Monday, June 23
4:00pm - 4:45pm EDT

Lightning Talks

Applying activity theory to examine the impacts of anti-DEI legislation on equity-minded teaching practices: Recommendations for promoting equitable learning
Heather Rissler

Key Takeaways
Equity gaps are the result of structural forces, such as racism, that prevent equitable learning for students from marginalized populations. Outcomes of equity gaps manifest as disparities in graduation rates and grade point averages for students of color. One way to mitigate equity gaps at community colleges is for faculty to employ inclusive or equity-minded teaching. In this presentation, I describe the importance of faculty development in promoting equitable learning and utilize an activity theory lens to identify contradictions that interfere with faculty's ability to implement equity-minded teaching practices in their classrooms.

Using an activity theory framework allows for analyses of interactions amongst system components and supports identifying potential interventions. Tools, such as faculty development, can promote equitable learning in the activity system that focuses on the object of equity-minded teaching. Other system components include rules, subjects, community, and division of labor. One can identify contradictions or barriers that prevent equitable learning by examining interactions within and amongst system components. 

While barriers to equity-minded teaching, such as time and discomfort, have been previously addressed in the literature, this article focuses on barriers related to structural forces in the form of rules that impact equity-minded teaching. Recent anti-DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) legislation, including recent executive orders, hinder providing faculty with professional development that supports equity-minded teaching. Limitations to faculty development that supports equity-minded teaching is an example of a secondary contradiction within the activity system of equity-minded teaching.

I propose three interventions informed by the literature that may help overcome this contradiction. These interventions include engaging faculty as street-level bureaucrats in using discretion to employ equity-minded teaching, leveraging the role of faculty (academic developers) in promoting equitable learning, and counter-storytelling by students and faculty to elevate the voices of individuals impacted by equity gaps and anti-DEI legislation. I conclude by discussing each intervention's value, recommendations for implementation, and limitations within community colleges.

Faculty Development as a Home for the Critical Liberal Arts Renaissance Person: Or how I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Being a Generalist
Bill Harder

Key Takeaways
This session will:

• Employ an autoethnographic approach to consider both the distinct location of Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTLs) within higher education institutions and the impact of the wide variety of pathways educational developers take to arrive at the work.

• Make an argument that CTLs are uniquely positioned to shape institutional culture in response to the ethical, moral, and political challenges posed by the current environment.

• Reflect on how educational developers might find meaning, sustenance, and community in the work.

Beyond Accommodation: Building a Grassroots UDL Collaborative on Campus
Antonia Levy, Brian Le Lay

Session Description
Join us as we share our experience developing a successful Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Collaborative on our campus. We will share the strategies that transformed UDL theory into practical teaching solutions. We will demonstrate how our peer-to-peer approach creates more sustained change than traditional workshops. Participants will leave with actionable strategies for fostering collaborative UDL implementation tailored to their own campus culture and goals.

Key Takeaways
In this session, participants will:

• Explore a meeting framework that transforms theoretical UDL principles into practical (teaching) solutions.

• Discover strategies for launching their own collaborative campus UDL initiative aligning with their institution’s culture, structures, and goals.

• Develop communication strategies that center accessibility and inclusion, especially in online contexts.

• Recognize the advantages of a collaborative model compared to one-time workshops or top-down training sessions.