Academy Curriculum

In this extended session led by Dr. Daryl Dugas, there will be two areas for exploration, First, participants will be able to learn and experience activities that aid in building a community of care in the classroom. Then, participants will take a deeper dive into understanding and working with bias in the classroom. This will include both a primer on the research around bias and engaging activities to help further explore bias. Lunch will be provided.

In this session, participants will define and differentiate intersectionality and intersecting identities. Furthermore, participants will be exposed to the fundamentals of culture-based pedagogies (culturally relevant pedagogy, culturally responsive teaching, etc.) and connect them to the importance of understanding intersectional identities.

Mental health and neurodiversity have become central issues in classrooms since the Covid-19 pandemic, and by extension the promotion of trauma-informed practice has become a crucial aspect of effective and equitable classrooms. In this session, participants will develop an understanding of the range of mental health challenges students face and how neurodiversity is both real and a potential asset in classrooms. Finally, the session will introduce participants to best practices in trauma-informed teaching.

Educators have a tendency to talk about what students lack rather than what they bring to the table. This consistently has a negative impact on students and can have devastating impact on student success. In this session led by Stephanie Richter of the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning, participants will examine how to move from a deficit- to a growth-mindset and further consider why this is important for student achievement and producing an equitable classroom. As part of this examination, participants will also consider equity-based approaches toward assessing students.

In this two-part session, led by Drs. Joseph Flynn and Katy Jaekel, participants will explore the concept of decolonization by first considering the theoretical foundations for decolonization and then begin to think about decolonizing practices. In Part 1 colonization in North America and the development of race and racism will be examined.

Picking up where Part 1 left off, in Part 2, participants will further consider specific examples and strategies for decolonizing race in classrooms and recognize how those approaches can produce academic success for all students.

In this two-part session with Drs. Katy Jaekel and Amanda Littauer, participants will learn about the systems of gender and sexuality and then discuss the ways in which we can dismantle them.

Further building on Part 1, in Part 2, participants will further consider specific examples and strategies for addressing gender and sexuality in classrooms and recognize how those approaches can produce academic success for all students.

Undocumented students and international students face particularly unique challenges in class, and being attentive to those challenges is not only supportive for those students but can also create a more equitable and caring class community. In this session, Drs. James Cohen and Sandy Lopez (Director of the Undocumented Student Resource Center) will help participants gain an understanding of the challenges undocumented and immigrant students face both in classrooms and the larger community. Participants will also be provided with specific strategies for engaging this community.