One of the challenges (and opportunities!) of a Center for Teaching and Learning is to find its place within the landscape of various efforts and initiatives at their institution, their system, and within broader education communities. Last week, our Center joined other campus teams from each of the California State University (CSU) campuses for the CSU Institute for Teaching and Learning on Equitable Learning Environments. One of the most significant takeaways for me was the inspiration and deep sense of commitment from colleagues across our large system. This is the kind of inspiration and commitment that leads toward significant change. The outcomes of the retreat were to share Center programming and resources that focus on inclusive, equity-minded teaching through various approaches, frameworks and theories of change; and create capacity at each campus through strategic partnerships.
Our goal as a team was to engage in conversations and activities around Center programming from across the system in order to re-think and re-imagine the work within our own campus contexts. Each team created a “Dream Team Plan” that highlighted significant takeaways informing an action plan that would move this deep work forward. We focused on our Center’s role within the campus equity landscape and how HSU can continue to move toward equitable outcomes that shift the learning paradigm in substantive ways. Given our goal of meeting educators where they are, we are taking a multi-faceted approach that respects their time and autonomy, while maximizing authentic opportunities to engage and reflect on their practice. We look to align Center programming with existing efforts through new and/or reconfigured approaches with the goal of creating systemic change within our campus learning environments.
Our Plan for Creating Equitable Outcomes and Shifting the Learning Paradigm
Learning, Teaching, and Technology 