Inclusion in the Classroom Week

Inclusion in the Classroom Week (November 1–5, 2021) celebrates our diverse community and considers how the university can ensure that students and instructors from all backgrounds feel welcomed, supported and valued in learning and teaching environments. The benefits of inclusion are broad: it adds richness and perspectives to learning, builds empathy and collaboration across different groups, and provides a sense of equity and value for all. With its linguistic and cultural diversity, SFU is uniquely positioned to make inclusivity a hallmark and strength of its educational experience.

CEE’s Inclusion in the Classroom Week looks at different aspects of inclusion: from walking the path of reconciliation to harnessing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to foster student engagement, and from employing inclusive and anti-racist writing in the classroom to incorporating trauma-informed pedagogy and practice. There will also be discussion spaces set aside for self-identified Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC) instructors and for self-identified non-BIPOC allies in anti-racism and reconciliation work.

This year CEE is also supporting The Unbounded Classroom, an online symposium on teaching, learning and research for democratic participation that will be running in parallel from November 3 to 5.

We invite you to join this important conversation.

Videos from the event

Walking the Path of Reconciliation | Dr. Stryker Calvez

Nov 1, 2021 | Watch the recording (Mediasite)

Trauma-informed Pedagogy and Practice in Higher Education

Nov 5, 2021 | Part 1 Watch the recording (Mediasite) | Part 2 Watch the recording (Mediasite) | Part 3 Watch the recording (Mediasite) 

Schedule

Monday, November 1

10:30–11:30 a.m. | Who is SFU? A Celebration of our Diversity

Eilidh Singh and Amanda Wallace, Centre for Educational Excellence

SFU is a very diverse community, and instructors are often seeking ways to reach all learners. In this session, we will explore the diversity embodied on our campuses, how this manifests in our classrooms, and what the implications are for our pedagogical approaches. We will highlight and discuss both the benefits and challenges of teaching within this landscape, and will offer some effective tips and strategies to enhance engagement and inclusion in the classroom.  

1:30–3:30 p.m. | KEYNOTE: Walking the Path of Reconciliation

Dr. Stryker Calvez, University of Saskatchewan

As a campus community, we need to acknowledge our accomplishments, embrace our failures, and commit to growing individually and together as we search for a better, stronger future for all.

Dr. Stryker Calvez will explore the journey that many of us are on, discussing the insights he has been gifted by sitting with many Indigenous and allied colleagues at the University of Saskatchewan and across Canada.

Dr. Stryker Calvez is a Metis/Michif researcher and educator from the Red River and Turtle Mountain territories in Manitoba and North Dakota. For the last 15 years he has worked in different capacities to help improve culturally appropriate educational, health and social programs for Indigenous Peoples and newcomers to Canada. Six years ago, he shifted his focus to directly support his colleagues at the University of Saskatchewan to better understand and engage with reconciliation. As a Metis man, he and his people have a history and tradition of working within multiple worldviews. From this perspective, he is a champion for community perspective, egalitarian principles, and diversity in Canadian society. Currently, he is a Manager in the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning where he supports building reconciliation and promotes the importance of personal and professional intercultural development as a foundation for the future well-being of his community, your community and our province.

Tuesday, November 2

10:30–11:30 a.m. | Harnessing Universal Design for Learning to Foster Student Engagement

Eilidh Singh and Amanda Wallace, Centre for Educational Excellence

Reducing barriers and increasing engagement among culturally and linguistically diverse students in the classroom is more critical than ever. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an evidence-based framework offering guidelines and suggestions for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone. It allows instructors to be proactive by creating multiple means of engagement (the ‘why’ of learning), representation (the ‘what’), and action and expression (the ‘how’). These principles guide the design of learning environments with an understanding of and appreciation for individual variability. When curricula are intentionally designed to reduce barriers, all students can engage in rigorous, meaningful learning. In this session, we will highlight how instructors can provide inclusive ways for students to engage in their courses. Current issues related to engagement from both instructor and student perspectives, and examples and solutions that align with some fundamental principles of UDL will be discussed. 

POSTPONED 1:30–3:00 p.m. | Beyond Pronouns: Creating Inclusive Classrooms for Queers of Colour

This event has been postponed and will be rescheduled for next term. 

Featured speaker: Chanelle Tye

We will explore the experiences of queer students of colour within education, reflect on our roles as educators to design learning environments where they can thrive, and explore practical and effective strategies to improve our practice with an eye toward anti-racism and SOGI (sexual orientation and gender identity)-inclusion. “Beyond Pronouns” is for instructors who already have a grasp on the essentials of anti-racism and queer-inclusion and are keen to make lasting changes to their classroom community.

Chanelle Tye (she/her) is an equity and inclusion collaborator and facilitator who specializes in the areas of anti-racism and LGBTQ2S+ inclusion. She has a Master of Education in Equity Studies from Simon Fraser University with a focus on improving outcomes for organizational equity, diversity, and inclusion training. With 10 years of experience as an out queer public school teacher, she was recently the Provincial Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity (SOGI) Education Lead with British Columbia’s Ministry of Education. Currently, she partners with a gaggle of equity and inclusion specialists to educate about bringing justice to an unjust world. 

Wednesday, November 3

9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. | The Unbounded Classroom: A Symposium on Teaching, Learning and Research for Democratic Participation

A series of roundtable discussions that will examine the unique dimension of teaching and learning for democratic participation; the scholarship of democratic pedagogy; pedagogic practice of democratic education; the role of institutional support for democratic education; and community-based practice and research.

1:30–3:30 p.m. | Language Matters: Inclusive and Anti-Racist Writing in the Classroom 

Julia Lane, Student Learning Commons; Bee Brigidi and Zoreen Nuraney, Centre for Educational Excellence

Language can be a powerful tool for antiracist and inclusive praxis in the classroom. However, our words can also unintentionally become sites of harm, exclusion, and racial trauma. Racism and white supremacy are encoded in our language, assumptions, and attitudes about language in unconscious ways. 

In this session we will collectively unpack (some of) the racist and exclusionary language practices in the university, identify and consider opportunities to actively take up inclusive and antiracist language in the classroom, and introduce and critically rethink two artefacts of the classroom that serve as the linguistic “front door”: the course description and the syllabus. 

Thursday, November 4

9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. | The Unbounded Classroom: A Symposium on Teaching, Learning and Research for Democratic Participation

A series of roundtable discussions that will examine the unique dimension of teaching and learning for democratic participation; the scholarship of democratic pedagogy; pedagogic practice of democratic education; the role of institutional support for democratic education; and community-based practice and research.

1:30–3:00 p.m. | Allies Affinity Group: Reflections One Year Later

Janet Pivnick, Centre for Educational Excellence

Last year’s Inclusion in the Classroom Week saw the birthing of an SFU Allies Affinity Group. This year’s session will:

  1. Provide information about considerations when establishing an Allies Affinity Group within your own department or unit, and
  2. Offer reflection from members of the current group about what has worked well and what hasn’t worked to provide workshop participants with further ideas for group establishment.

1:30–3:00 p.m. | SFU IBPOC/BIPOC Faculty/Instructors/TAs: Empowering Strategies Mobilization

Anushay Malik, Department of History and Department of Labour Studies; Bee Brigidi, Centre for Educational Excellence; and Doaa Magdy, School for the Contemporary Arts

This virtual meet-up is exclusively for SFU IBPOC/BIPOC faculty/instructors/TAs who desire a space to explore empowering strategies in the classroom, in a way that centres joy, reciprocal relationship, and a practice of a pedagogy of hope (Freire, 1992 | hooks 2003). The 90-minute gathering will begin with a guided warm-up, and then participants will co-create the space to be held. The session will NOT be recorded.

Friday, November 5

9:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. | The Unbounded Classroom: A Symposium on Teaching, Learning and Research for Democratic Participation

A series of roundtable discussions that will examine the unique dimension of teaching and learning for democratic participation; the scholarship of democratic pedagogy; pedagogic practice of democratic education; the role of institutional support for democratic education; and community-based practice and research.

1:30–2:30 p.m. | Trauma-Informed Pedagogy and Practice in Higher Education

Amea Wilbur and Brianna Strumm, University of the Fraser Valley

The “Trauma-Informed Pedagogy and Practice” workshop is intended for faculty and administrators who hope to build a better understanding of what trauma is and the impact it has on learning. This workshop looks at strategies and approaches that can be used to support students inside and outside classrooms. The workshop concludes with an exploration of compassion fatigue, burnout, and vicarious trauma.

About the facilitators

Dr. Stryker Calvez is a Metis/Michif researcher and educator from the Red River and Turtle Mountain territories in Manitoba and North Dakota. For the last 15 years he has worked in different capacities to help improve culturally appropriate educational, health and social programs for Indigenous Peoples and newcomers to Canada. Six years ago, he shifted his focus to directly support his colleagues at the University of Saskatchewan to better understand and engage with reconciliation. As a Metis man, he and his people have a history and tradition of working within multiple worldviews. From this perspective, he is a champion for community perspective, egalitarian principles, and diversity in Canadian society. Currently, he is a Manager in the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning where he supports building reconciliation and promotes the importance of personal and professional intercultural development as a foundation for the future well-being of his community, your community and our province.

Brianna Strumm (she, her, hers) is an Assistant Professor at the University of the Fraser Valley. Brianna has worked in a variety of clinical, community-based, and administrative social work positions and has been a university educator since 2011. Brianna has experience working in both government and nongovernmental organizations in Canada, England, Jamaica, India, and South Africa in the areas of community-engaged research, child protection, youth employment, foster care, health care, poverty reduction, project management and community development. Her scholarship interests include women and social policy, student service-learning, mindfulness practices, and social work education—particularly the advancement of higher education through trauma-informed, contemplative, and arts-based pedagogies.

Chanelle Tye (she/her) is an equity and inclusion collaborator and facilitator who specializes in the areas of anti-racism and LGBTQ2S+ inclusion. She has a Master of Education in Equity Studies from Simon Fraser University with a focus on improving outcomes for organizational equity, diversity, and inclusion training. With 10 years of experience as an out queer public school teacher, she was recently the Provincial Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity (SOGI) Education Lead with British Columbia’s Ministry of Education. Currently, she partners with a gaggle of equity and inclusion specialists to educate about bringing justice to an unjust world. 

Amea Wilbur (she, her, hers) is an Assistant Professor at the University of the Fraser Valley and worked in the settlement sector for many years in Vancouver. She holds an EdD from the Department of Educational Studies, UBC. Her doctorate explored ways to make government-funded language training more inclusive for students who have experienced trauma. She has facilitated numerous workshops on trauma-informed practices for settlement and language providers both provincially and nationally. Amea is a certified MBSR Instructor and was the co-coordinator of Mindfulness-Based Teaching and Learning (MBTL) Graduate Certificate Program.

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Julia Lane (she/her/hers) is a queer, vegan feminist. She is also a white settler who lives, mothers, writes, and teaches on unceded Coast Salish territories. She holds a PhD in Arts Education from Simon Fraser University and her dissertation is about the application of a theatrical clowning practice to scholarship, specifically researching, teaching, and writing. Her master’s degree is from Trent University’s Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies program and her M.A. thesis focused on environmental education. She completed her undergraduate studies at York University in the theatre department, specializing in theatre creation and performance. Julia is currently a Writing Services Coordinator with the Student Learning Commons where she wrote (and is constantly revising) the SLC’s Inclusive and Antiracist Writing Guide.

Doaa Magdy is a graduate student and a teaching assistant at the School for the Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University. Mohameed’s research interests focus on the exploration of race and female agency in contemporary horror films, and dance as a movement to reclaim cultural identity and dismantle white supremacy within marginalized communities.

Anushay Malik is a labour historian with a geographical focus on South Asia. Her teaching and research interests focus on labour movements with particular attention to the space of the city and the way in which it affects worker organization and possibilities. This idea, of possibilities, underlies most of her work and was the main focus of her PhD dissertation that explored how expansive political imaginations, made possible by the end of WWII and decolonization, made workers in Pakistan think that a revolution was possible. Malik spent some time as a research fellow at the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam working on a comparative project exploring how Partition in 1947 impacted the labour networks of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian sea-faring workers. Anushay moved back to Pakistan in 2014 and joined LUMS (Lahore University of Management Services) as an Assistant Professor, where she has been teaching courses on global histories of migration, nationalism in South Asia, labour and urban history and Pakistani history. Since 2019, Anushay has been a faculty member at SFU’s Department of History and Department of Labour Studies.

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Bee Brigidi (Latinx/ella/she/elle/ela). Bees are known to be hard workers, effective collaborators, and harmonious beings—and that’s who I strive to be as an educational developer in the Curriculum and Instruction Division at CEE. Besides working through EDI through inclusive teaching, critical pedagogy, and anti-oppression education, I am a motherscholar, a daughter, a friend, and a huge fan of forests! My grandparents are within who I am, and every day I strive to honour them wherever they are, and in all I do. I have a PhD in History and Indigenous Studies from University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), and I have been a faculty member and a multidisciplinary scholar privileged to learn and unlearn from a range of experiences in communities and institutions such as the University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Community College, Quest University, McGill University, and John Abbott College, among others.

Zoreen Nuraney. Grow Through, What We Go Through—that’s what I strive to live by as a lifelong learner. It is with an inclusive lens that I take on my role as an Educational Developer, with a focus on building support programming for international teaching assistants. With a B.Ed. from McGill University in Foreign Language Teaching & Learning and an M.Ed. from the University of Ottawa in Organizational Studies & Management, I have worn my educator hat in many unique settings, both in and out of the classroom. From managing the civilian deployment training program at Global Affairs Canada and evaluating teacher training programs in Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut, to developing the K–12 performing arts program in New Delhi and re-instituting the foreign language department at the University of Central Asia in Khorog, I strive to leverage my international multicultural connections in all that I do. Having lived outside of Canada for 20 years, I draw from personal experiences of moving across countries, learning languages, setting up routines and of course making new friends when approaching my work to support the unique needs of our international student population.

Janet Pivnick is an educational consultant in the SFU Centre for Educational Excellence. She has a PhD in philosophy of education from the University of Calgary and is active in supporting the Curriculum Indigenization and Decolonization initiative at SFU.

Eilidh Singh is an EAL consultant in the SFU Centre for Educational Excellence. She has taught in a variety of settings in Japan, Greece and Canada and has worked in online and face-to-face teacher training, program management and administration, course and workshop design and delivery, conference presentations, and language coaching.

Amanda Wallace is an EAL consultant and language-acquisition specialist in the SFU Centre for Educational Excellence. She has more than 15 years’ experience teaching courses in academic writing, communication and content-based English as a Second Language (ESL) and English for Specific Purposes (ESP).

 

Questions?

E: ceeevent@sfu.ca
T: 778 782 7115