal of cohort was to begin to develop a larger core of faculty with expertise in culturally responsive practices on campus. Cohort members attended a one-day workshop for faculty in May 2019 (led by Dr. Cannella), and an extensive workshop for faculty August 19-21, 2019 as a first step towards altering the culture around teaching at FLC and promoting inclusive pedagogy.

In Fall 2019, we continued to meet with this group to support them in implementing principals learned in the workshops. This entailed three group workshops in the Fall 2019 term. 

 

2019-20 Book Study 

In the Fall 2019, we initiated a Culturally Responsive Faculty Book Study. All full-time faculty were invited to participate and were given a choice of five books. Thirty-nine faculty chose to participate, which constitutes 23% of full-time faculty on campus. Four books were ultimately read across seven groups. See attached mid-project reflections and Books Study Wrap-up responses. 

Our goal had been for Book Study groups to hold faculty workshops for the campus in May 2020 or August 2020. Because of COVID pandemic constraints, this was not possible. 

However, Dr. Cannella worked with the FLC Faculty Senate Executive Committee to plan for a set of workshops at the Fall 2020 Faculty Retreat. These workshops were optional, but 140 faculty chose to attend, constituting 84% of the full-time faculty. The results of this retreat were clear; faculty provided positive feedback and requested more opportunities to discuss implementation strategies for teaching/classrooms focused on DEI pedagogies. The inclusive teaching philosophies are taking a firm hold at FLC, and we can see this in workshops and discussions held by the Center for Teaching and Learning and the campus Learning COVID response team. 

Culturally Responsive Pedogogy Cohort Fall 2019 Culminating Workshop

At this workshop faculty discussed 2-3 new strategies that they have tried this term related to culturally responsive teaching.

Video Clusters Focal Areas

1.       Syllabus

2.       Instructional

3.       Assignments/Assessments

4.       Interactive activities

5.       Increasing student engagement 

 

 

---

Book Studies 2019-2020 

General Culturally Responsive Pedagogy 

Hammond, Z. 2014. Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students. Corwin.  

This book draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to offer an innovative approach for designing and implementing brain-compatible culturally responsive instruction. (Written for broader educational settings including K-12 students, but unique intersection of cognitive science with socio-cultural perspectives on designing responsive learning settings.) 

Chávez, A. F., & Longerbeam, S. D. (2016). Teaching across cultural strengths: A guide to balancing integrated and individuated cultural frameworks in college teaching. Stylus Publishing, LLC.  

Derived through research and practice, the authors present their Model of Cultural Frameworks in College Teaching and Learning that highlights eight continua towards achieving the transformation of teaching, and developing more culturally balanced and inclusive practices, over time. 

Epistemological Perspectives on Teaching 

McCoy, K., Tuck, E., & McKenzie, M. (Eds.). (2017). Land Education: Rethinking pedagogies of place from Indigenous, postcolonial, and decolonizing perspectives. Routledge.   

This edited volume suggests how place-based pedagogies can respond to issues of colonialism and Indigenous sovereignty. The book invites readers to rethink 'pedagogies of place' from various Indigenous, postcolonial, and decolonizing perspectives.  

Grande, S. (2015). Red pedagogy: Native American social and political thought. Rowman & Littlefield.  

This ground-breaking text explores the intersection between dominant modes of critical educational theory and the socio-political landscape of American Indian education.   

 

In the 2018-2019 academic year we established a team of faculty to engage with pedagogical theories connected to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the classroom. 

• Chiara Cannella (lead) Associate Professor of Education
• Kay Holmes – Assistant Professor of Native American and Indigenous Studies
• Sarah Roberts-Cady –Professor of Philosophy
• Ben Waddell – Associate Professor of Sociology
• Lorraine Taylor – Assistant Professor of Management
• Steve Fenster – Associate Professor of Biology
   

Five of our six team members attended the AAC&U Conference, "Diversity, Equity, and Student Success," in March 2019. This grounded them in their work on campus DEI issues, and helped us develop ideas for altering faculty approaches to teaching at FLC.

A needs assessment process included a series of interviews with 22 faculty (approximately 17%) from a range of departments. Questions asked about faculty stance toward non-dominant and marginalized students, challenges they experience, and the types of faculty development programming they would find more helpful and would most like to participate in. Findings indicate that most faculty have strong beliefs in student ability but could use additional strategies for student engagement and increased retention. Faculty have varying levels of understanding of ways that historical and sociopolitical factors shape student experiences on campus in the present-day. Some faculty are interested in workshops, but a significant portion also indicated that self-paced, individual study with some group processing and analysis was more convenient and therefor more realistic. Many faculty indicated an interest in book studies and on-line resources in addition to face-to face workshops.

We convened a cohort of 18 faculty for the 2019 Mellon FIT Faculty Development program. The goal of this is to begin to develop a larger core of faculty with expertise in culturally responsive practices on campus. Cohort members attended a one-day workshop for faculty in May (led by Dr. Cannella), and an extensive workshop for faculty August 19-21 as a first step towards altering the culture around teaching at FLC and promoting inclusive pedagogy.

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy: Responding to the Needs of American Indian & Alaska Native Students

A workshop for faculty on culturally responsive teaching at FLC

This workshop is designed to provide hands-on strategies for refining your existing course design to reduce barriers for marginalized students. Two faculty, Dr. Joely Proudfit and Dr. Fredi Avalos, from California State San Marcos will guide our group through viewing assignments and class structures from student perspectives, as well as facilitating revisions for more equitable teaching.

Activities

May: One-day workshop on general culturally responsive perspectives and existing practices in place. 

August: Three-day workshop focused on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion related to syllabus construction and classroom atmosphere. Concrete strategies for Fall 2019 courses were discussed. 

September: Peer check-in about status of syllabus and instructional revisions for Fall 2019 and Spring 2020. (1-2 hours)

October: Midterm check-in (1-2 hours)

December: Celebration and self-analysis (1-2 hours)

Faculty received $1000 stipends for full participation in the project; stipends may be pro-rated for partial participation. 

This program was designed for faculty who:

• Have some understanding of bias, privilege, and inequities in higher education
• Have some understanding of ways that marginalized students at FLC experience inequitable learning opportunities
• Are interested in joining a cohort of peers to make intentional changes to their pedagogy, including design of courses, assignments, assessment, discourse, and mentoring

New Faculty “Foundations in Teaching” Unit on Culturally Responsive Teaching

Dr. Cannella developed a portion of the Teaching Development training for new faculty for the fall 2019 term. The program is designed to provide a general introduction to major concepts in effective instruction for new faculty. In addition to the 17 new faculty on campus, other faculty were allowed to enroll in the course which doubled enrollment. The Culturally Responsive Teaching portion included activities on: 

1. Cultural Dissonance 
2. Understanding the FLC Tuition Waiver 
3. Imposter Syndrome 
4. Stereotype Threat and Identity Threat
5. Building Authentic Relationships