CONVERSATIONS AT THE CROSSROADS: CULTIVATING CRITICAL DISPOSITIONS TO PROMOTE CULTURAL DIVERSITY

Julie Gorlewski (Associate Professor, Teaching and Learning), Hillary Parkhouse (Assistant Professor, Teaching and Learning), Tami Sober (Secondary Track Curriculum Coordinator, Ashlee Lester (PhD Student, Educational Psychology), Zoey Lu (MERC Graduate Assistant, PhD Student, Educational Psychology) - VCU School of Education

Our educational experiences shape our beliefs about knowledge, learning, and school. Because these beliefs are often unexamined, they can contribute to cultural mismatches that influence student achievement. This interactive workshop will offer an opportunity to connect critical incidents from your own experiences of school to scholarship about cultural diversity. The session will be facilitated by members of a MERC research team, a collaboration of school leaders, teachers, and VCU faculty,investigating how teaching for cultural diversity can be promoted through professional development. The team will share the background and progress of their current research study, and in this session present a framework for cultivating critical dispositions – or the ability to question your own beliefs – through analysis of real-life scenarios. Participants will engage with current research, apply this research to their own lives, and consider how beliefs influence teaching and learning.