Inclusive Frameworks for Student Success: A Teaching Innovation Conference
September 20th - 24th, 2021 | Entirely Remote with workshops and keynotes throughout the week
Ground your work with students this fall in trauma-informed care and racial equity. Are we increasing or decreasing buffers and stressors? How can we build community during times of crisis? Join us as we dig into what it looks like to show up for our students this fall. We will be focusing on four inclusive frameworks:
- Culturally Sustaining Practice
- Universal Design for Learning
- Trauma-informed Practice
- Contemplative Practice
These human-centered frameworks will be modeled through workshops, affinity group chats, and keynote addresses that will provide you with ideas, skills, and resources to use in your work with students at PSU.
This event will take place entirely remotely on Zoom. You will receive daily email reminders with videos exploring one of the four frameworks and campus resources. You will also be invited to participate in affinity group chats to build community with other conference attendees.
REGISTER NOW
This conference is sponsored by the Certificate of Innovation in College Teaching, and is geared towards graduate students, adjuncts, and early career faculty at Portland State University. Our events seek to be inclusive, and all are welcome. If you have accessibility requests, please reach out to oai@pdx.edu prior to the event and we will do our best to accommodate them.
Conference Schedule
Tuesday, September 21:
10:00-11:30 a.m.
Opening Keynote Address: Mandy Davis: “Trauma-informed Care in Times of Toxic Stress”
Dr. Mandy Davis is a Professor of Practice at Portland State University’s School of Social Work and a licensed clinical social worker. She is Director of Trauma Informed Oregon, a program primarily funded by the Oregon Health Authority, to advance trauma-informed care throughout organizations and systems through training, consultation, and implementation resources. Dr. Davis teaches and lectures on implementing trauma-informed care and trauma-specific services. Her current interests include measuring change when organizations and systems implement the principles of trauma-informed care, the impact of toxic stress on the workforce, and intersectionality between equity work, resilience, and trauma-informed care.
12:00 - 1:00 p.m
Affinity Group Chat: LGBTQ+
We offer four affinity spaces (LGBTQ+, Trans/non-binary, BIPOC & white) throughout the week to foster community and provide the opportunity for individuals with a shared identity to process their conference experience.
1:00 - 2:30 p.m.
Workshop: Journaling with QTBIPOC Students: Tips for Crafting Affirming, Personal Statements for Scholarship/Job Applications
Faciliated by Óscar Fernández, University Studies
Feeling tokenized by periodically writing diversity statements for scholarship and job applications? This hands-on writing workshop centers on participants’ merit and cultural wealth as the focus to craft affirming, personal statements for scholarship applications or job applications. This workshop is designed for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ community members.
3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Workshop: Building Capacity and Resilience through Polyvagal Work
Facilitated by Cheryl Forster, Licensed Psychologist
Polyvagal Theory by Stephen Porges is considered a trauma-informed foundation for healing and is often referred to as the neuroscience of safety and connection. The essential concepts of Polyvagal Theory will be reviewed and applied to issues like daily emotional regulation, trauma, resiliency, learning, difficult dialogues, and cross-cultural interactions. Additionally, the workshop will include state-specific coping strategies and an experiential exercise (please bring paper and markers/crayons/colored pencils).
Wednesday, September 22:
10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
Workshop: Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment for People in All Bodies
Facilitated by Alecsandra Renfroe, Campus Recreation: Staff Development Assistant and Ashley Harrison, Health Promotion Graduate Student Coordinator
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every aspect of our lives, including how we show up in the classroom. In order to acknowledge and hold space for the difficulties of the past year, we will facilitate guided reflection and discussion to identify practices that support the PSU community post pandemic with special attention to respecting and celebrating people in all bodies. We will also share strategies and campus resources to support creating a welcoming and inclusive learning environment.
12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Affinity Group Chat: Anti-Racist Organizing Space for White People
We offer four affinity spaces (LGBTQ+, Trans/non-binary, BIPOC & white) throughout the week to foster community and provide the opportunity for individuals with a shared identity to process their conference experience.
1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Workshop: Community Collaboration: From our Centers to the Classroom
Facilitated by Haley Okamoto, Multicultural Student Center Interim Program Coordinator
Organizing more than 100 workshops, performances, dialogue sessions and other cultural events each year, PSU’s Cultural Resource Centers’ student staff provide a wealth of co-curricular learning opportunities. How might we better connect with your course content and students? How could we increase faculty and staff engagement at these events? Please join us for this interactive workshop.
3:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Workshop: Mitigating Toxic Stress for Communal Liberation
Facilitated by Harold McNaron, Teaching, Learning and Engagement Associate and Shilo George, Owner & Principal, Lush Kumtux Tumtum Consulting
How does our institution acknowledge and address the stresses and traumas students bring to campus? How might we better understand and support BIPOC students navigating racist systems on and off campus? Also, let's change these systems! C'mon let's dialogue.
Thursday, September 23:
10:00-11:30 a.m.
Keynote Address: Another World Is Possible: Afro-futurism, Transformative Justice, and Pleasure Activism
adrienne maree brown in conversation with Walidah Imarisha
adrienne maree brown and Walidah Imarisha -- both authors, activists, and educators -- will sit down for a conversation about anti-racism and inclusivity in higher education. Their talk will be followed by Q&A, so bring your questions.
12:00 - 1:00 p.m
Affinity Group Chat: BIPOC
We offer four affinity spaces (LGBTQ+, Trans/non-binary, BIPOC & white) throughout the week to foster community and provide the opportunity for individuals with a shared identity to process their conference experience.
3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Workshop: Inclusive Course Design to Reduce Access Barriers
Facilitated by RT Tougas, Access Counselor & Consultant
Participants will receive a list of course design strategies that increase equity by directly reducing the need for many Disability Resource Center accommodations. This workshop gives universal design and trauma-informed context for teaching and assessment practices. Participants may engage with the topic through break-out room discussion, individual reflection, and/or large-group discussion.
Friday, September 24:
11:00 a.m - 12:00 p.m.
Exploring the Dimensions of Equity in Teaching Workshop
Facilitated by Raiza L. Dottin, Associate Director of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and Janelle Voegele, Director for Teaching, Learning, Assessment
This 60-minute workshop will provide participants with information on four key areas (Multicultural Education, Culturally Responsive Teaching, Culturally Relevant Education, and Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy) of equity in teaching. During the workshop, participants will have the opportunity to explore the strength of each framework and then apply insights from each towards specific strategies for teaching.
12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Affinity Group Chat: Trans and Non-Binary
We offer four affinity spaces (LGBTQ+, Trans/non-binary, BIPOC & white) throughout the week to foster community and provide the opportunity for individuals with a shared identity to process their conference experience.
1:00 - 2:30 p.m.
Using Trauma-Informed Assessment Practices to Support Adult Learners Workshop
Facilitated by Facilitator: Maika Yeigh, Associate Professor of Education
Assessment practices can bring students into the learning or push students out of our courses. In this workshop, teaching faculty will explore the use of assessment tools that increase feelings of student belonging while also helping students engage in course content.