Professional Development as a Change Lever for Increased Uptake of Inclusive Active Learning

Author(s):
Nancy Kress
Postdoctoral Research Associate
University of Colorado at Boulder

This workshop session will share what we learned from the experience of developing and facilitating a series of biweekly workshops focused on equitable and inclusive active learning over the 2020-2021 academic year. The series of workshops served a group of participants from institutions that are part of the Student Engagement in Mathematics through an Institutional Network for Active Learning (SEMINAL) project who were interested in engaging more deeply with issues of equity and inclusion in their courses and departments. The fourteen participants held a variety of roles within their departments and included instructors, faculty and department leadership. The workshop sessions focused on a range of topics including, for example, developing classroom norms, addressing microaggressions in active learning classroom settings, evaluation and assessment of student learning and the nature of departmental conversations about equity and inclusion. The overarching focus of the workshops was on supporting participants’ effectiveness in, and understanding of, their roles as instructors focused on equity and inclusion in their own classrooms and also as change agents within their departments. This workshop will share findings and provide an opportunity to engage with other session attendees about the nature and effectiveness of professional learning opportunities within participants’ own departments.

Coauthors

Wendy Smith