Yale Center for Teaching and Learning

Seminar on Equity-Minded Teaching

The Poorvu Center will host a funded seminar on equity-minded teaching that will meet once a month throughout the academic year (Oct. ‘23 - May ’24). Equity-minded teaching refers to the dispositions, beliefs, and accompanying teaching practices and policies specifically meant to support the academic success of historically-marginalized students. Additionally, equity-minded teaching involves all students gaining an awareness of how (in)equity manifests within their academic disciplines and/or professional fields. The seminar’s curriculum is grounded by the literature on educational equity, inclusive teaching, accessibility, social justice education, and critical pedagogies.   

 

The primary goal of the seminar is for participating instructors to identify and map out teaching changes that can help meet equity-based teaching goals. As such, we will engage in critical self-reflection and action planning throughout the seminar. This faculty development opportunity is open to a maximum of 15 full-time Yale instructional or ladder faculty and includes $800 that will need to be used for professional development related to equity. 

 

If you are interested in taking part in the seminar, which will take place both in person and on Zoom (see schedule below), then please fill out the application by Sept. 20th.

For the selection process, we will strive for a group that is diverse in discipline, faculty ranking, and level of experience with similar topics (e.g., equity, social justice, inclusivity). For those who are not selected this time, you will have preference in the following year. 

For more information on the seminar’s curriculum, please refer to the annotated syllabus below and/or contact Joshua Abreu (joshua.abreu@yale.edu). 

Syllabus for Poorvu’s Seminar on Equity-Minded Teaching

Purpose: This seminar will include a series of workshops and sessions designed to help you gain a more comprehensive understanding of educational equity within the context of higher education and your academic discipline. We will review concepts aligning with the goals of inclusive and equity-based teaching as well as facilitate several hands-on reflective activities that will position you to make tangible changes in your course(s). 

 

Structure of Series: This is a moderately-structured program that entails monthly readings and discussions on equity-based teaching; open-ended reflections on our current and past teaching and learning experiences; and an action plan for making changes in our teaching practices.     

Series will include 1) Eight (8), 2-hour sessions throughout the academic year (Oct. ‘23 - May ‘24; 2) Mostly virtual sessions with three in-person sessions (lunch included); and 3) Reflective journaling on past, current, and future teaching. 

 

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this series, you will be able to…

  • Define systemic discrimination and explain how it can manifest in some social institutions (i.e., education, medicine, criminal justice, housing, etc.)

  • Identify how the three (3) foundational components of teaching intersects with equity: 1) curriculum; 2) instruction; and 3) assessment

  • Understand lesson constructs that enable students to learn how equity and injustices manifest within their field of study (i.e., “quadrants of social justice education”).

  • Develop instructional strategies that enable Yale students from marginalized backgrounds to learn and persist throughout their college education. 

  • Critically self reflect on how your teaching practices may and may not support learning for historically-marginalized students.     

Schedule & Themes of Monthly Sessions

Session 1: Envisioning a Better Classroom for My Students

Date: Friday, Oct. 13, 2023

Location: Poorvu Center, Room 120A

***Lunch Provided***

Session 2: Exploring Our Educational Journey & Its Impact on Our Teaching

Date: Friday, Nov. 10, 2023, 1-3pm

Location: Zoom

Session 3: Integrating the Cycles of Socialization & Liberation

Date: Friday, Dec. 8, 2023, 1-3pm

Location: Zoom

Session 4: Contextualizing Equity Within Your Academic Discipline/Professional Field 

Date: Jan. 26, 2023, 1-3pm

Location: Poorvu Center Room 120A

***Lunch Provided***

Session 5: Turning Students’ Awareness of Equity into Action

Date: Friday, Feb. 23, 2023, 1-3pm

Location: Zoom

Session 6: Building Off Students’ Knowledge & Lived Experiences

Date: Friday, March 29, 2023, 1-3pm

Location: Zoom 

Session 7: Assessing Ourselves & Our Course(s)

Date: Friday, April 19, 2023, 1-3pm

Location: Zoom

Session 8: Review Seminar & Reflect

Date: Friday, May 10, 2023, 1-3pm

Location: Poorvu Center, Room 120A

***Lunch Provide***

About the Seminar’s Facilitator: Joshua Abreu

  • Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut with a specialization in faculty development, equity, & social justice education

  • Experiences working at different types of colleges and universities with diverse students

  • Served as Assistant Professor of Sociology at Albertus Magnus