We found 173 results that contain "social justice"

KeynotePresented By: Dr. Marita Gilbert
Abstract:
This talk offers reflections on the tumult on the past year, framed by a global pandemic on two fronts—COVID-19, a virus that aggressively attacks the body and systems of embedded racism perniciously attacking the body politic. Implications of both have been experienced widely and deeply. As many grappled with ways to characterize this experience, unprecedented, emerged as a common descriptor. Should it be? Is it accurate to frame the conditions of the last year as “never seen or experienced before,” as the denotation of this word implies? Or is this portrayal a matter of perspective? As the pandemic has thrust disparities in health, education, and justice into our central vision, we are challenged to develop strategies to address the inequities that result. This is an invitation for invitees not to avert their gaze but to consider their role in the work that lies ahead.On the home page of D2L (or through the content tab), you can access the schedule by day, to find details of each session (including abstracts, presenter information, as well as the full recordings).Note: you must self-enroll in D2L to access the schedulehttp://bit.ly/2021SpringConfEnroll 

Introduction
In institutions like MSU, we as educators serve a variety of students from different backgrounds who all bring their life experiences to the classroom. There are already numerous barriers for students when pursuing higher education, and accessing course content should not be one of them. At its most basic, digital accessibility removes barriers for all students when attempting to navigate technology-based tools, resources, and materials related to your course.
Context
Making sure the world is equitable and accessible is not just important, but also a legal requirement. Our websites and digital tools should be just as accessible as the physical classrooms our students access on a daily basis. Just like accessibility in buildings, digital accessibility is protected by the law. The U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division has developed Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA to provide information on who needs to make sure their web content is compliant and how to do so. Additionally, in December 2023 the White House released a memo explaining the significance of digital accessibility and how to strengthen the components related to technology and the web in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. The Office of Educational Technology website offers definitions and resources related to accessibility as well.
UMOnline’s "Why is Digital Accessibility Important?"

This article is part of the Digital Accessibility Toolkit.

Background
This is a group activity for students in an introductory course on race, gender, sexuality, disability, class stratification, and various intersecting identity categories. In this activity, students work in small groups to break down different aspects of systems of oppression related to the listed identity categories, like racism and/or heteropatriarchy. The activity pairs well with a number of readings, but here are some helpful suggestions:  The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, “Five Faces of Oppression” by Iris Marion Young, “Full-Frontal Morality: The Naked Truth About Gender” by Talia Mae Bettcher, and “Rape, Racism, and the Myth of the Black Rapist” by Angela Y. Davis. The following instructions are for a tree activity about The New Jim Crow. Note: the activity should be done after lecture and discussion on the book. 
 
Implementation

Put students in groups of four or five
Alternate assigning groups ‘Jim Crow’ and ‘Prison Industrial Complex’
Ask each group to draw a tree with roots, a thick trunk, branches, and many leaves
Ask each group to use references from the text to identify different ‘roots’, ‘tree trunks’, ‘branches’, and ‘leaves’ of Jim Crow or the Prison Industrial Complex.   
Provide examples of each part of the tree to get them started, e.g. a leaf of Jim Crow may be poll taxes, while a root may be racism and white economic anxiety.  
Allow 30-35min. Walk around and check in with groups about their trees asking why one thing is a leaf instead of a branch, weaving in relevant points from the previous discussion of the text, etc.
Reassure students that each tree will likely be different and that is wonderful. 
Ask groups to present their trees and the rationale for each piece. 
Tape the trees to a central wall/board separating ‘Jim Crow’ trees and ‘Prison Industrial Complex’ tress.
Ask students if they see similarities and/or differences between the two types of trees.
Prompt discussion about the relationship between the two types of trees according to Alexander.
Congratulate and thank students for their hard work. 
Ask students to reflect on what systems may look like if at their root were good things like ‘justice,’ ‘healing,’ ‘equity,’ etc.

When I was teaching EAD315, a face-to-face undergraduate course of about 30, I wanted to set the tone for our semester together by utilizing a Circle. The benefits were multifold - we all learned more about each other, we set community norms for our time together, and we established our space as one we could show up as our whole selves in. This activity was informed by Restorative Justice Circles training provided by now Dr. Megumi Moore, MSU Graduate Life and Wellness. Here is the basic outline for the activity with some notes about possible modifications: MSU is on land known as Nkwejong (nuh-quay-juhon) (Where the Rivers Meet), a territory of the Three Fires of Anishinaabeg, including Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi. Circles are a regular activity for dialogue and decision-making in indigenous populations, and we all have had experiences building community in circles (think about a bonfire). 
In a circle, everyone has an equal opportunity to speak. When the talking piece gets to you, you can choose to share your response to the current round’s question, or you can pass- that decision is yours. The other role of the talking piece is to remind us to be present in listening to one another. When we have the talking piece, we have the space to share, when we don’t have the talking piece- we have the space to listen. We also ask that as a group we respect the confidentiality of the circle. The stories that individuals share here are their stories only. 
Introduce my talking piece: Select at least one talking piece that is significant to you. As you’re introducing the concept of the Circle, share why you selected that object as a talking piece. 
Modification: include more than one object that serves as talking pieces, describe each (making sure each one represents a unique reason), place on rug/blanket in the center of the circle, allow participants to exchange the talking piece that is handed off to them for another that is more meaningful
We’ll start and close with a quote...
Opener: pick a quote that sets the tone you’re trying to achieve… be conscious of the speaker (and what identities they represent), not just the content
“It’s easy to judge. It’s more difficult to understand. Understanding requires compassion, patience, and a willingness to believe that good hearts sometimes choose poor methods. Through judging, we separate. Through understanding, we grow.” – Doe Zantamata
Rounds: you can determine the number of rounds and the questions asked in each… this is a valuable first day, first activity because it can also serve as an “ice breaker”. It is recommended to include an introduction round to start and a check-out round to conclude. The number of participants and the number of rounds are the main factors in the amount of time that should be allotted for this activity. More people/more rounds = more time. 

 Introductions (name, pronouns, program, year, anything else you think is important that we know)
If you could invite one guest to dinner, dead or alive, who would your guest be?
Who is one person you admire and why do you admire them (in one sentence)?
What does [key course theme/topic] mean to you?
What two values do you think are most important for our success as a cohort in this community?*
Any other values missing, or discussion on these values?*
One-word check out for the last round of the circle. 

Closer: pick another quote 
"The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members." – Coretta Scott KingRounds 5 and 6 in the Circle outline were aimed specifically at helping set our class values (AKA community norms). You can modify the Circle by giving participants time before the first values round to think about the prompt and write it down. When I do this activity, I provide markers and small paper plates - asking that learners write one value per plate. When they're sharing out, I ask them to show us their plates. (The goal is that everyone feels comfortable sharing and doesn't feel subdued or silenced by group think.) This round, as the Circle Keeper/facilitator, I may ask follow-up questions (disclose this in advance of the round, as it deviates from the talking piece rules). For example, if a student said "respect" is a value, I would ask, "what does respect mean to you?" or "what does that look like in practice?". After the activity is concluded, I add the agreed-upon values to the syllabus. Photo by Tegan Mierle on Unsplash

Jon Harrison, Social Sciences Collections Coordinator for MSU Libraries, collects an extensive list of resources related to securing funds in academic settings across all disciplines.

The following is a list of educator professional development tools, resources, and supports at MSU. This collection is just that, a sampling of offerings aimed at providing anyone who supports student success by contributing to the teaching and learning mission with a place to start when they're looking for ongoing opportunities for growth outside of the #iteachmsu Commons. 
 

SOIREE: The SOIREE (Spartan Online Instructional Readiness Educational Experience) workshop was created to help you better prepare to teach online. You will learn online pedagogical principles and develop proficiency with a variety of technologies. You can check out SOIREE for more information. (Fall programming TBD)
ASPIRE: The ASPIRE (Asynchronous Program for Instructional Readiness) workshop was created to help you better prepare to teach online. ASPIRE is entirely self-paced and will guide you through the processes and issues you'll need to address in order to develop an online version of your course. You can check out ASPIRE for more information, including enrolling in ASPIRE.
The College of Education’s Mini-MOOC on Remote Teaching: The Master of Arts in Educational Technology Program (MAET) at Michigan State University is honored to support the amazing work that educators are doing around the world as they transition to a range of remote teaching contexts. You can check out CED Mini-MOOC for more information, including enrolling in the Mini-MOOC.
#iteachmsu: You teach MSU. A wide educator community (faculty, TAs, ULAs, instructional designers, academic advisors, et al.) makes learning happen across MSU. But, on such a large campus, it can be difficult to fully recognize and leverage this community’s teaching and learning innovations. To address this challenge, the #iteachmsu Commons provides an educator-driven space for sharing teaching resources, connecting across educator networks, and growing teaching practice. #iteachmsu Commons content may be discipline-specific or transdisciplinary, but will always be anchored in teaching competency areas. You will find short posts, blog-like articles, curated playlists, and a campus-wide teaching and learning events calendar. We cultivate this commons across spaces. And through your engagement, we will continue to nurture a culture of teaching and learning across MSU and beyond.
Teaching and Learning Bootcamp: The Teaching and Learning Boot Camp is offered to bring together educators new to MSU from across campus to explore and exchange ideas about quality and inclusive teaching, as well as find community among the large group of people who are engaged in the important work of creating the best learning environments possible for our students. The focus is to assist educators in developing practical materials that are needed for immediate use in their teaching and to best prepare them for their courses and work with students. For more information, check out Teaching & Learning Bootcamp.
Accessible Learning Conference: For the last five years, the Accessible Learning Conference has provided a forum for students, educators, community members and leaders to connect, share knowledge, and foster innovation in accessibility in higher education. You can check out the Accessible Learning Conference for more information.
MSU Dialogues: MSU Dialogues is an intergroup dialogue program for students, faculty and staff at Michigan State. It is a face-to-face learning experience that brings together people from different identity groups over a sustained period of time to: understand our commonalities and differences; examine the nature and impact of societal inequalities; explore ways of working together toward greater equity and justice; prepare individuals to live, work, and lead in a complex, diverse stratified society. Go to MSU Dialogues on Race, Religion, or Gender for more information.
Course Review Process: Quality Matters (QM) is a nationally recognized, faculty-centered, peer review process designed to certify the quality of online courses and online components. MSU purchased a campus subscription to the QM Rubric to assist faculty and instructors in creating quality courses that will improve online education and student learning. For more information on getting started with peer course review and Quality Matters at MSU, please visit MSU SpartanQM Webpage.
Alternative assessment/Online exam workshops: These workshops ran live in 2020 and provided information and examples of designing online exams and assessing students with alternative assessments beyond exams. Recordings of the workshops can be accessed asynchronously via #iteachmsu Commons. 
Learning Communities: Learning Communities provide safe and supportive spaces for complicated conversations about curriculum and pedagogy. Michigan State University has supported these initiatives since 2004 and continues to do so through a funding program administered by the Academic Advancement Network. Learning Communities at MSU are free to select their own topics and determine the structures that best support their inquiries. Accordingly, communities tend to vary greatly in their practices, interests, and agendas. All communities, however, share three things in common: they meet monthly across the academic year, explore important educational themes, and welcome all members of MSU’s instructional staff, regardless of rank or discipline. Please go to Learning Communities (AAN) or Learning Communities (#iteachmsu) for more information.
Cohort programs: Lilly Fellowship - The program is intended to advance the University’s continuing efforts to support excellence in teaching and learning. The program supports a cohort of six faculty or academic specialists at all ranks with at least five years of service to the institution. The Program also provides an opportunity for Fellows to expand relationships and collaborative engagement with peers and colleagues within their own college and across the University. The program is supported by matching grants from AAN and the Fellows’ departments and/or colleges. The goal is to develop academic leaders who will guide the University into the near future with regard to learning, teaching, and educational programming. Participants are expected to focus their work on a project of their choosing that will make a substantial contribution to a unit’s educational efforts. The unit can be a program or a department, but it can also be a college or a University unit or initiative. Using the proposed project as a foundation, participants will also learn leadership concepts and models, build specific skills, learn more about how the University works, and practice what they learn through the activities of their project and small group mentoring and coaching. Adams Academy - The Walter & Pauline Adams Academy of Instructional Excellence and Innovation is named in honor of former MSU President Walter Adams and his wife and MSU faculty member emerita, Pauline Adams, in recognition of their sustained commitments to promote instructional excellence. The program brings together a cross-disciplinary group of faculty and academic staff for a year-long fellowship focused on teaching and learning. Adams Academy Fellows explore the literature on effective university teaching and learning practices and consider how this robust body of research can be used to guide instructional decisions in the courses they teach. Participants learn from and contribute to a community of teacher-scholars committed to excellence in teaching and learning.
Technology and Tools: IT Services offers many different resources to support teaching and learning efforts. For more information, check out Tech and Tools workshops from IT.
MSU Libraries Workshops: MSU Library & Archives provides a series of events, seminars and workshops on a wide variety of topics including but not limited to: Mendeley, data management, 3D models, special collections, distinguished lectures, Zotero, geocoding and more. Go to MSU Library Workshops for more.
The Graduate Teaching Assistant Institute: The New Teaching Assistant Institute is a university-wide orientation for graduate teaching assistants, in partnership with academic and support units on campus. It is up to departments to decide to require or recommend that their students attend this program (*graduate students should ask their graduate program directors if they are unsure about participating). All attendees must register and are expected to attend the entire day. Go to Graduate Teaching Assistant Institute for more information.
Certification in College Teaching: The Michigan State University Certification in College Teaching program is an initiative of The Graduate School, in partnership with departments and colleges. The program is designed to help graduate students organize and develop their teaching experience in a systematic and thoughtful way. Program participants partake in a series of workshops, enroll in a graduate course devoted to teaching in higher education, engage in a mentored teaching experience with a faculty member and develop a teaching portfolio to highlight, organize and reflect upon their teaching experiences. Upon completion of the program, students receive an MSU Certificate in College Teaching and the accomplishment is noted on their transcript. Visit Certification in College Teaching for more information. 

MSU's Office of Faculty and Academic Staff Development has a great collection, "Resources for Difficult Dialogues in the Classroom" including but not limited to internal [to MSU] and external links on confrontation, bias, policies, and more. Here are a few of the resources:
The Art of Confrontation – COVID version

Prepared by Rick Shafer, Dean of Students Officehttps://remote.msu.edu/_assets/docs/The_Art_of_Confrontation_faculty_COVID_version.pdf

Bias Busters: Guides to Cultural Competence

Website Project of the MSU School of Journalism, College of Communication Arts and Scienceshttp://news.jrn.msu.edu/culturalcompetence/

IDI Education and Training Opportunities

Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusionhttp://inclusion.msu.edu/education/index.html

Ideas for Disciplinary Content

Compiled by the MSU Librarieshttps://www.lib.msu.edu/inclusiveteaching/

Office of Institutional Equity Policies

http://oie.msu.edu/

To My Professor: Student Voices for Great College Teaching

Book by MSU School of Journalism students and editor Joe Grimm, College of Communication Arts and Scienceshttps://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/09/12/new-book-advice-college-instructors-based-thousands-student-comments

Difficult Dialogues Guide

Annotated resources produced by Vanderbilt Universityhttps://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/difficult-dialogues/

Difficult Dialogues Handbook, Strategies and Resources

Resources produced by the University of Alaska Difficult Dialogues Project and the Ford Foundation

http://www.difficultdialoguesuaa.org/handbook
http://www.difficultdialoguesuaa.org/strategies_and_resources



Handbook for Facilitating Difficult Conversations

Resources produced by Queens College, City University of New York (pdf)Link to PDF document

Inclusive Practices for Managing Controversial Issues

Online document produced by Flinders University of Australiahttps://ofasd.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/TIPS_controversial.pdf

Inviting Dialogue

Resource produced by Clark University (pdf)https://ofasd.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/ClarkUnivInvitingDialogue.pdf

Mindfulness and Discussing “Thorny” Issues in the Classroom (article)

Alexakos, K., Pride, L. D., Amat, A., Tsetsakos, P., Lee, K. J., Paylor-Smith, C., … & Smith, T. (2016). Mindfulness and discussing “thorny” issues in the classroom. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 1-29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-015-9718-0 

Toolkit for Inclusive Learning Environments

Project by the Sheridan Libraries of Johns Hopkins Universityhttp://guides.library.jhu.edu/TILE

Books Available from oFASD
To borrow any of the following titles, stop by 2W of the Main Library (across from the Digital Scholarship Lab). Some titles are available electronically on stable links through MSU Libraries.

Brookfield, Stephen D. The Discussion Book: 50 Great Ways to Get People Talking.    

Book via electronic access, courtesy of MSU Libraries


Chickering, Art (Foreword)   Encountering Faith in the Classroom: Turning Difficult Discussions into Constructive Engagement

Book via electronic access, courtesy of MSU Libraries


Landis, Kay (ed.) Start Talking: A Handbook for Engaging Difficult Dialogues in Higher Education.  

Book via electronic access


Nash, Robert J. How to Talk About Hot Topics on Campus: From Polarization to Moral Conversation.
Roderick, Libby. Stop Talking: Indigenous Ways of Teaching and Learning and Difficult Dialogues in Higher Education.
Wheatley, Margaret J.  Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future

Book via electronic access



BIAS AND RACE
#Charlestonsyllabus

Resource produced by the African American Intellectual History Societyhttp://www.aaihs.org/resources/charlestonsyllabus/

#FergusonSyllabus

Resources produced by Sociologists for Justicehttps://sociologistsforjustice.org/ferguson-syllabus

Eight Actions to Reduce Racism in College Classrooms

Article by Shaun R. Harper and Charles H. F. Davis III from Academe  (pdf)https://ofasd.msu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/HarperDavis-EightActionsToReduceRacismInCollegeClassrooms.pdf

Learning to Talk about Race in the Classroom

Resource from Inside Higher Ed.’s Gradhacker (blog article)https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/gradhacker/learning-talkrace-classroom

Project Implicit (Implicit Bias)

Project by Harvard Universityhttps://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/

Promoting Racial Literacy in Schools: Differences That Make a Difference

Book by Stevenson, H. C. (2013). Teachers College Press.

Responding to Incidents of Hate Speech

Webpage produced by the Center for Research on Teaching and Learning at the University of Michiganhttp://crlt.umich.edu/node/93036

Teaching Tolerance

Program of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Resources for K-12, but many transferrable ideashttp://www.tolerance.org/lets-talk

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Steph and Adrianna picked up the work that was the focus of Steph’s 2018-2019 fellows year. During the 18-19 academic year, Steph raised awareness to College of Education leadership that graduate student voice was significantly missing from College decision-making processes (even though it was structurally expected in the College bylaws). Steph spent her first fellowship year establishing the connections needed to meaningfully discuss this issue. In Fall 2019, both Steph and Adrianna picked this work back up and have now successfully worked with the College in building out a model (and securing the Dean’s commitment) for establishing multiple opportunities for committee-level graduate student voice, including the Student Advisory Council and the Curriculum Committee. Their models result in increased equity across the college. Their efforts have also lead to increased asks from the College to discuss graduate student voice at the department level (and Steph and Adrianna have been meeting with each unit throughout the year). Steph and Adrianna's work is an incredible example of what graduate students can achieve when given the resources and support to identify ways they can improve graduate student representation and strengthen the graduate student community at Michigan State.