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A Road Map Towards Becoming an Equity-Minded, Culturally Responsive Educator
A Road Map Towards Becoming an Equity-Minded, Culturally Responsive Educator
This principle demonstrates my ability to:
This principle demonstrates my ability to:
Develop culturally aware course content and assessments, and inclusive pedagogies
Support students as they navigate institutional expectations while enhancing their digital literacy
Improve students' sense of belonging and increasing engagement
Build capacity for creating equity-minded institutions
Align online teaching and learning to college success plans
Reflection
Reflection
A self-reflective timeline evaluates my growth before, during, and following the duration of the @One course Equity and Culturally Responsive Teaching.
Stepping Back: Where I Was
In the beginning, I was puzzled as to how I could design and implement equity-minded practices into my instructional curriculum that will met the academic needs of a broad, multi-culturally diverse student population in an online environment. In an online environment where face to face communication is limited, I felt it would be challenging to make connections and be supportive of students. I was also perplexed about how my personal experiences and background could be relatable and inspire students from different backgrounds, while being mindful of all students’ vulnerabilities.
The Learning Process: Where I Am
Culturally responsive teaching and learning sheds a new light in my own teaching. With perseverance and courage in overcoming obstacles, I felt challenged to self-reflect on curricular barriers in my information literacy instruction that were contributing to the achievement gap. I was enthusiastic when I was introduced to the practice of strengthening student’s potential to learn through growth mindset and the influence of creating Ratatouille moments to help students learn complex material by having them reflect back to a familiar place.
Brain-based learning taught me to have an understanding of students’ cultural backgrounds and apply their experiences to the classroom to increase their comfort with learning new material. I learned that personal stories about my failures and successes could be used to encourage students to self-reflect on their own experiences. Forth-going, I will promote a growth mindset as a way of overcoming a challenge before students conduct their own individual research.
Looking Forward: Where I'm Headed
To reduce equity-gaps in my instruction, I am motivated to find creative, fun outlets to make lessons more culturally responsive using new instructional design strategies that helps improve my teaching. I am eager to apply concepts about the brain and students’ experiences to make content more engaging and meaningful, and allow them a chance to reflect on an individual, personal level.
To ensure continuous growth in my development as an equity-minded instructor, I will encourage students each semester to provide personalized feedback on the inclusivity of activities in the course syllabus to meet all learners’ needs.
Examples
Examples
The following artifacts serve as evidence to demonstrate my mastery of Principle Two: Equity.
The Golden Circle: Finding Your Why
Connection to Principle Two: Personal reflections within this "why" self-assessment exercise conveys my commitment to equity in my teaching practices and can be communicated to students to help build rapport, demonstrating my active role in creating an equity-minded institution. This organizer also develops a personal connection to my professional work, a critical element in Curtis Linton’s Equity Framework. The reflection serves as a foundation towards creating a student-centered, equity-minded Teaching Philosophy, found in the virtual LIBR 201 Syllabus.
The “why” assessment was inspired by Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle: How Great Leaders Inspire Action.
Golden Circle Activity Feinberg.docxAgents of Change- Be the SuperHero
Connection to Principle Two: This discussion post serves as an example of my personal role in improving students' sense of belonging and active engagement in course curriculum. It demonstrates my ability to envision myself as an agent of change in creating and continually revising proactive and optimistic solutions to my course design and daily teaching practices with an equity-minded and culturally responsive mindset.
Agents of Change-Be the SuperHero!.docxLIBR 101 Online Syllabus
In preparation to redesign a course syllabi, I put on my equity-minded glasses and stepped into the shoes of students to pinpoint barriers and stressors affecting their cognitive, social, and emotional wellbeing and experiences.
Connection to Principle Two: The liquid syllabus supports students in understanding institutional and course expectations while enhancing their digital literacy of available student support services and finding Canvas technology assistance. Inclusive pedagogy and empathy is reflected in the syllabus design using student-friendly and strength-based language, showing my support to increase students' sense of belonging. Visually appealing photos and embedded videos also help to increase student engagement.
The syllabus aims to inform and display my positive instructor presence to all students before the beginning of a course to convey a welcoming, inclusive, and supportive learning environment. My commitment to education and student success is carried throughout my syllabus and reflects culturally responsive teaching strategies. Content is made readily accessible to accommodate all students’ mobile devices.
Food for thought for the future: I plan to revisit my syllabus to ensure it remains current and welcomes all students, and encourage student feedback on the syllabus each semester.
A Quick Glance: Use the arrows in the picture above titled College Research Skills to view a sneak peak of my equity-minded syllabus.
Equity Action Plan: Supporting Student Success
Connection to Principle Two: The Action Plan demonstrates my ability to align online teaching and learning to support students' college success.
This example outlines tangible steps I will take to reduce the achievement gaps in my online teaching and promote student success using equity and culturally responsive teaching and learning (CRTL) practices. My course of action framework is divided into a series of three stages spanning a two year time frame.
Ongoing learning opportunity: To become familiarized with the fundamentals of equitable and CRTL strategies, I will read Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain by Zaretta Hammond, and Culturally Responsive Teaching by Geneva Gay. I will review my college institution’s Student Equity Plan to learn about research data on equity and their plan of action to reduce equity gaps.
Equity Action Plan.docxPhoto Displayed in Principle Two: A Road Map Credited to Natalie Chaney on Unsplash
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