Workshops for Educators scroll down to see each of the 3 packages

Jump Start: (single-session, 2 hour workshop)

This short but intensive workshop is designed to impart an understanding of the threshold concepts at the heart of LGBTQIA+ inclusivity.  We work to collectively build a clear pedagogical structure that educators may take with them, and build on in their classroom, syllabi, and shared learning spaces. First we will establish clear shared understandings of foundational social concepts such as normativity, othering, and the difference between gender and sexuality. Then together, participants will learn some beginning strategies for recognizing, addressing and preempting practices of discrimination and alienation in their own behavior and in the classroom. We will review effective ways of looking out for microagressions and non-verbal cues of indirect discrimination, and discuss steps to being empathic listeners and advocates for our students and colleagues.  

Inclusivity and Pedagogical Innovation:  (3 days, 2 hours per day)

This 3-day workshop is designed to give educators the space to learn, develop and implement pedagogies of inclusivity. The first session is devoted to inclusivity and difference; we will discuss theoretical, political and experiential aspects of sex and gender through readings and activities.  Participants will be asked to reflect on these topics individually in preparation for the second session. The second session will focus more specifically on pedagogy and innovation in the classroom, taking the key concepts and strategies from the first workshop and reflecting on the ways that they influence and determine the content we use in our classrooms, the ways we engage with this content, and the larger structures that determine our disciplines. After we have mapped out the various avenues affected by institutional and individual marginalization, we more closely discuss the ways indirect discrimination and unconscious bias are unintentionally perpetuated, and how we can recognize and work against these trends. Participants will be given an overview of some of the current thinking in this field and will be asked to reflect on their own teaching practices in  preparation for the final session. In the final session participants will begin to workshop new classroom practices, as we demonstrate the interaction between thinking about LGBTQIA+ inclusivity and pedagogical innovation. We will learn strategies for becoming effective allies, and will cover the essentials of responsible bystander intervention.

Intensive Workshop for Educators  (5 days, 2 hours per day)

In the Intensive Workshop, we build on the strategies of the 3-day workshop, and learn how to directly implement them in our classrooms. Over the course of these 5 sessions participants will develop specific lesson plans and syllabi that will be workshopped and revised to ensure they reinforce inclusivity and empathic listening. We will review the core concepts of LGBTQIA+ inclusivity and examine the ways our unconscious biases can impact student success. We will consider the ways we, as educators, are weighed down by systems that regulate our bodies and our thinking about bodies, and the ways we, in turn, may reinforce these ideas through unwitting practices of exclusion or omission. We will learn techniques for responding to tension in the classroom; learn specific ways to identify and support students struggling with issues related to LGBTQIA+ identity; discuss the importance and responsibility of choosing to be a visible ally; review safe, effective practices of bystander intervention; and learn how to recognize and talk about microagressions and indirect discrimination with our students. At the end of the 5 sessions participants will have a portfolio rich with teaching material, critical readings and resources for building inclusive, empathic learning environments.