An Oasis in the Sahara: Humanizing Professional Development During the Pandemic and Beyond

• In Event: Teacher Agency, Community, and Growth During Pandemic Teaching

Abstract

The COVID-19 global pandemic forced educators to shift to online instruction without formal training or tools. In a Learning for Justice national survey, educators requested a range of resources, including emotional support, curricular materials addressing the intersections of COVID-19 and social justice; and best practices for online learning. Recognizing public school inequities pre-COVID-19 and the requested educator resources, we developed a yearlong humanizing professional development (HPD) to promote equitable education. Our HPD cultivated humanizing distance learning (HDL) pedagogies with/in an intergenerational community of educators. Informed by Projects in Humanization (PiH), this case study draws upon focus groups and teacher artifacts. Findings illuminate how our HPD supported educators’ professionalization, agency, and healing. Implications demonstrate the need for long term HPD spaces.

Authors

• Keisha McIntosh Allen, University of Maryland - Baltimore County

• Kindel Turner Nash, University of Maryland - Baltimore County

• Kyla Thomas

• Sakeena Everett, University of Connecticut