Thursday, October 26 | 9:00 - 10:30 a.m.
Presenter (CSU Fort Collins):
Naomi Nishi
So much of research considers race as a variable or category but does not examine racial constructs critically. This allows researchers in STEM, medicine, education, the social sciences, and beyond to treat race mistakenly as a biological difference or a set of benign categories. In this workshop, Dr. Naomi Nishi will delve into the US’s history of race and race-making. Participants will understand race as a sociopolitical and hierarchical construct that privileges and empowers whiteness. Participants will reflect on how race is understood and used in research and higher education and identify how to appropriately consider the impact of race, particularly the role of racism in these systems. This session will discuss applying an anti-deficit approach to research that includes a racial component.
Participants will dismantle myths related to race as biological or inherent. Participants will also reflect on their own work, research, or teaching to reimagine a critical approach to considering race that also considers racism and incorporates an anti-deficit approach.
Presenter (CSU Pueblo):
Emily Mulvihill
This workshop will guide teacher educators toward best practices to equip new and veteran teachers with trauma-informed teaching practices, allowing teachers to provide students with psychological, physical, and safe learning spaces.
Keynote Speaker | 11:00 - Noon
OiYan Poon, Ph.D., is a Program Officer at the Spencer Foundation. She is also co-director of the College Admissions Futures Co-Laborative at the University of Maryland. Her research focuses on the racial politics of Asian Americans, affirmative action, and admissions systems and practices. She was a co-author of an amicus brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of over 1,240 social scientists supporting diversity and race-conscious admissions in SFFA v. Harvard. In her new book Rethinking College Admissions: Research-Based Practice and Policy (Harvard Education Press, 2022), she and her co-editor, Dr. Mike Bastedo, and colleagues examine and offer new ideas to transform the unequal structures and systemic norms of college-going in the U.S. In 2024, Beacon Books will publish her book, Asian American is Not a Color: Conversations about Race, Affirmative Action, and Family. In it, she explores how Asian Americans are shaping the future of race relations through debates over education policies like affirmative action, using personal narratives and interviews of Asian Americans across the country.
2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Presenters (CSU Fort Collins):
Crystal Smith
Brigid Hinterberger
Designing multi-faceted, active recruiting strategies for your department is essential for successful talent acquisition and fostering an environment of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Active recruiting transcends the traditional assumption that candidates actively seek open positions and instead focuses on proactive engagement with a diverse range of exceptional candidates. We empower talents from all backgrounds by forging individual connections and fostering a vibrant and inclusive community. Departments who engage in year-round, ongoing recruitment strategies have the potential to make a significant impact. We can generate robust, diverse applicant pools by maintaining continuous recruitment efforts. In this workshop presentation, you will learn about inclusive and best practices and have the opportunity to develop an ongoing, comprehensive recruitment plan for your unit or department that strategically promotes active recruitment practices at every opportunity (even when searches are not currently happening). By embracing this proactive approach, you contribute to a culture of inclusivity and set the foundation for a thriving and diverse workforce.
Presenter (CSU Fort Collins):
Cayla Bellamy
This interactive session explores a five-step model to increase the representation of marginalized voices in the curriculum of any discipline, with consideration to tokenism, pedagogical design, and ethics surrounding students, authors, and ourselves.
Presenters (CSU Fort Collins):
Leann Kaiser
Kelly McKenna
Inclusive learning practices have been given well-deserved increased attention in recent years. However, there are different and additional considerations to ensure an inclusive environment in online learning. Inclusive teaching practices may be particularly critical in distance education because of the demographics, differing instructional needs, and unique challenges for online learners. Fortunately, many distance education practitioners and researchers have realized this, and good online practices are often synonymous with inclusive practices. We have compiled these practices into a toolkit to provide designers and instructors of distance education with applicable ideas they can immediately use. The toolkit encompasses five main areas of consideration for distance education (design, teaching approaches, discussion, assessment, and interactions). Each area includes subtopics with specific tips for inclusive practices and additional resources. During this session, the presenters will discuss how this toolkit was developed and show how distance educators can use it to improve their own inclusive teaching practices. Participants will have the opportunity to practice using the toolkit.
3:45 - 5:00 p.m.
Presenters (CSU Fort Collins):
Christy Jersin Woods
Melissa Kreider
Ji’ Lynda Brown
Karin Bright
Amy Quinn-Sparks
This presentation explores the importance of inclusive course design in higher education, focusing on supporting the diverse student population at Colorado State University (CSU) to enhance student success. The session begins with a pre-reflection activity, “Do Think Feel,” to gain insights into students’ perspectives. Participants are then guided through collaborative discussions to challenge preconceived notions about students and address implicit biases. The presentation emphasizes the significance of data collection and surveys to understand student experiences, showcasing examples of learner profiles created based on institutional data. It highlights the use of learner profiles in informing instructional design and fostering inclusivity. Reflective exercises and concrete examples are provided to motivate participants to embrace inclusive design and create equitable learning. The presentation concludes by inviting participants to share their feedback and contact information for further discussions and resource sharing. This presentation inspires educators to design differently and collectively contribute to a more inclusive educational experience for all students.
Presenter (CSU Global):
Dr. Sara Thompson
According to the Department of Defense, in 2020, there were 3.5 million military personnel and just over 2.5 million family members also serving their country. Military service members are stationed with the U.S., referred to as CONUS (Continental US), and in other countries, referred to as OCONUS (outside Continental US). Military service members do not work a traditional 9 – 5 PM job. They often leave for extended training periods and are deployed worldwide, sometimes at a moment’s notice. Meeting the learning needs of the military requires flexibility and awareness that accessing an asynchronous course in theater is not the same as accessing that same course from the comfort of a home office. Actually, flexibility is a non-negotiable when it comes to educating our service members. Due to security measures, during deployments and certain exercises, service members may not be able to record a video or even an audio recording for an assignment, and group work is not realistic. What is realistic and student/service member-focused is educators providing extensions, alternative assignments, a military-friendly late policy, and having an acute awareness that the military mission comes first.
