Designing Equity-Based Change: A Case Study of a Professional Learning Community

• In Event: Antiracist, Equity-Based, and Social Justice Teacher Development

Abstract

Drawing upon aspects of design thinking (Goldman & Kabayadondo, 2017a) and contemplative pedagogy (Hart, 2004), this proposal reports on a group of seven in-service teachers who created a reflective space of empathy and empowerment as they engaged in what we are calling liberatory instructional practices to teach during COVID-19. Liberatory instructional practices engage teachers to access and develop four distinct, dynamic, and overlapping mindsets which include - collaboration, inquiry, equity, and social-emotional learning - to define and implement solutions to instructional, pedagogical, and/or community-based problems in their professional lives. Implications from this research will support teachers transitioning back to the classroom during the 2021-2022 academic year.

Authors

• Jennifer Marie Collett, Lehman College - CUNY

• Sunyata Smith, Lehman College