Improving Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

The following set of sessions can be purchased through Individual Digital Access or a Campus Access License. Learn more.

Part I

Improve Metacognitive Equity: Teach Students How to Learn 
Many students of color and first-generation students come to college lacking the thinking skills and strategies required to be academically successful. This presentation addresses how to close the achievement gap plaguing many institutions by teaching students metacognitive learning strategies that enable them to move from memorization and regurgitation to analysis, evaluation, and creation. Participants develop a greater appreciation for the importance of metacognition in enhancing student learning and the significant role that teaching students about metacognition plays in making the learning environment equitable for all students. 
Saundra McGuire, Director Emerita, Center for Academic Success and Professor Emerita, Chemistry, Louisiana State University 

Improve Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity by Creating a Leadership Development Academy 
The Leadership Development Academy (LDA) is a program designed to educate, engage, empower, encourage, and create networking opportunities for students. Students are nominated by faculty and staff based on their propensity for leadership. The LDA focuses on leadership skills, personal development, teambuilding skills, city and state government, local social concerns, education, and the criminal justice system. Learning these new skills, coupled with first-hand exposure to major tenants of society, provides students with a new outlook on the role they play in their community. 
Tammy Brown, Campus Administrator, Baton Rouge Community College; Gerri Hobdy, Director, Community Relations, Baton Rouge Community College 

Proven Strategies for Closing Equity Gaps 
With approximately 61 percent of students identifying as students of color, the Community College of Aurora (CCA) partnered with the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) to promote inclusive pedagogy across the institution. During this session, leaders from CCA and ACUE share results from a two-year collaboration to support faculty in learning and implementing evidence-based instructional approaches shown to improve student engagement, persistence, and learning.  
Charity Peak, Academic Director, Association of College and University Educators (ACUE); Tricia Johnson, Vice President, Academic Affairs, Community College of Aurora 

The Use of Symbiotic Intelligence (SYM-Q) to Create Intercultural Effectiveness 
Working across intercultural lines requires reciprocal actions, which is the basis of SYM-Q (Symbiotic Intelligence). This session makes a connection between SYM-Q and other forms of intelligence (IQ – EQ, and CQ). Each of these cultural intelligences (CQ) is measured by Metacognitive CQ, Adjustment and Motivational CQ, and Behavioral CQ. Learn how to develop more of each by becoming more self-aware and aware of others, being mindful of the need for reciprocal actions, and acting more purposefully in intercultural settings. 
Constance Ridley-Smith, Coordinator, Training, Professional Development, and External Programmes, Bermuda College 

Making Waves: Supporting Faculty to Create Equitable Classrooms 
This session shares how a collaboration involving faculty, staff, and administrators created a lasting movement towards culturally responsive teaching, as well as how the move to online learning became an opportunity to build faculty community. Participants learn about approaches to faculty development programming dedicated to fostering equity, diversity, and inclusion in teaching; explore questions that need to be addressed when creating faculty development designed to foster equity, diversity, and inclusion in the classroom; and discuss roadblocks that arise when creating programs and resources dedicated to advancing culturally responsive teaching, as well as possible responses. 
Tyler Roeger, Director, Center for Teaching and Learning, Elgin Community College; Susan Timm, Professor, Office Administration Technology, Elgin Community College 

Making Haves Out of Have-Nots: Digital Inclusivity to Dissipate a Divide 
Rather than vanishing as more technological tools become available to more people, the digital divide is increasingly separating the haves from the have-nots when it comes to the competencies necessary for digital environment interactions. Research suggests that employers and employees, the young and old, women and men, and the rich and poor are all affected. This presentation defines the digital divide and its vastness, specifies who faces it and where, why it is worsening, and how to solve it.
Katherine Watson, Professor, Languages, Coastline College

The following set of sessions can be purchased through Individual Digital Access or a Campus Access License. Learn more.

Part II

Laying a Foundation for the “Equity” Talk 
During this session, participants consider the steps taken at one institution to provide a framework for supporting the discussion about equity in educational outcomes. Participants discuss the meanings of and differences between the terms diversity, implicit bias, cultural competence, equality, and equity; identify and discuss the challenges related to having the equity talk; and learn strategies and recommendations for facilitating the equity talk that can be implemented in a timely manner. 
Barbara Coleman-Foster, Director, Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning, Seminole State College of Florida 

The Community in Your Classroom 
This presentation examines the false assumptions instructors often make when teaching students without first building relationships. In the wake of COVID-19, it is more important than ever for instructors to build relationships with their students and integrate equity and diversity strategies with student learning. Participants observe how “Who am I?” in the classroom creates an opportunity to see and hear diversity while providing students with space to share their struggles; identify how pedagogy and andragogy theories are used to close the equity gaps so learning can occur; and learn how to integrate concepts that remove assumptions and create inclusive communities while building relationships with students. 
Demetria Ledbetter, Professor and Program Coordinator, Supply Chain Management, Forsyth Technical Community College 

Steps to Launching Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Your Institution 
Today, colleges require leaders to make better data-informed decisions about diversity, equity, and inclusion. During this session, participants learn the specific steps taken, processes used, and lessons learned by Hudson County Community College to create sustainable diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Participants learn how to build internal leadership support and buy-in for a DEI initiative and select the appropriate data and funding sources to inform a DEI practice. You’ll also receive strategies and tips for gaining local and national attention for your DEI efforts. 
Lilisa Williams, Director, Faculty and Staff Development, Hudson County Community College; Yeurys Pujols, Executive Director, North Hudson Campus, Hudson County Community College 

Addressing Less Women in IT, Early: A Middle School Coding Camp to Make Friends and Learn! 
This presentation involves a review of our 2020 in-person summer coding camp for middle school girls that was designed to address the lack of diversity in the information technology field. Discussed are the lack of exposure to technology activities that young girls receive and the social norms presented to girls going into technology fields. Learn about the challenges encountered when Forsyth Technical Community College offered the girls coding camp and what the college would do differently next time.
Sam Dorsett, Program Coordinator, Computer Programming, Forsyth Technical Community College; Shawna Summers, Associate Professor, Computer Science, Forsyth Technical Community College 

Culturally Reflective Practitioners 
Is your organization looking for ways to support the diverse needs of all learners? Have you begun your journey to becoming an ally to address inequities? This session deepens your understanding of racism and systemic oppression in order to create educational leaders of action. Participants engage in activities that build upon their knowledge of anti-bias practices and move them from awareness to action. Mezirow’s critical-reflective framework is modeled as a resource for this session. 
Nicole Porter, Associate Professor, Early Childhood and Elementary Education, Skyline College 

Classroom Practices, Materials, and Professional Development Opportunities to Promote Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion 
How can you contribute to a classroom environment where all students feel a sense of belonging? Is your syllabus a welcoming document? Can you promote inclusion in your class? Is there a systematic way of improving equity in your classroom? Learn about culturally relevant pedagogical practices and content that promote collaborative learning and student agency and that help students feel included. Participants also discuss a liquid syllabus that addresses course policies, equity, and mindset, and learn about a classroom observation toolkit that uses recorded lessons and face-to-face interactions to improve equitable instruction. 
Maria Alzugaray, Professor, Mathematics, Suffolk County Community College; Brenda White, Professor, General Education, SUNY Morrisville