CARE & EQUITY

Design Forward

An emergent exploration of critical instructional design.

Back to DF Home
Login/Register
Get Help
Get Help

Do you feel like you would benefit from talking to someone about the topics, resources, and activities of this module? Do you want to start thinking about how to apply what you’re learning in an upcoming course? 

Feel free to make an appointment with Martha in the CoLab or Megan in ET&S for one-on-one support! 

Meet with Martha

Choose this appointment if you have a quick question or problem you want to talk to through–or if you need help navigating some part of the module!

30 Minute Virtual
30 Minute In Person

Choose this appointment if you need a longer conversation about your teaching, courses, projects, etc.

60 Minute Virtual
60 Minute In Person

Meet with Megan

Consult with Megan on academic technology questions related to the module. 

Schedule Consultation

Weekly Dispatch: November 6, 2023

Each week, the Dispatch provides suggestions about what to focus your attention on. You may use it as a kind of weekly syllabus, with a suggested topic to explore, resource to read and annotate, questions to answer, and activities to complete. However, you should also feel free to deviate as you like from the suggestions; we want your participation in this module to reflect your own goals and interests.

We encourage you to choose at least one “engagement” a day:  join a conversation by responding to a question, complete an activity and share it in your portfolio, or choose a resource to read and annotate

Welcome to Week Two of Care & Equity! We hope you were able to get acclimated and comfortable with the module last week. This week we’re going to turn our attention more fully to the idea of equity.  We want to both frame this concept (What is it and what does it mean to/for us and our students) and discuss how we practice it (How do we create more equitable learning environments?). One way I would suggest we think about this is that it’s not enough to just understand equity and it’s also not enough to follow a list of tips/practices to build equitable classrooms. Our thinking and understanding must be embedded in our practice and vice versa. This work is reciprocal, iterative, reflective.

Topic in Focus

Check out the topic page for Framing and Practicing Equity. There is a great video introduction from Robin and some brief slides. As your review the topic, consider how equity has played out across your experience as both a learner and a teacher.

Suggested Resources

Terry Gross’ interview with Adam Harris in “The State Must Provide” is a fantastic dive into historical racism in the American eduction system. We’ve linked the transcript to the episode, so you can use Hypothesis to annotate. There’s also a player at the top of the page if you’d like to listen to the conversation. In “No Place for Disability in Special Education,” Cole Sorenson poignantly describes his experience as a disabled student studying special education as an undergraduate. And in “It’s Hard to Study If You’re Hungry,” Sara Goldrick-Rab helps us consider how basic needs are often at the heart of our students’ struggles in college.

Suggested Questions

Use this week’s discussion questions to dig deeper into your own experience of equity in education. When have you noticed inequities? What do you think equity should look like across our institution? What is the relationship between last week’s topic, care, and this week’s topic, equity? Are they ever in opposition? If so, how do we reconcile this?

Suggested Activities

We’ve chosen a few activities that should allow you to share what you’re thinking about even more explicitly. One of my favorites is Teaching Statement for a new Audience. What does it look like to rewrite your teaching statement for an audience of your students, particularly with the value of care and equity centered clearly?

Login/Register