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Every student in higher education is suffering from the impacts of COVID-19, and for many this communal trauma is compounded by the fight for racial justice. No one will emerge from these experiences unaffected. While the classroom often remains one of the only constants for students facing upheaval from global, national, and regional crises, problems facing them off-campus often impede their learning. Students may experience anxiety, withdrawal, difficulty focusing and engaging, and/or trouble thinking critically. Many faculty are unprepared to respond to these concerns and unequipped to teach in times of disaster, especially when they are simultaneously living through the same catastrophic events. This workshop focuses on some ways in which coursework and campus-wide projects can encourage healing and empowerment by engaging students and other members of campus communities in active learning projects. 

Quantitative researchers and analysts commonly focus their writing exclusively on data accuracy without taking the importance of language into account. This focus on data – rather than on the people who are represented by the data – can result in material that is accurate from a methodological standpoint, but not appropriate or accessible to non-technical audiences who may consume them. Join us for a two-hour workshop with David Chrisinger, Director of the Harris Writing Program at the University of Chicago. You will learn how implementing a mandatory People-First Language Workshop for all incoming students and integrating the people-first concept into writing assignments across the school has helped students strengthen their ability to communicate their work to readers both inside and outside of the field. You will leave this “train-the-trainer” style workshop with an understanding of the people-first writing approach, along with strategies that you can use to integrate its core principles into your own curriculum.

Historically, classrooms in higher ed have been molded by implicit cultural norms such as competition, lecture, and perfectionism. When we investigate the hidden values and practices we have inherited, we discover how we can unintentionally contradict our students’ cultural identities and hinder their learning. By noticing, interrogating, and interrupting the patterns that have shaped both your own education and your pedagogy, you can take steps toward creating more equitable learning experiences. In this virtual workshop, Dr. Amer F. Ahmed will share strategies to create dynamic learning environments that elevate the strengths, identities, and values of historically oppressed students. He will draw from his own expertise in intercultural teaching and introduce Dr. Laura Rendón’s framework on “new agreements” for higher ed classrooms. He will share strategies for how to: Develop intercultural skills to navigate complexities in the classroom Investigate the unexamined norms that have shaped teaching and learning in higher ed Interrupt privileged practices and explore more equitable alternatives Intentionally create new norms for the classroom